{Image: Naked Woman Statue Art by JuanJ on Flickr}
As the kids grow up, their level of approval for nakedness is declining.
We’ve been a clothing optional family since Hubs and I first met.
I’d been pyjama-optional since my teens (pyjamas are something to be taken away on holidays in case the place you are staying in happens to catch fire through the night) and being naked (behind the privacy of my closed door – I am so not in to nudist camps or anything like that!) was perfectly normal to us.
Which didn’t change when we had the kids.
Like all little kids they delighted in pointing out the differences in anatomy.
Girly bits became known as the yoni (which is Sanskrit for vagina), while a penis was a penis (no fancy names here, but if you’re curious in Sanskrit it is lingam). Nothing was hidden behind clothes or closed doors, and none of us blinked an eyelid when we would strip out of wet swimmers at the beach.
But now as they’re getting older, I’m finding that I have to accommodate their changing needs.
While neither of them are adverse to seeking me out when I’m in the shower or standing at the bathroom vanity while I do make-up in bra and undies – it’s their own nudity that’s becoming the issue.
The Little Man is almost 10. He’s not yet going through any significant body changes, but he’s been known to blush mightily if he has to discuss his ‘privates’ in the company of others. He’ll streak from the bathroom to his bedroom if he forgets his pyjamas and there’s no public free-snaking allowed.
The Beautiful Girl is 14 now and there is absolutely no public displays of nudity on her part. She’ll shriek at anyone who enters the bathroom while she’s showering and wet swimmers have to be remove safely behind closed doors or a strategically placed towel.
So will there come a time when I stop being naked around my kids?
Probably not. It was my body that bore them. My breasts that fed them. Everything will continue to sag, but I’m still proud of it’s achievements and love it wrinkles, sags and all.
At the same time though, I’ll acknowledge that my kids are needing their privacy.
Which leads me to the question Joanna asked… How many years can you be naked around your kids before it becomes inappropriate?
What are your thoughts on being naked around your kids? Or do you think your kids would be scarred forever to see you starkers?
Please share your thoughts below or leave a link to your own blog response!
