Ouch… Children. Difficult topic! Sensitive issue!
But not for naturists.
Who doesn’t know this kind of image? A young child, having fun at the beach. And, indeed, not wearing a swimsuit.
I’m sure we’ve all seen this once or twice in our lives.
And why is there this switch in many people’s mind that tells them to put something on the body of their child at an uncertain age? Uncertain because this age seems to differ from parent to parent.
We all know that nudity is normal. At least, we should know that. It is how we and all other living creatures come into this world. No clothes, no nothing.
As I was thinking about this, I went out onto the world wide web to find out what that thought of this. The results weren’t surprising…
“Your Kids Table“: When kids have sensory issues with clothing it can be overwhelming, confusing, and exhausting.
Hmm. That says something, doesn’t it? Hardly surprising, because clothing isn’t natural. It can be necessary, but that’s something else.
“Today’s Parent“: “Children ages three to five are learning to dress and undress themselves, and often enjoy this independence and the feeling of being naked. Taking off their clothes may also be a way to protest, or to seek attention.”
The feeling of being naked. Well, if that doesn’t ring some bells…
And then there’s this question on Quora.com: Is it normal for my child to hate wearing clothes?
The top answer here is seriously sensible:
It’s perfectly normal and natural for children to prefer being naked. Any clothing is less comfortable than not wearing clothing, and other than to stay warm when it’s cold out, they don’t understand why they should have to wear it.
Most kids gradually give into their parents demands that they get and stay covered up, but sometimes takes years before they’re fully conditioned to be ashamed and embarrassed of themselves when they’re not wearing clothes. Not that it’s a good thing that they should ever think of themselves that way, but that’s the result.
Each child is different. Most kids will happily stay naked when you let them be naked, and personally, I believe there’s a lot more to be gained down the road by letting them be naked as often as possible unless there’s a reason they have to be clothed (out of the house or when guests come to visit).
It’s nice in our case to have happy naked grand-kids to remind us of how our kids and how we felt about wearing clothes at their age.
Rick Orlando, Father of two now grown kids.
Clothes protect us from the cold, from getting hurt and even from sunburns if there are no other options, but seriously… stubbing the full human sensory experience for the ‘sake’ of this clothing fetish that goes around… isn’t that taking things a lot too far?
It should not be a problem for children to be naked. Young children have never problems with it, but getting into puberty most have. The main reason is that they are insecure and don’t dare to show themselves as they are. If nudity was more common and more widespread their problem would be resolved slowly but surely. One problem still exists and that is the problem of the influence of certain religions. When young and playing sports I never thought of having a shower other than naked. Nowadays youngsters from mainly north african and black african countries shower in their underwear. And when a remark to that is made they tell you to show them respect but also condemn us for being naked. So I think we will still see lots of children on the beach in their swimming costumes.
nice picture of a young mother and her child….
Oh,,,,beyond sensitive issue….it’s a convoluted twist of biological and social changes within an ever widening age group, especially for young girls. Naked as a jaybird on beach or at family attended nude resort at age 9 or 10,,and suddenly they become totally shocked by the nudity of entire family, let alone strangers who are nude poolside or at the beach. The how, the why, all of it becomes a really tough situation to solve. Seems to simmer in their minds,(and bodies) over those cold, non nudity months, and suddenly comes out with total rejection, denial by late spring and into the heat of a fun summer with family plans already made. Who is sharp enough to see the change in attitude coming on? When can you intercede and have a discussion about ‘tween age body image, public nudity, combined with comfort levels and pride in who you are. Over last decade, I’ve seen it happen at local resorts as the kid population around the pool suddenly drops off at around age 11 or 12 for so many girls. Guess its a family issue to deal with, each in their own way to express confidence and hope to continue their next generation in the world of naturism.