How Do You Feel About Being Nude?
Families and Nudity
Michelle Barrett
Feelings about public nudity, especially in America where nudity is unnecessarily and incessantly sexualized, can vary widely. All families are different, and our attitudes and feelings about our own nudity are almost always inherited from our parents. If we had open and free parents who accepted their own bodies and didn’t think it was a big deal to occasionally appear nude in front of their children, we will most likely be the same type of parent.
This article talks about the different approaches and attitudes toward nudity and how they affect us later in life. For parents who want to raise children with healthy body image and acceptance, these tips from the article can really add a wonderful dimension to their home life.
1. Stay calm
Any habit that’s a product of shame probably isn’t a great thing to pass on to the kids. That doesn’t mean that you should start baking in the buff to prove a point, but if the kids walk in while you’re in the bathroom, don’t act as if it’s the end of the world.
2. Nurture their curiosity
Children are naturally curious about their bodies, and sometimes about the bodies of others. Allowing your kids to see you without your clothes on creates an opportunity to comfortably discuss body parts and their functions whenever it comes up.
Campfire Chat
Join the Lake Edun Foundation on April 11, 2021 for a virtual chat focusing on raising children in naturism.
3. Show your stuff
Being occasionally nude shows children what the aging process looks like. “If your breasts are big or small, a child might have a question about them, which you can answer without embarrassment,” says Sara Dimerman, a family therapist based in Thornhill, Ont.
4. Follow their lead
If children appear to feel discomfort around nudity — or too much interest — it might be time to put some pants on.
5. Talk it out
Think about what you’re saying to your kids — not just with your words but with your body. “If you can show that even when you’re 10 pounds heavier and you have stretch marks, you accept yourself, that would be healthy for young girls to see,” says Dimerman.
Having and teaching an attitude of acceptance and honor for the bodies we’re given is a beautiful gift from a parent to their child. Modesty is necessary in our society, of course, and those benefits are also important. However, balance can be achieved in such a way that allows freedom and acceptance, without shame, at home and in environments that allow it.
