Friday, July 25, 2008

Parenting in the Nude

Kelly Mills offers a common sense approach to nudity at home.
I have not become a streaker or topless waitress or nudist during my parenting years. I don't vacuum naked or answer the door in my towel. I have my limits and I have just a teensy bit of sensitivity to the people around me. But for those that live with me, including my 7-year-old child, it's not uncommon for me to try and have a conversation while changing my clothes or showering. I never rush over to grab a fig leaf. I doubt I would have thought twice about this except last year, when I was reading (for, um, journalistic reasons) about Britney Spears' custody case, there was mention of the fact that she walked around naked in front of her kids, and then I read a whole discussion on Slate about how while kids under 3 won't be bugged by nudity, you should start covering up before the children get old enough to remember it.
Kelly is absolutely right - she does not have to be a nudist in order to understand that ordinary, everyday nudity in the home is healthy for the entire family. Better to have children learn about their own bodies, and how they change with maturity, than from porn magazines, from other children, or from sex education classes.

Britney Spears always got a "bum rap" for her home nudity, and it's good to hear that someone was influenced in a positive manner from the all the publicity.

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