Nudity - Houston,TX

Updated on May 11, 2010
B.S. asks from Spring, TX
22 answers

Growing up I was use to my mom and aunt walking around naked or just in a bra and panties. I now have a 2 1/2 year old son and while I don't walk around naked infront of him, I do change in front of him and occasionally if he is calling for me in the middle of the night I will jump out of bed and go in his room naked. Is this ok? At what age would this be inappropriate?

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone! I feel much better now. My husband never goes around naked infront of our son but we were raised very differently. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't out of the norm. Thanks again for all the answers.

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I think it also has to do with the appropriateness of the nudity. There are times when it is ok to be nude (getting out of the shower) and times not (just hanging around the house). My kids do a nakie run when they get dried off out of the tub. They think it is funny and enjoy the freedom. But we don't let them do it all the time or when ever they want. In addition to age I think context is important.

7 moms found this helpful

P.W.

answers from Dallas on

Yes, it's okay. He is still a baby and it's just a body. One day you will notice he is looking at you a little differently and you will understand it's time to cover up. You've got a couple of years yet..............but I walked around in bra and panties for a quite awhile! After all that isn't much different than a bikini. No worries.

3 moms found this helpful

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

I think the appropriate time is when any involved family member becomes uncomfortable about it. That could be the dad, the mom, the kidster, the siblings. I've known families who were completely comfortable with nudity well into elementary years. If you are comfortable with it and the child isn't showing a desire for privacy yet, or unseemly interest, then nudity remains harmless.

Parents tend to feel about nudity what they were taught as children, so some parents might never want a child of the opposite sex to see any of their body parts after weaning. That's fine, too, especially if it is a matter of modesty, and not shame. Shame tends to express later in life as excessive interest, and many, many sexual addicts were given a big dose of sexual shame early on.

Even questions about body parts are usually nothing more than uncomplicated curiosity, and a great learning/teaching opportunity. Body parts have names and functions, which can be shared through the simplest possible descriptions.

6 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Savannah on

It's definitely a matter of opinion. I grew up in a house where I NEVER saw my parents withough full clothing on. I never saw them in bra, panties, underwear, etc.

Now, as an adult with a child of my own. I don't see what the big deal is. I have a 4yr old daughter and she sees me naked. She sees her Daddy naked. It's only at shower time and she does know the difference between boy/girl parts but there's nothing to be hiding or ashamed about (in my opinion). We don't parade around the house nude...but we also don't think she should feel she has to hide or be embarrassed by the human body.

However...in my opinion she is getting close to the age where we should cover up. Probably in the next year. But I still see no issue with her seeing us in our underwear (like someone else said it covers as much as a bathing suit...sometimes more). But mainly it's all up to you how comfortable you are.

5 moms found this helpful
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S.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

It's perfectly ok. My daughter is 8. I am very comfortable with nudity and so is she. Her father (separate household) and she are also comfortable with it, but he has made some changes as she has gotten older.

Our bodies are beautiful, healthy, strong, and nothing at all to be embarrassed about. If she asks questions about bodies or sex, I answer them. I fully believe that comfort in and with our own bodies is necessary for our and my child's physical and mental health.

3 moms found this helpful
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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

I think it's fine. I also grew up being comfortable with nudity and as a matter of fact, when we go home we take family trips to public pools with large Saunas, where they have nude areas, in which everybody is nude. So my family is used seeing each other in the buff, even as adults.

3 moms found this helpful
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K.H.

answers from Washington DC on

We don't walk around naked (too many windows for that)!!!! , but I do get dressed and get in/out of the shower and my kids see me naked , I have a boy and 2 girls. The eldest is 7 (boy) and I try not to let him see me anymore but kids being kids they walk into your room sometimes. I don't think it's a problem for them to see , were all the same and it teaches them about the body.

3 moms found this helpful
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J.R.

answers from San Diego on

I think it's up to you. Personally, I think I'd make a concerted effort to always be dressed in front of my children when/if they're old enough to be embarrassed by my nakedness. I don't really have a timeframe in mind; I imagine it will be readily apparent when that time is.

Right now, my son is 3 1/2 years old, and I have no problem nursing the baby in front of him without a cover. I'm rarely naked around him, but sometimes he will come in to the bathroom while I'm taking a shower. I change in front of him too. I doubt that seeing my unclothed body is scarring him.

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M.K.

answers from Houston on

At around 5 my son indicated to me that he no longer wnated to see me naked - really I don't blame him LOL - but he would say, here's your bra mom, put it on please lol, but at 2 he really did not care. probably you can get away with it a little longer.

3 moms found this helpful
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K.D.

answers from Dallas on

This is a matter of opinion and I think that you will get a bunch of different answers. In my family, I had seen my mother naked plenty of times-- my father, never. So, that was the way my family did business. Now for us, my daughter has seen me and will continue to see me lol, I'm not concerned about it. But in all honesty, if my next child is a boy he will stop seeing me at 3 at the very oldest. My daughter NEVER sees her father naked and he feels very strongly about it. So theres your answer! I would stop being nude in front of your son at 3.

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J.B.

answers from Houston on

As long as you are consistent in your behavior, communicate freely with your son, answering his questions frankly, yet so he will understand you, and love him, it should not be an issue. If your behavior or words hint that you feel that your nudity is wrong or unnatural, then your son could become confused, but how he'll actually react cannot be known for certain. Should be okay, if you are honest and do not live in fear of what you feel is natural behavior. Key: open communication and not living in fear.

2 moms found this helpful

K.E.

answers from Birmingham on

I say when he's old enough that you don't mind him going to the bathroom by himself in a public place or leaving him standing outside the bathroom while you go in (i.e. Wal-mart, when you're out to dinner, etc) he's old enough you could start changing your habits toward nudity. As long as he is still too young for that, trying to make new norms towards your nudity around him just seems, well silly. I've seen women leave their two year old sons standing outside the women's bathroom at Wal-Mart because they thought it was inappropriate to bring him in to wait outside the stalls. Not only is it dangerous, it's just not necessary!

2 moms found this helpful

A.S.

answers from Dallas on

When he starts to act embarrassed about his own and other's nudity, which usually occurs naturally around 4,5,6 is typically when it's time to start to cover up according to child expert Dr. Sears. I tend to agree with that on my own research of the subject, as children also are aware of being private.

His colleague's answer here is especially great!
http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/az26.asp

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P.O.

answers from Jacksonville on

It becomes inappropriate when he starts knowing the difference between body parts - and for some it's closer to 3 yrs old. I have 2 sons, and he used to see me naked after coming out of the bath, but now one is 4 and I don't think it's appropriate anymore. It eliminates the questions until he is ready to hear the answers.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.F.

answers from El Paso on

i have a 7 year old son and i have no problems with walking around with my bra and underwear its the same as a bikini when you go swimming should you not wear that around your son? so whats the difference. now i have rules for him being naked around my two year old daughter now that she is aware he is not allowed to be naked but with just his underwear is fine. Oh and I am a single mom so i dont know what goes on in his fathers house.

I have to share this its just too funny when my daughter was born and my son saw me changing her diapers he said "mommy why does Jazzmin have two butts?" is that so hilarious or what. Good luck

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L.G.

answers from Austin on

Have to share a funny story. I walked around naked or in underwear if I was headed to the laundry room for clean clothes, etc. so it was just here and there. When my son (maybe preschool age or kindergarten) pointed out that I had a string hanging down there, I just said, "Oh, thanks" and tried to contain myself. I realized that he was now looking in that area and time for me to grab a robe.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.J.

answers from Chicago on

I keep a lightweight robe by my bedroom door for this exact reason. I want to get to him quickly, but don't want to go blazing in in all my glory :)

My son is 3 going on 12 and is keenly aware of the difference between male and female bodies. He asks about them all the time, even if I've given him honest and simple answers 10,000 times. For this reason I have started closing the door when I use the bathroom and, in-so-far-as-possible shielding myself as I change. Bras and panties, I feel, are just fine, as they cover as much or more as many bathing suits.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.F.

answers from Sioux Falls on

I would say it's ok, until he starts getting curious about things. Then it's time to stop. I'll share a humorous, albeit mortifying experince for my husband:
My at the time husband would walk around the house in his boxerbriefs all the time. One day when Veronica was 3 1/2, she poked him right "there" and said, "Ughh, Daddy, did you poop your pants?"
He never wore just his undies around her again!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from San Antonio on

I think for a boy and mother it is when he is much more curious than just trying to figure out that he and mommy look different. You will know the looks when you see them. But for mommy and daughter or daddy and son, I think it is natural for them to see each other. To me that send a signal of the body being an off limits subject.

J.B.

answers from Houston on

I think that some coverage is good. My son has seen me in pjs or a robe, and seen me nursing his baby brother, not fully nude. My son will be three in July and he is pretty aware of things. When he was an infant, I would put him in his bouncer in the bathroom while I showered, but after I weaned him at a year or so I was more careful about being clothed around him. Even then I didn't just get out fully nude, I would put a towel around myself. He is now super curios. Like he came in the restroom the other day and asked why I wasn't standing. I told him because I am a woman and we sit to pee. He asked where was my "pee pee" and tried to look. I told him he could look at Daddy's because they are both boys, but I am girl so I am different, he said "Ok" and left. Anyway, I think full nudity is probably a bit much simply because boys are just so curious at a young age and I always want mine to realize there is a difference between boys and girls and you have to respect that. Plus I don't want him to remember seeing me naked if possible, that is freaky for them as they get older I think. As a kid I saw my mom naked too, but we were both girls so I think that was the difference. My husband and son have taken a bath together etc, but I never have and don't plan on it and I know that my husband would never bathe with a girl, if we have one. So I say some coverage is good although I think that since you are asking you are obviously a great and concerned mom and that no harm has been done!

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A.S.

answers from Austin on

As little as he is that's fine. I know that if I had to get into a space where my children wouldn't see me get undressed to change clothes, I'd still be wearing my hospital gown.

Probably once he gets into school you'll want to cover up. :)

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M.C.

answers from McAllen on

I know what you mean. However, if it was still only you and your husband that it would be ok but now you have your son. It is time to start respecting him. Good luck and I hope this works for you.

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