Covering Up in the Family

[Diana B]

I hope this is an OK topic. I was thinking earlier and trying to figure out if I was raised totally abnormal or what.

 

When I was a kid, my mom would run around the house in just her bra and underwear. She also had no qualms about running around wrapped just in a towel. And as a girl, she was OK dressing/undressing in front of me. I remember this happening even when my younger brother was a young teen. I don't think she dressed in front of him, but I know he saw her in her unders! I didn't think much about it for a while, but after having my own child, I'm thinking its kinda odd?

 

My ds is 7, and for the past couple years we've stayed mostly covered in front of him. There are times I'll have to quickly grab a shirt out of laundry - but I don't purposely walk around even in just a bra in front of him. I rarely see DS naked anymore either. He'll wrap in a towel and go to his room and get dressed after a shower. Occasionally he'll need help with something, but its not often. DS sometimes will even cover himself in the front and (the back :lol:) with his hand if he needs to make a quick dash to his room naked.

 

So I'm just wondering how covered you get in your family. My DH gets dressed before he even leaves the bathroom and I can probably count on both hands the number of times DS has seen him in just his boxers in the past couple years.

 

So my question is - how were you raised & how covered up do you get in front of your own DC?

 

(Poll to Follow)

[snickelfritz]

I know you're working on a poll. But, I'll answer and then go back and vote.

 

We might see my mom in unders, but dad was always in at least jeans. My nearest sibling was also a girl, while my brother was 8 years older. So, dont know if they were different from boy to girl. My mom was a....non-discussion person. We didn't talk about, or get any emotional or tangible support for, girl stuff. Everything I knew, I knew from school.:001_huh:

 

WE are more lax AND more open in discussions. I have all dd's, so they see me in all states of dress and undress. Since they were 2-3, dh always wears at least boxers. I assume the situation would reverse if we had a ds.

 

ETA; I don't know how to vote. LOL

Edited May 19, 2011 by snickelfritz

[simka2]

Ummm, I am not sure how to answer. We lived in Hawaii and Arizona, bikinis, swimtrunks, and speedo's were the norm. Sometimes I get annoyed when my kids walk in on me, but that more because I want some alone time :D.

 

I hope to raise kids who are very comfortable in their own skin, but also know how to dress approprietly for different events.

[5KidzRUs]

Parents were fans of nude-y beaches ... Dh is opposite ... I am in between; human body is private but not anything to be ashamed of either.

[Diana B]

Sorry - I didn't take in account the differences in gender while creating the poll.

 

I guess it would be some what different if I had a girl, as I wouldn't feel it as inappropriate for her to see me naked. And I don't want my DS to be ashamed of his body or other peoples - but at the same time I would like to teach him a level of modesty. But even DH doesn't get completely naked in front of DS (maybe that's a guy thing and girls are more willing to be naked in front of other girls?).

[Joker]

When I was growing up my mom didn't go out of her way to cover up but didn't walk around in her underwear. My dad did though. He would come home from work and shower and then sit in his chair in just his briefs - sometimes a shirt. I never thought it was odd but I never wanted my friends to show up unexpectedly because dad would have to make a mad dash for clothes. My dh is pretty much always in at least shorts and a shirt because it does feel odd for him to walk around in front of dds in less.

[RebeccaS]

My parents always had on something modest-ie, more than underwear. My mom laughed when she told me the last time my dad wore just underwear around me I was 2 and asked why he had poop in his pants. After that, he always had pj's or a robe on.

 

Dh is very careful around the kids, to not be seen in anything less than his pj's-even the boys. I don't mind so much. For dh's sake, I change clothes with the bedroom door shut, etc, but if the kids walk in, it's no big deal. I just remind them to knock.

[Daisy]

My own parents:

 

My mother was very modest. My dad would dash across the hall in much to nothing.

 

Our family:

 

After the age of 2, our children do not see us naked.

 

I don't freak out if my daughter sees me in my bra when we are trying on clothes at a store but for the most part we try to give each other modesty by turning around while changing like that. She's at the stage where she appreciates that. :lol:

 

If either of my children were to run through the house with nothing but a tshirt and unders (dashing to the laundry for pants) I'd chide them and tell them they should have put on a robe. Both of them are too old for that. If they want to be partially dressed they are welcome to be so in their own rooms.

 

The men in our family don't walk around without a shirt either but that is just a minor quirk and not something that would earn a rebuke. It just isn't part of our culture.

[Punchie]

My mom didn't go out of her way in either direction. If we saw her in her undies, it wasn't a big deal. It's kind of hard to keep kids/teens out of the bathroom w/you at times. My mom was a single parent and it was all girls in the household - down to the dog and car.

 

Right now, we have only girls. When baby boy is born, I don't know how things will go. I personally don't care if they see me naked or not. Nudity isn't a big deal to me, and I don't want them to be ashamed of their bodies. DH tries to make sure they don't see him naked, but on the occasion they've caught a peek, doesn't make a big deal out of it. He has no problem w/them when he has his undies on (or shorts b/c he'll go shirtless a lot of times).

[Tangerine]

Naked. Lots of naked. I assume as they get older (They are 6 and 4), they'll probably pull a "put a shirt on Mom". Then I will respect their wishes. But I will never ever be worried about nakedness.

[nono]

I can't answer your poll!

 

Since we've always lived with sleep quarters upstairs, there's underwear or less going on in the mornings up there. Downstairs, people have clothes on so as to be able to answer the door and not scare anyone. ;)

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I chose other.

 

My mother would walk in from work and her shirt and bra would be left near the door! She also rarely closed the bathroom door. I've only seen my father naked on accident.

 

With my kids, we're pretty open. I don't dance around naked, but only because I find it uncomfortable! No one thinks twice about someone being naked. Recently, dd started shutting the bathroom door when showering or her bedroom door while dressing, and that is respected. DS, OTOH, still has no problems running outside naked! He tends to stay dressed in front of other people 99% of the time, though.

[scmama]

I don't know how to vote either..

My dad was always in jeans or shorts until late at night then he'd run the house in his underwear. My mom didn't mind if us girls walked in while she was dressing, or in the shower. We were girls. But we never walked in on my dad, we always knocked to make sure he was decent if they were getting dressed to go somewhere, and we needed to ask a question.

 

With my kids, I breastfed two of them, so it's not a big deal. I do walk around in bra and undies if I've forgotten something at shower time, or a towel wrapped around me. My oldest is a boy, my middle is a girl, and my youngest is a boy. They have no problems walking in on me in the shower, but how dare I walk in when they are showering!!! LOL I don't make it a habit of walking around that way, but sometimes you forget stuff. Dh will come home and strip down to his boxers. He works in the heat all day, so he blames it on that! :) The youngest boy will walk in on him sometimes, but our daughter and oldest son needs to knock.

I also make my daughter wear shorts around the house after her shower or a longer nightgown. I was raised that girls should be covered. But since her oldest brother is visiting grandparents in FL, she's been running around in a shirt and undies. :) She's enjoying her freedom!

I think it just depends. I want my daughter especially to have a healthy body image. I want her to respect herself, but always remember that there's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to her body. We are all made differently! But I also apply this to my boys...they should not be ashamed of their bodies either, and I want them to have respect for themselves as well.

[Cheryl in NM]

My mom changed in front of me my entire life. Dad was always fulling clothed, even in bed (full pajamas), actually, I guess sometimes he was shirtless.

 

Dh used to run around in his underwear until his 9 year old daughter moved in with us, then he was always fully clothed, never even went shirtless.

 

I never felt uncomfortable until I was changing and 9 yo dsd walked in on me and told me I looked gross. She said her mother never changed in front of her and it was just gross. After that, I made sure to stay completely clothed.

 

I think we have issues! lol On the other end of the spectrum, a woman who used to be our hs group used to allow her 10 yo SON to shower with her! YUCK! Of course, she nursed until he was 5; she would put him under her shirt between her and the shopping cart in the store and just walk around with him nursing.

 

I guess, everyone has different standards.

[soonermomma]

I chose other. We would see my mom naked when she was getting dressed or undressed, but she always wore pj's around the house. We would see my dad in his underwear, but he usually always had gym shorts over them if we were just hanging out. (it was me and my sister)

 

As for my kids, I have three girls and boy and they all see me naked. I don't sit around the house naked, but I sleep in nothing but a t-shirt. None of them other than my son see my husband naked, although the older girls have tried to peek from time to time, out of curiosity.

 

I'm undecided about when my son should stop seeing me naked. He is only two right now so at this point I haven't had to worry about it much.

 

I have never been one to be modest. I still take showers with my kids. I don't think at this age they are old enough to think of bodies in a sexual way so it has been a non issue here.

[mom31257]

My dad never let us 3 girls see him in his underwear, but with a shirt off was okay. I didn't even know boys went to the bathroom standing up until someone said something in high school. I didn't believe them at first.

 

My mother didn't parade in front of us, but we did see her in underwear or slips occasionally. I didn't really want to, though.

 

I don't let my children see me in my underwear or naked. I'm a very modest person, though. I don't want to show much of myself to people and wish that people didn't want to show so much to me! : )

 

As far as breastfeeding, well being modest, I did that as discreetly as possible and not in public unless absolutely necessary and covered up.

[Mommy22alyns]

My mom would be in her underwear or just a towel sometimes. My dad might go without a shirt a little bit.

 

DH might go from one room to another in just his underwear. I try to change alone in a room because my body looks just plain scary and hideous right now.

 

The girls will still run around naked, but now they're liking putting on their bathrobes before/after showers.

[Audrey]

I was raised in a covered-up household. We saw each other in jammies, which given the hot FL weather, were kind of skimpy when you think about it, but no nudity ever.

 

In my own household, we aren't so uptight. We see no need for covering up on the walk from the bathroom to the bedroom. It's no big deal.

[4wildberrys]

My parents had a master bedroom with it's own full bath, but my mother preferred to use a different one all for herself, so she would dash with a towel or less back to her bedroom! We learned to look the other way. My dad would walk around in his underwear sometimes, but was mortified if walked in on while changing. Of course all that changed after his stroke and we all had to help dress, wash and toilet him :001_huh:

 

In our house, keeping the bathroom door closed was not possible when the kids were little because they didn't like being closed out! And we never worried about them seeing us naked. Now they are more modest than us! If they walk in on dh or I changing, THEY are the ones that freak out! DS and I are probably the most modest, with dd and then dh coming in absolute last :tongue_smilie: He walks around with a towel on or just in his underwear regularly---but NOT if other kids are here.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I grew up with my grandparents as my guardians, so I don't know it that skews your poll or not. I saw maybe once a year my Papa in just a towel going from the bathroom to his bedroom.

 

My age cut-off for the boys seeing me in less than fully clothed/the occasional towel is around 3; I don't want them to have memories of me like that. For my husband, I don't have a problem with them joining him in the shower once in a while until they're a little older. Although now that I'm thinking about it, I think the Bible says something about not seeing your father's nakedness.... (if this has already been mentioned, sorry, I haven't read the previous replies yet.)

 

ETA: We potty-trained "cold turkey" so ds#1 spent a year going around the house with nothing but a shirt on. Ds#2 frequently takes all his clothes off (he HATES it when he has to put on pants to leave the house) and his diaper as well. I guess it's time to potty-train...

Edited May 19, 2011 by theYoungerMrsWarde

[Jayne J]

I grew up with just my mom and my sister. All girls in the house meant nary a door was ever closed. Now that I have kids, I tend to be fairly free (I am not a walk around in my under garments kind of gal, but I'll change in front of dc) Now that ds is nearly 8 it is getting a bit uncomfortable for him, so I have taken to closing doors and giving warnings. Dds tend to be different and so we will see. It is really more about their discomfort/need for privacy than mine.

[coffeefreak]

I voted "other" for us. My girls have not seen their dad indecent (naked or in underwear) since they were infants. He, as a rule, always has pants on. However, just yesterday, he couldn't find any pants and came out in a towel because we couldn't hear him yelling for help. No one freaked, but we don't generally do that. The girls likewise do not run around in undies or naked. They have robes and are required to shut their doors when changing. My discussion with them on this point went something like this, "Do you want to walk in on Daddy when he's naked?" "NOOOOOO!!!!! EEWWWWW!!!!" was the response. To which I replied, "Then think about how he would feel if you forget to shut your door again." That solved the modesty issue in our house.:001_smile:

 

As for me, I read something when the girls were little that talked about "healthy nakedness." It talked about how inundated our young girls are with fake pictures of women. They actually need to see what a "normal" woman looks like, and they need to see me be comfortable in my own skin (harder than it sounds:glare:). We have to be careful as Moms, because we don't want to be exhibitionists. That's unhealthy too. So, if I'm changing and they see me, it's not a big deal, but I don't walk around the house naked, or flaunt myself or anything. That would send confusing, mixed messages.

 

Since there are no boys (brothers/sons) in our house, I think we're a little more open than we would be if I had a son. If I had a son, he would NOT see me naked, just like my girls don't see their dad naked.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

PS If you can't talk about this here, where can you talk about it? :D

[snickelfritz]

It is really more about their discomfort/need for privacy than mine.

 

This, absolutely. My 7 year old occasionally wants privacy. We give it to her. I tell them both that it is a respect issue. Since THEY are usually walking in on ME, it will be easy to stop it when they want to.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I'm a fairly modest person- the complete opposite of my mother. Growing up, she would always change right in front of me, walk in on me changing, etc. Even after I asked her not to/made it clear that I was uncomfortable. To this day (and she's in her 50s!) I dress much more conservatively than she does.

Dad always had on either a robe or some pants.

 

DD and I still bathe together- but that's at her request. When she starts asking for privacy- she'll have it. But she loves being naked, and is just now getting the idea of modesty. :tongue_smilie:

(Other than bathing- I wear at least shorts and a tank top around the house. Even when I'm alone I don't walk around nekkid. I may have some paranoid tendencies though... worried I'm being watched while I'm walking around in the buff. :lol:)

[Carrie12345]

I grew up in a house of girls. When my stepfather moved in, my sisters and I had a hard time understanding (even at 20, 17, and 14) why we suddenly had to start dressing in the bathroom, rather than walking to our rooms in a towel. That's just never been something that we'd think of as "inappropriate".

 

In my own house, I walk around in a towel all the time. I've also been known to fall asleep breastfeeding in the recliner, so you know how that can go. ;)

 

My almost-teen has been very protective of his privacy for a long time now. That's fine. We're still working on getting the 4yo to *at least* put underwear on. He's getting better, lol.

[Pretty in Pink]

Your poll choices are worded strangely so I did not select any of the options.

 

There has never been a time when my mother was embarrassed to change in front of me. She didn't make a habit of running about naked, but I could go in her bedroom while she changed and it was no big deal. It never bothered me. Still doesn't. I didn't see my father nude past the age of two or three; prior to that I sometimes showered or bathed with him. Again, not a big deal in our family. I saw my father shirtless all of the time during warm weather.

 

Neither my dh nor I run around naked all of the time (I believe that was how one of the choices was worded). We're not nudists. I have bathed regularly with each of my boys until the age of three or so. My 5yo is not uncomfortable seeing me nude yet. I don't make a habit of changing in front of him, but he sees me undressed probably once per week. My 7yo is no longer comfortable seeing mommy change and is careful to avoid doing so. My 12yo never sees me naked. I'm not above running to the dryer in my towel to grab something. It's not a big deal.

 

My dh is not comfortable changing in front of the boys past the age of three or so, though they do see him shirtless frequently.

 

I don't mind seeing naked babies at the beach, or letting my own run nude in our own backyard during the summer months until they are potty trained.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Pretty in Pink

[kchara]

My parents ran around in the nude in front of us (a boy and a girl) routinely. I really think it went over the top. It happened until I was around 12. When my dad married my stepmom (I was 12 at the time, and I lived with them) she finally made him stop and get clothes on. My mom still runs around half dressed or in a towel in front of us. It drives me insane. We promote modesty to our children.

 

In our home, the general cut off age is potty training. 4 is the absolute latest they see us nude, BUT... if they walk in, we don't freak out, we just ask them to leave. Privacy and modesty are big deals to me, probably because I wasn't taught either growing up.

[Aubrey]

The poll was phrased in just such a way that I had trouble answering. My parents covered up, BUT there were one or two occasions when I accidentally walked in on someone who was ASLEEP & perhaps could have used some clothing. But I've never told anyone this, as the story of Noah's sons freaked me out as a kid, lol.

 

We don't run around the house naked. I don't mind if the kids are in my room when I'm changing, as long as there's already underwear involved. We don't freak out if the kids see something, but...well, that might be more like what we think we ought to do; maybe we do freak out, lol. Mostly dh, though. I figure they're more likely to pay attention if we freak out.

 

So...while I'd like to say no one's seen anything since b'feeding was done, technically 4yo did figure out how to unlock the bedroom door a few months ago. I don't think she realized what she saw, but there may have been some freaking out. ;)

[amo_mea_filiis.]

As for me, I read something when the girls were little that talked about "healthy nakedness." It talked about how inundated our young girls are with fake pictures of women. They actually need to see what a "normal" woman looks like, and they need to see me be comfortable in my own skin (harder than it sounds:glare:).

 

Not sure if I've read this, but I feel the same about my son. I want him knowing what a woman looks like, and being comfortable about non-sexual nudity. Of course I want dd comfy as well.

[piraterose]

While I do have a memory of my mom showering with me a few times when I was young (4-7), and my dad did do outdoor work in shorts and no shirt, for the most part my parents were very much cover-up.

 

My family on the other hand is very laid back in the mornings. DD usually comes into our room in the morning to watch TV and we go from the master bath and out into the room to get dressed at various stages of undressed (I leave my towel in the bath room and come out full naked, DH will wear a towel until he's ready to put on underwear. DD dresses in her room or our room depending on connivence of where the clean clothes are at the moment.

 

I have been known to run down to the main floor to the dryer in undies, but for the most part the nakedness is limited to the upstairs, we're just not really modest in the bedrooms.

 

I figured modest would develop as DD got older, but at 7 she has not developed modesty yet. In fact last weekend we were at SIL's house and DD was getting ready to go in the pool and came out with her tankini top hanging down and needing to be tied and she didn't think twice about walking over to SIL's boyfriend to tie it. Of course I saw this (and the look on his face LOL) and called her over to have me tie it. Yikes!

Edited May 19, 2011 by piraterose

[TracyP]

My family and dh's (growing up) considered towels and underwear/bras to be decent. We are the same with our kids. We don't freak out about something seen here or there but we try to cover with something. I am the exception since I'm bf'ing. Maybe I would try to cover up if the kids were older but I guess it has never crossed my mind.:tongue_smilie:

 

:lol: I grew up with stories of Saturday sauna nights where all the ladies had a turn and the men took a turn later or whole families would go sauna together. My dad, brothers and uncles still like to do this on occasion so I feel downright prudish next to them.

[KristinaBreece]

We're... undecided. My family has always been fairly free about nudity, DH's mother walks around in a lined flannel zipped-to-her-chin bathrobe in August. In theory, I don't mind nakedness as a matter of course. But I don't like the way my body looks, so I try to be naked as rarely as possible. DH would walk around in nothing all whenever he's home if it were an option. However, we tend to have a lot of knocks on the doors, so he spends a lot of time in boxer briefs & a t-shirt... that way if he has to run by a window or something, he's at least covered.

 

DS4 is just hitting a sort of modesty stage. He won't let me supervise his shower anymore, and he asks me to close my eyes when I'm helping him wipe his behind or button his pants. I don't think he realizes that's almost always a bad idea. He will let DH check to make sure he's actually cleaned his hair, his p*nis & his feet when he showers, though-- and he doesn't mind me putting lotion on him from head to foot after he's clean & dry. All that, and he prefers just to wear underwear and a hoodie most of the time.

[beccad777]

It was no big deal to see my mom undressed, but never my dad. When kids of the opposite gender reach about 6 years old or so we cover up in front of them.

[JeneralMom]

My mum was frequently naked around me, but not so much around my brother. My Dad would go shirtless, but always had pants on.

 

Our kids see us naked all the time - they have no concept of privacy. Doesn't bother us in the least.

[Ginevra]

I put "we have an age cut-off", but it's not exactly like that. It's not as though the day they turn 6 (or whatever), they can never glimpse a bra again, but we're a "covered up" family on the whole. The gender matters, too. My youngest (boy) is 6 and I no longer let him see me in the shower or in unders. Same for the other way with dh and dd when she was little.

 

My parents were covered-up people, too, though my mom was a little more relaxed before my brother was born.

[Mom22ns]

In our house growing up the children were girls. My mom tended to be a bit of a nudist, very uninhibited. My father would sit around in underwear and a t-shirt a lot (mostly in the easy chair in his bedroom). It was relaxed, but my father never let us see him completely nude.

 

I've tried to raise my kids similarly, however, I have a boy and a girl so it isn't quite as easy. We didn't worry about covering up until they got old enough to be self-conscious about it. I would say somewhere between 10-12 they both got embarrassed to see or be seen unclothed. We try to be respectful of that, but we still don't make a big deal of it.

[Sparkle]

I tend to be pretty relaxed about being nude myself, dh is much more conservative. I do cover up though, because of the boys, mainly so they won't be embarrassed. I don't care if the girls see me changing, and they aren't bothered by it, yet anyway.

[momofkhm]

I had to chose other. Mom didn't care what we saw her in. Dad did. Seeing him in boxers/briefs was no big deal, but never less than that once I was, I don't know, 10?

 

I don't care if the kids see me in my unders. I don't care if the girls see me in less. DH tries to cover up but if someone sees, they see. The girls back off so if they see a naked behind, they won't even come near anyone.

[Lacie]

I voted "cover up but don't freak out" and "other"

 

The "other" was for parents... my mom didn't care too much, but I still didn't see much growing up. My dad I never saw indecent. My grandmother I saw quite a bit while she was getting dressed and she always left the bathroom door open. My grandfather ran around in his boxers and maybe a white undershirt.

[Virg]

My mum was frequently naked around me, but not so much around my brother. My Dad would go shirtless, but always had pants on.

 

Our kids see us naked all the time - they have no concept of privacy. Doesn't bother us in the least.

 

Thank goodness it isn't only me! We really don't care. Well I guess that isn't true of my step-son, lol I don't allow him to see me naked. My twins could care less.

[Ginevra]

This thread reminds me of a time I went over my SIL's. We were going out that night and she had a toddler at the time. She had gotten out of the shower and was drying her hair; the toddler was in the bathroom with her. I was waiting in the bedroom. Suddenly, the toddler flung the double-doors wide open and SIL was wearing nothing but a tennis bracelet! It was pretty hilarious, and they are a "naked" family (apparently), but the part that I thought was weird was - she was drying her hair. It's not like she just at that moment had stepped out of the shower. I just can't imagine standing there drying my hair, staring at my full frontal while I scald my shoulders with the hair dryer. ;)

 

Back to your regularly scheduled post. :D

[4ofus]

I have sons ~ 8 & almost 7; we don't shut doors. The exception is dh & I do shut the door to use the bathroom. Not to shower. The boys don't shut doors for anything. :tongue_smilie: (Please note all of these types of activities take place upstairs) However, the boys do not have "free reign" over our bedroom or our bathroom. If it is empty they may certainly enter. If they hear the shower running or see the bathroom door closed, they are to simply leave. We sometimes have exchanges in underwear or towels, but when a ds comes running into the room while I'm exiting the shower or changing I remind them that shower/dressing time is my private quiet time & I will be available shortly. It's really not a body thing for me as much as I want them to be courteous. They are free to be naked upstairs all they like, if they like. If they come down naked I send them back upstairs. No nudity in common areas please. I think this translates well to the real world :). My dh does not request the same privacy while changing. He.does.not.care. So they have a fine hilarious time when they see dad hanging out in all his glory. Note: dh does not walk around naked outside of our bedroom & bathroom. This applies to his pre & post showering & dressing times.

 

A couple of funnies that just came to mind :

 

My dh is bald~one of the boys once had an epiphany~he came running to tell us (& the grands) he knew why dad didn't have any hair! Why? (we walked right into this one) b/c it's on his weiner! :w00t:

 

Next: we got a kitten last summer & I recall telling my little:

Son, you need to cover that thing up, she's gonna get you! That kitten was just waiting for the right moment to pounce....

 

Silly boys :).

[Julie Smith]

I'm not one to sit around in my underwear,

 

My dh likes to take off his pants when he gets home from work. I admit they need to be changed after the bike ride home. But I suppose some people might find it strange that he sits around in his undies.

 

I did vote for "We run around naked all the time". But I don't RUN around naked. Do you have any idea what would happen. Black eyes from my booKs hitting my eyes.

 

Walk around naked is more like it. And that is just if we have a reason to. I do sleep naked and I'm not getting dressed to go to the bathroom...

[kitten18]

Naked. Lots of naked. I assume as they get older (They are 6 and 4), they'll probably pull a "put a shirt on Mom". Then I will respect their wishes. But I will never ever be worried about nakedness.

That's pretty much us. Not completely naked but underwear for DH and bra and underwear for me.

There was never a time when my parents shut their door and didn't dress in front of us.

 

We're still working on getting the 4yo to *at least* put underwear on. He's getting better, lol.

My DS(5) used to be naked all. the. time. He would take all his clothes off to go to the bathroom and not put them on again. It is getting much better, he is almost always dressed (at least pants) now.

 

This thread reminds me of a time I went over my SIL's. We were going out that night and she had a toddler at the time. She had gotten out of the shower and was drying her hair; the toddler was in the bathroom with her. I was waiting in the bedroom. Suddenly, the toddler flung the double-doors wide open and SIL was wearing nothing but a tennis bracelet! It was pretty hilarious, and they are a "naked" family (apparently), but the part that I thought was weird was - she was drying her hair. It's not like she just at that moment had stepped out of the shower. I just can't imagine standing there drying my hair, staring at my full frontal while I scald my shoulders with the hair dryer. ;)

 

Back to your regularly scheduled post. :D

When I was in college, there was a girl in my sorority pledge class that was like that. She would come into your room, fully naked, plop on your bed and start chatting. :lol:

 

I put on underwear as soon as I am dry and I put a bra on too, to lift the girls back into place.;) Even if I am alone in the house, I like to have on a bra and underwear.

[stansclan89]

I voted that we have an age cutoff, but the actual age is determined by when the child is no longer comfortable with it. It's usually somewhere between 10 and 12 and only with the opposite sex.

[Peela]

My parents were rather liberal in that respect and I frequently saw them naked, right through my teenage years. No problem walking into the bathroom, and we had a country cottage where we swam naked in the river. We all enjoyed it.

 

Dh also walks around naked. I seem to have become a little more modest in my middle age :) but it still doesn't bother me if my kids see me naked- but I don't walk around the house naked. But we have a spa in the garden, where dh and I sit naked every day, and the kids will often come and chat to us there. I wouldn't use bathers in the swimming pool, either, unless we had visitors.

 

However, although we have never made a big deal out of it, I have 2 very modest kids, neither of whom I have seen naked for years. I do believe ds and his friends have naked swims in the pool at night time though :)

[amy g.]

I have 4 girls and we are naked in front of each other daily.

 

Whenever I take a bath, my 2 youngest insist on getting in with me, then my 12 year old wanders in looking for her sisters. After that, my 16 year old comes in to ask me a question. We say, "Come on in and join the party!"

 

I let my son take the lead on when he wanted more modesty. One day when he was about 8, I noticed that he started talking to me through the door when I was in the bathroom.

 

I am very, very careful to respect his privacy, but I don't think he really cares. I know he will ask a sister to bring him TP or a towel when he is in the bathroom.

[Janie Grace]

I guess I'd be an example of extreme causing extreme. I saw my parents naked all the time. They were sort of hippies. I hated it.

 

We cover up. I am okay if the kids see me in underwear but I am *never* naked in front of them.

[Wheres Toto]

My mother was a single parent and used to run around in bra and undies while getting dressed. This would be in front of me and my brother I think. Don't remember for sure if my brother was around or not. Never saw my dad anything but entirely dressed but he didn't live with us.

 

Oldest DD and DH never see each other naked. DH is her step-dad, she is 17 years old, it would be entirely inappropriate. DD does run from the bathroom to her room wrapped in a towel (literally three steps) and runs around in sports bra/tank top and shorts before bed. DH wears loose, thin cotton shorts and no shirt to bed.

 

I have gone in the bathroom while dd was in the shower if it was an emergency (only one bathroom here) but our curtain is pretty opaque and I'm not peeking. I've seen her dress/undress at dance competitions for years.

 

Everybody sees me naked because no body leaves me alone in the bathroom. Anyone will walk in if they need something while I'm in the shower or otherwise busy. DS and younger dd run around naked after baths, dd never wears anything but a pull-up when we're home. So they are both already well aware of the differences in boys and girls. They may walk in on dh in the bathroom or the bedroom while he is changing.

Edited May 20, 2011 by dottieanna29

[Wheres Toto]

nm - don't want to hijack.