Nude Family swim at Stoke Waterworld

I don't believe that was said, but a family event is just that surely? Just comes across as odd that single people would go to an advertised FAMILY swim. Even without the naturist part, it would be odd for a single person to attend a family event anyway surely?

"Family fun day out" aka avoid like the plague for those without children.

Slightly more seriously I've seen events marketed as no access for adults unless accompanied by a child.

Yes - it's a safeguarding policy. It shows there's a risk which is acknowledged and guarded against.

Pelleas

How is it guarded against?

I've asked this a couple of times. There are no DBS checks and it would appear that single men are allowed to join in.

I'm trying to establish what is to stop a paedophile, convicted or otherwise, from joining in? Any of them, or all of them?

Yes thanks dark and bonkers for sharing your experiences and illuminating a bit about this world.

Reading about this Waterworld event has actually made me very upset.

Darkmilk and Bonkers, thank you for sharing your experiences on this thread. I had no 8dea this was something that Naturists did with their children, I always assumed it was something some parents might do on their first holiday alone once their children were grown up.

Darkmilk, hope you're okay. Counselling sounds like a good idea. Part of the shame you feel probably comes with the very uncomfortable knowledge that your dad was sexually abusive. That's not a nice thing to realise, and I'm sure you realised it before, subconsciously, but tried to keep it suppressed because it's so awful to think about. Also, that realisation that you didn't speak up for yourself and say no is a really hard thing to come to terms with. That sounds victim-blamey, I don't mean it to, it's impossible for women and girls to say no sometimes but it doesn't stop it making it all hard to process. And that knowledge that you have struggled to say "no" before makes you feel very vulnerable for the future.

I hope that doesn’t sound awful, I'm not very good at explaining myself.

As for the Naturist community not being full of pedos. Well, I'm sure there are many genuine naturists there, but like every other group were access to children has lower safeguarding barriers, pedos and abusers will gravitate towards them, just like Oxford, Saville, Catholic Church, and countless other examples, as we all know.

@DarkmilkAddict & @Bonkersblond
I think you have both been incredibly brave to share your experiences on here. Let’s all hope that it makes some naturist parents think twice about what they are involving their children in. Maybe it will make them more aware of adults around their children, maybe it will make them offer their children some choice in whether to be naked or not, who knows.

Going back to the naked swimming event at Waterworld, the cynical part of me wonders whether the choice of a water slide park is a deliberate choice to attract minors to the event.

@DarkmilkAddict and @Bonkersblond thank you both so, so much for being so brave on this thread. I'm in awe at you staying calm and reasonable in the face of gaslighting and justifying the unjustifiable. Thank you so much again

@DarkmilkAddict

Unfortunately for the DC whose parents are actively Naturists with their DC, you won’t find out how they really feel about it until they are adult DC perhaps with their own DC, if they carry on being Naturists, all well and good for you, if they don’t, can you live with that after experiences shared here, is it worth the risk? For what it’s worth at our Naturist club, there were families but I don’t remember there being 3 generations of a family on a sunny day out, thank goodness my grandparents weren’t involved in it too.

Why don't you read the full thread, testing
Yes, is the short answer

Thanks for answering, I have read the whole thread, but I had misremembered, thought you were a parent.

I can see from your posts that you still feel fine about it, but would it not be better if it was acceptable for children to wear swimsuits/clothes if they want? I hate the idea of teenagers feeling they didn't have a choice.

I’m going to arrange counselling as I want to unearth the ways I suspect I’ve been affected. But just having loads of women here say it’s not right has been so helpful. Children always blame themselves

Bonkersblond same here. I’ve written down some of the most comforting comments in my journal.

I’m sorry it affected you badly too. I got the feeling that other older children were also deeply weirded out by it, but we never talked about it

So you're not allowed to be a naturist unless you have children?

I don't believe that was said, but a family event is just that surely? Just comes across as odd that single people would go to an advertised FAMILY swim. Even without the naturist part, it would be odd for a single person to attend a family event anyway surely?

I find the idea that, because someone has had children, they are 'safe' to be misguided. An awful lot of child abuse happens within the family circle.

I wouldn't say someone was 'safe' as they have kids. But they are..well placed to be at a family event. Unlike a single person with no children?!

For the record, I would feel the same if families were trying to get tickets to an advertised singles night or something like that. Adults (except for where a carer is needed, as that came to mind immediately) buying tickets for a 'teen night', kids buying tickets for an adult night, etc etc. Its just people pushing their way into places they shouldn't be..for whatever reason.

@LouMumsnet - Please do not take this down, I have got more out of this thread than any counselling session, I haven’t detailed all that I experienced, I think myself and others have been subjected to enough without a possible weirdo lurking on this thread getting kicks out of what I personally went through.

Handsoff I can’t tell you how much your kind words mean to me

I credited you with enough intelligence not to use the word 'exactly' when that wasn't what you meant. Or are you one of those people who thinks 'literally' is an emphatic, not a descriptor?

You are confused about "literally" and "exactly". You did not literally say certain words; the conclusion of your argument however is exactly the same as if you had.

I'm not sure I can make this any clearer- still nitpicking on my comment is a useful distraction for you. It avoids any need for you to answer the question as to why children should be exposed naked to naked adult strangers.

Yes I’d be gutted if this was taken down