AIBU or is this a MAJOR safeguarding issue?

[Whatthefudgeisthis]

NC for this,

I’ve been absolutely stunned at the ignorance shown by the organisers with this one! A naturist night at the water park 😱 this place is designed for kids entertainment, it’s basically loads of water slides a wave pool and play area etc
Who in their right mind would take a child to such an event. Obviously I’m not shooting down naturists, each to their own, but this is an event that ANYONE can attend. Known paedophiles have attended these events, with one saying that he can’t even swim. What the actual fuck is going on? Who thought this one up?
If adults want to swim naked that’s their call, but why open the event to children too?

I’m pretty sure I’m not the one missing the blindingly obvious here, but I’m so amazed at the stupidity I had to share and maybe raise some awareness.

www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/family-nude-swimming-session-coming-2589946

These events are being held across the country, so there’s possibly one near you.

I haven't yet experienced or seen or heard or intuited anything that would lead me to reconsider that not going at all would be 'safer'.

Though I think it very suspicious and a bit sick to want to take a lot of photos of other people's children (and not a thing I would want to do), strictly legally it is not 'child abuse', as no actual harm is done to the children

The business of keeping and viewing illegal photographs of children is probably a symptom of a sick mind, but again it does not harm the child.

I’ll keep asking.......

These comments, from someone that is supporting your cause and quite probably attending the events, is not enough to make you question whether it’s a good thing????

Maybe show these comments to your children and see if they agree with him.

@whatthefudgeisthis

So from all I've said about my experience of naturism, the one thing you want me to do now is show my children two comments from some guy on a discussion thread, ask my children if they agree with him and report that back to you???

@hotwaterbottleweather

Thank you xxx

Well you weren’t answering, so yes please. I’m genuinely interested

I explained a good while ago the flaws in your questioning method and hence why I'm not answering you....

You know we’re right, hence why you’re not answering me!

All too weird for me! Naturism is not my thing, but I don't have a problem with adults getting naked with each other if they want. They can consent etc..

I do have a problem with kids being taken to these events. Why would you do that? ... Too weird.

@whatthefudgeisthis

I don't tend to base my opinion of someone I haven't interacted with on the basis of two things they've said to someone else on the internet.

This whole discussion is about naturism and safeguarding and therefore is important.

Im happy to answer genuine, sensible questions that are not aggressive or accusatory in tone, that contribute to the understanding of the topic as a whole.

If this person is going to these events and those are his views on child abuse then it’s valid to this discussion on safeguarding as those are some quite controversial views which most people would instantly disagree with.

As a naturist potentially mixing with this person or others like him, with your children present, that opinion is also valid. Not only valid, extremely important.

@whatthefudgeisthis

Thank you - that makes more sense and has a bit more context to it.

However, my opinions of someone else's opinions are still only going to be just one person having an opinion about someone else's isolated comment. I'm still not convinced that is hugely valid overall.

And in terms of my own personal safeguarding for my family, it's not going to contribute my judgment around attending naturist events - a. because I haven't personally interacted with this person and b. because I don't tend to discuss everyone's opinion on child abuse within a naturist setting in order to determine their 'validity' so to speak...

I imagine lots of people I interact with both in a naturist and non-naturist have very controversial views but I don't usually interact with people on such a level in a naturist setting so much that they would inform me of their views on child photography etc. It also doesn't mean they will abuse my children.

I think your original question was along the lines of 'would I let him near my children'. Again, that is presupposing that I have a system for that kind of thing. Also, 'near my children' is quite vague - near as in sat next to, across the way, out of sight, avoid walking past etc etc. I don't tend to think of people in those terms really...

Just to chime in, I was brought up in a naturist household. We went to an BN organised swim weekly in a local community sports centre, went on holiday to naturist campsites in the UK and France.

I can honestly say I don't have any negative feelings about it, it was just something that we did. There was a group of families who were all friends and still are to this day- on family we have a particualry close bond with and I regard their daughter as a sister. None of the children from those are active naturists now, but we also don't bat an eyelid when someone else is naked and have no problem with naturissm as a concept. As a PP said, on the whole it is a very non-sexual experience.

I don't recall there ever being safeguarding issues, and then, as is now, single men were not allowed to enter what was a fairly restricted space. Although I was small, I have vague recollections of there being talk of people considered to be 'weird' and everyone kept their distance from them. I can't comment on how or if this has now changed as I am not really an active naturist, but I assume the community is still fairly self-policing to a point.

It's not something I practice now with my own children, although a couple of years ago, when the kids were 3 and 1 we went to a naturist camp in France with my parents and a family friend. It was my DH's first experience of a naturist environment (apart from my parents house) and he thought he would be terribly uncomfortable but really wasn't and got quite into being generally naked. The nudity isn't enforced, if you want to wear clothes/ cover up then no-one particularly cares.

I'm not trying to act as an advocate for naturism, I just wanted to present an alternative viewpoint from the "any parent who takes their children to such events should be reported to social services" line of thinking.

@handsoffmysweets

I'm not being vague - I'm being asked a ridiculous question about a random, imaginary scenario where someone called OrdinaryDad introduces himself to me as that, and I at that point, having never met him or know anything about him, and in this bizarre scenario I am to decide at that point, wherever I am, whether to allow him to 'have contact with my children' whatever that means...

I'm sorry, that's the weirdest question I've been asked about naturism and safeguarding so far...

having never met him or know anything about him

You do know stuff about him, you know the quotes.

So, based solely on those quotes, would you allow your children to attend an event (eg that family swim event) knowing that he is present and if so, would you take any precautions?

Have we had a single naturist condem those remarks yet?

I can’t help but wonder if Claireluna5 already knows Ordinarydad and that’s why she’s afraid to say? Makes sense that if members of BN are on here defending their swim, they’ll probably know each other. All the answers seem a bit cut and paste/rehearsed etc

The reason I am not answering your direct question is because it is based on engineering a whole scenario from tiny fragments and what ifs and imagined events, and trying to turn that into an understanding of the whole of naturism and safeguarding. This is very dangerous. You want to pigeon hole my answer to support your whole pre-formed view of naturism. It is a clever tactic, but it is a game I am not playing.

I am very comfortable with how we enjoy naturism as a family, who I am as a person and as a mother, and how I navigate any potential safeguarding risks in the entirety of our family life.

You don't understand naturism - that's ok - if it's not for you....

Ah, I knew you may not have fully grasped what naturism is...

My other posts above will give you an accurate insight into naturism, compared with what you have just expressed you think it is.

The reason I am not answering your direct question is because it is based on engineering a whole scenario from tiny fragments and what ifs and imagined events

You mean like a risk assessment? 🙄