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.

@Mmmmbrekkie

I followed the link to see if there was an option to book as a non member, I couldn't find a way. I stand corrected if I missed it, can you confirm how non members book?

Not for me, but it's no different to nude beaches in Europe. No big deal.

You even see lots of young children running around naked on regular beaches in the UK (whilst everyone else is clothed). Can't understand the problem.

The article said it was open to members and non members.

8 - 10pm is too late for young kids - a family event should surely be at a different time, and exclusive to members.

I can’t see the issue sorry. Child see adults naked. And?? Go to any beach in Spain/south if France in summer and you will see nearly as much as in a naturist beach. Naturist beach are nit unusual too.
As for being open to all.... and? Don’t you think that paedophiles wouod have worked out already that they just need to join a club to go and see naked children? They dint need that sort if events to have ‘free access’. They would just need to join a club. Or go to a beach in the summer. There will nit be more grooming happening that if they were fully clothed/at the beach etc....

I think I have more issue with the paedophile hunters tbh.

@Mmmmbrekkie

I know what the newspaper article said! That doesn't mean it's correct, or do you blindly believe everything you read in the paper?

The club have booked the venue and are responsible for ticketing. They will have their own safeguarding procedures in place, strangers rocking ip are not going to be allowed in. It will be bona fide members and their guests (non members), not a paedophile free for all!!!!

Gosh, there really are STILL this many stupid people? This event is no more dangerous than any other. Being naked is not inherently dirty, or about sex, or immoral. As PP have said, child abusers are more likely to be running kids' clubs or, of course, religious institutions than hanging out at a nudist event on the off-chance. If more nude swims/beach trips etc went on, people would be happier with their own bodies generally.

I don't see the issue with it, as long as any parents who take their children do fully supervise them.

A lot of abuse happens from people the children know rather than strangers. People seem to concerned by unknown paedophiles having access to the children - I wonder what the abuse figures are like between naturist and non-naturist children and whether the fact that naturist children are more open and self-assured about their bodies (rather than it being a secret sexual thing) empowers them against it.

I go to the south of france in the summer, and kids are mostly covered up, it is quite conservative.

I don't think it is to do with stupidity, reanimated. I don't have an issue with dc seeing adults naked when and if appropriate, or the naked body generally, but I would have an issue with paedophiles watching my dc, and more so if my dc had no clothes on. Just as I have an issue with men letching after me. So the fact that this event is open to non naturists does make it seem somewhat less sensible. It is also too late in the evening to be sensibly a family event including young children.

Massive over reaction for all the reasons previously mentioned.

If you don’t want to go don’t. Other people have different opinions on nudity than you do. Paedophiles are less, not more, likely to be an issue at this than your average family swim time.

How can the children even fully consent to randoms seeing them naked? It’s all kinds of fucked up boundary blurring crap.

How can children consent to any adults seeing them at all?

Totally agree fissionchip5

Oh, family members see them naked so therefore it’s ok for members of the public to see them naked too?

I can understand why it's an emotive debate. Personally, I lean towards the argument that some people will find children sexually attractive no matter what and it's our job to make sure our children are supervised to minimise the chance of that being acted upon. But I do understand why nudity poses an extra level of 'uncomforableness' for lots of people.
We were loosely aiming to raise our children to be comfortable around nudity etc . Reception aged DD has recently had the 'pants' talk at school and has become noticeably more self conscious and modest since then. I do support the thinking behind 'pants' but it's made me a little sad that one of the things she took away from it is that she needs to be covered all the time.

The Blackpool one was in the local rag. They had a list of attendees that had apparently been vetted, no turn up on the door, not on the list can’t come in etc.

I feel uncomfortable being naked in the presence of other people, but even I think this is a massive over reaction.

As an aside, wouldn't it be a little uncomfortable using water slides etc when naked?

For those asking, it does say that the event is open to non members.
I may be wrong so feel free to correct me, but the only thing you need for membership anyway is photo ID and an email address.
I’ve been trying to find out a bit more about the one in Blackpool that happened recently, the video I watched showed a few older single men attending. Why would single men want to go to what is advertised as a family event? I know waterworld, it’s not the kind of place these men would go for a men only swim, it’s a water park. I could understand more if it was a proper swimming pool and they were having an actual swim naked, but this just doesn’t sit right with me.
I know parents are responsible for the safety of their children, but how many of them are going to 100% supervise their child? It’s virtually impossible. If kids want to go on the slides, which parent is going to go with them to queue up every time? You can’t see the queues from most places in the park, it’s a fair walk from say the wave pool to the top of the slides, if some dirty bastard wants to go stand in line next to your child to get a better look, maybe brush up against them or touch them you wouldn’t know or be able to do a thing about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am in no doubt that this is also the case with clothed children. You need eyes everywhere, nowhere is safe, but to knowingly show off ‘the goods’ so to speak, is surely just inviting trouble.
It’s not the same as being on a beach (which I personally wouldn’t attend with my DCs), there’s better visibility for supervision on a beach, this place has so many places where it’s possible to assault a child and it’s too late once it’s happened.
Is there definitely no phones? The restaurant/cafe thing is right next to it, so technically someone could be taking photos of kids whilst sat there.
I really do think it should be adults only.

darkside
I agree with you entirely. Incidentally my daughter had the pants talk at her nursery just before Christmas also.

Nudism is not my kind of thing as I have crippling self esteem issues, but I try to take steps to ensure my daughter doesn’t hate her body the way I do mine. This includes letting her see me dress and not being awkward around the nude body. I also try to exercise and not talk about certain foods as bad, anyway I digress...I can see why nudism is a good approach to having positive and realistic images of bodies, but sadly we do have to consider there are awful people in this world and as parents we make what decisions we think are right to protect our children from them.
However I don’t believe being nude or wearing a swimming costume will stop a paedophile, if that’s what they are then a piece of Lycra as a poster said above, won’t change that.
I wouldn’t attend an event like this, but if it’s what your into, I can’t see how it’s any more unsafe than the public paddling pools in the summer.

Northern I don't think most people assume that a paedophile will attack a child at an event like this...what makes most people unhappy about it is the thought of those people getting a kick out of looking.

For me, that's enough to think "Why have an event like that?"

I read that the NSPCC have said they are fine with it. People need to try and think logically and stop trying to ban everything they don't agree with

But if they DO get a kick out of looking, what of it? Unless the child is aware, no harm done. I know it's not nice to think it could be happening, but it COULD be happening at any time. I don't think clothes make a difference.

I feel very uncomfortable with the argument that you shouldn't put 'the goods' out there... It feels like you're putting the blame on victims. Like telling women they were raped because they were dressed provocatively.

If someone sexually assaulted, perves over or harasses you, it's not because of anything you did, wore or didn't wear. Its because of their mentality.

I also don't understand the whole nudism thing, it just seems very odd to me, and when you invoke your kids, it's downright disturbing, but I also don't understand the difference between this and naturist clubs and holidays where children are present. Anyone can go there too. Yet there doesn't seem to be an outcry about those.

I’ve no issue with it. Me or my kids being naked is no big deal. I’d keep them safe whether clothed or not. Nakedness is not a problem. Probably nearly all these outraged people have paedophiles in their immediate family and just don’t know it (statistically highly likely). A naturist event is not a concern as long as parents stay monitoring their kids as the should do anyway.

Probably nearly all these outraged people have paedophiles in their immediate family and just don’t know it (statistically highly likely

WTAF? Can you link to those stats? Because that sounds dangerously deluded.