Naked children in mixed changing rooms-am I pearl clutching?

[AutisticLegoLover]

Ds is 8 and goes to swimming lessons at a local pool. It's mixed changing. Just lately there's always been children aged around 5 showering naked after their swim. It's an open shower area with no cubicles. So when you walk in they are there in your line of vision. The changing room is full of all ages from babies to the elderly. Ds commented today that he doesn't want to see naked people. Surely it's inappropriate to be showering your dc naked in a mixed setting? Or am I clutching?

I do think it is common for little kids to be naked and I wouldn’t judge but I think 5 is a bit too old to do that.

I agree. I’ve taken my kids swimming over a good few years and not once did any parent strip off their 5 years old in view of others. At our local pool there is a lockable shower cubicle that can be used but the showers on the side of the changing room area were only ever for a quick shower and hair wash while drinking trunks/costumes were still on.

Drinking??? Meant swimming trunks

I work in safeguarding

Always said by a Jobsworth

Our swimming pool has signs up saying swimwear to be worn when showering unless using one of the shower cubicles which have doors.

But it's appropriate in the setting of a shower and changing room. Where you get changed

I’m Swedish and totally agree with you. I’m in Stockholm and during the warmer months our square is full of naked kids splashing around in the fountain. Nobody bats and eyelid.

To the person asking if there are more sexual assaults in Germany/Scandinavia, no 3 year old showering next to their parent is going to get sexually assaulted.

How do people get clean if they have to shower dressed? We always had to shower after PE in school too so I have seen all of my female classmates naked until I finished school at 18. It’s not a big deal. We all have a body and roughly the same body parts.

This.

Your son is 8. He is telling you he is uncomfortable about bodies and privacy.

At what point are you planning to let him get changed by himself in the men's? Cos that's really about what this conversation should be about. He's embarrassed and feels awkward.

The OP already said it is a mixed changing room. Many leisure centres don't have separate male and female areas.

I was just thinking its a good job some people don't go on holiday in a variety of European countries.

I don't think its OK to desensitive children to being naked around strange adults. But then I was abused by a pedophile as a child so I do have a different perspective.

This is the reason why it’s not a good idea. I wouldn’t want my children to be the object of some dodgy adult’s predilection for young naked bodies.

In communal showers , it's exactly why they're there. If they are cubical that's different What is the problem?
You probably did but didn't understand the big words

Your son probably has a problem because he's learnt that from you.

Jesus wept. What a sad state of affairs.

Just read further, where I am you must be naked in the communal showers. It's a way of ensuring that only females or young male children are in there.
If they are mixed then I do see how it could be problematic.

Yes you are pearl clutching.

I don't really understand why people are so panicked about peadophiles when a naked child is with their parent? What is actually going to happen? Firstly, i really don't think pedophilia is THAT common. I think it would be staggeringly unlikely to be in the same as one at any time. But also, even if there was, and you child was naked with you, and you were in a changing room... What are they going to do really? And surely you'd notice someone staring at your child in a suspicious way?

But all young children at swimming pools are with their parent or (hopefully) a trustworthy carer. Sure a paedophile may be there having inappropriate thoughts, but since when can we police thoughts? When there are high profile cases of children who've been abducted by paedophiles, the children are usually fully clothed anyway, so it's not as if this protects them.

Yabu they are children 🤷‍♀️

Not a chance I’d be showering my child completely naked. Of course it’s completely innocent but unfortunately you can’t control over peoples thoughts and it’s not a risk I’d take.

Ha! Google "cubical". It's only seven letters but you still couldn't get the right word...

Seriously, on what authority are you claiming that every communal shower in every swimming pool in the country is only for washing off chlorine and for no other purpose?

What do you mean by "mixed changing", though? Same sex except for young children but just different ages? Certainly not adults together, I would believe. If it's only very young children of the opposite sex that's one thing.

5?! Gosh you have some serious issues if you think this is inappropriate

I think it depends on the child. My ds 6 and dd 8 would not get changed/ shower surrounded by other people, my ds 5 wouldn't bat an eyelid. I think there absolutely should be the option of privacy, especially in a mixed environment.

When my niece was around 7 we were asked to cover her top half at a Disney resort pool in Orlando. That was about 15 years ago.

I was quite saddened by the request at the time as it indicated that Disney staff were concerned about nonces and it made me feel that we’d been irresponsible in a way.