Half-naked children

[MadamAnt]

DD (4) and DS (2) do not like wearing clothes. They are currently frolicking (inside) wearing a frilly nighty and a fairy dress. I'm sure they must be cold, but enforced clothes-wearing results in tears and tantrums (mine). It's OK to just let them get on with it isn't it? If they get really cold they'll find themselves a jumper or summat, right?

You'll know if they're really cold by how blue they get.

so which is DS wearing the nightie or the fairy outfit

It's absolutley fine and you can even let them play in the garden like it

DD is the same - as soon as she comes home its off with her clothes and on with either a summer dress or dressing up stuff. I let her get on with it and she puts on a cardi if she's cold - though it has to be her flimsy fairy cardi.....

Right - DS's first trip to the toilet usually ends with nakedness from the waist down! Just not worth the battle - unless we are going out

I'd just occasionally ask whether they want a jumper on - and have one (acceptable) to hand - then no one can accuse you of being anything other than a really supportive mother

Oh yes. DS1 usually gets to a point in the day when he declares that he has 'had enough pants and trousers for today' and runs around bare-bottomed for the rest of the day. He also took off his trousers at his 3rd birthday party, which I took as a sign that he had had enough and that everyone could now go home thankyouverymuch.

Jolly good

lol at "really supportive mother"

And for the record DS is wearing the fairy outfit. He looks delectably snuzzlable.

Many is the time I've turned up at nursery and had to prise the princess/fairy skirt off ds... Jeans underneath somehow doesn't quite go with the whole look though - so I think your ds definitely has the right idea

As a slight deviation, how old can a little girl be before she shouldn't go naked?? My Mum lives in Spain and when out there is quite happy to swim in the nude (private pool), but my Mum thinks it's totally inappropriate for an 8 year old. She will wear bikini bottoms at the beach, but this summer Mum has said she really thinks DD1 should cover up. Surely an 8yo is still a little girl and shouldn't be hung up on nudity. I envy her the freedom and confidence she has in her body and want her to enjoy this innocence for as long as possible. I think she might only have a short time before she becomes aware of her body.

I use my children's (3 and 1) outfits as a clock counting down to bathtime. Somewhere in the course of the afternoon (once home) they will start slowly stripping off (socks then trousers followed by top etc), they are normally at the underwear stage (or possibly underwear and t-shirt) by about suppertime and fully stripped by bathtime.

at supportive mother

drivinmecrazy - I'd say until your dd is conscious of it? She'll let you know as soon as she's not comfortable running about / swimming in the buff. (Mind you, I live in Scandinavia where no-one bats an eyelid at naked children running round the beach, topless women of all ages etc)

At least yours wear some clothes - mine run around inside and ourside nudey rudey dudey as they call it, in all weathers.

I am trying to instaill approrpiateness in my 4 year old to no avail

DC3 (22mths) hates clothes too. If we are not going out for the day then I usually just bung a body on him to run around in, we usually have a fight to get it on, but he takes his nappy off so for my own sanity I put it on him.

UpSince, lucky you! Here in Brazil they stick bikini tops on babies!
And love your bedtime clothes clock...

Eek - not sure I am overly fond of the idea of a bikini top on a baby. (Not overly fond of the idea of a bikini on me either, but that's another story )

I have only just persuaded my daughter (2.11 years) to put her clothes on, she has spent the morning in her knickers. Also I have a very clingy 6 month old DS and I have discovered that if I strip him and leave him to kick about on a changing mat he will happily play for 15ish minutes, I can now wash with 2 hands LOL.

I hope I have bred a couple of streakers

It should be HAVEN'T!!!

DD was generally stakers at home. I only realised it might be a problem when I had a film developed at Boots and the manager came and talked to me about it - is that your little girl in the photos? doesn't she like clothes?

It wasn't until I got home that I realised he might have been a little suspicious.

According to my mil I am a bad mother because I don't insist that ds (4) wears a vest underneath his t shirt and a jumper on top. I have tried to tell her (countless times) that he is quite a warm little soul and dosn't need extra blankets taken out of the cupboard to put on his bed, or extra clothes dug out from the bottom of his boxes in the wardrobe...

DD is always wearing exactly a third of what any sensible grown-up is. But then, they never stop moving, do they?

DD loves running around "nudey girl".

I rarely put trousers on DS (4 mths) at home cos I love looking at his chunksome thighs .

DD has been home from pre-school for 1 hour and already removed her shoes, socks and jumper. After next trip to the toilet she will probly be sans knickers and jeans and just prance around in her vest and shirt for as long as I let her.

We also regularly go to tuck her in at night and find she has removed her bottoms, what's that all about?? 'Airing her bits' as my mum used to say!

My four year old quite deliberately wont wear clothes driving his father mental. I, however dont really mind it and just chuck him a warm blanket if it gets nippy.

Well my 11 and 13 year old still strip off when they get home from school, though thankfully they now keep their boxers on