Naked kids on the beach - would you let them?

[ssd]

I mean would you let your say 6 year old play naked on the beach?

Today thanks to the sun at last we went to the beach, it was fairly busy. A family next to us let their approx. 6 year old boy play around the waters edge naked for a while before the cold got to him and he put on pants as in underpants. The other kids ages about 3 - 9 years old were playing in their underpants (all boys).

Now I'm not prudish but I don't think its acceptable to let a child play on a beach naked, nor would I want an older child playing in his pants. My ds1 would never play and run around in front of strangers in only his pants and he's 7, the other kids I mean were older than him.

I don't care what anyone does at home or in their garden, but I'd want them dressed more appropriately at a beach.

What do you think?

long thread!

I'd have no problems with my 5 year old ds ( or a 7 year old) running around naked on a beach, if others were doing it too. If the beach was crowded and all the other 5 year olds had swimsuits on, I'd want ds to wear one too, so he wouldn't stand out on that particular beach. I wouldn't want him to sense people were staring at him. I think at 5 he just might pick up on the fact that people were staring at him - and by people I don't mean peadophiles. I wouldn't want him to be the possible object of teasing and pointing from other children and risk him feeling self conscious about being naked. On a beach with other children happily running around naked, I'd have no qualms about ds joining them.

I felt more worried about paedophiles when my oldest son was out in public in his cubs uniform, tbh. I would never let him walk back from cubs alone. This is probably me making wrong assumptions about paedophiles and uniforms, but there you go.

Picking up on nerdgirl's news about her 7 year old being denied access to the ladies changing room. Sympathies - I agee with others that the most practical solution is to use the disabled loos for changing and campaign for a family changing area.

I faced a similar situation with when my oldest son was 8 years old. As he was too old for the creche, he used to come into the exercise room and sit at the side for an hour while I took part in an exercise and weights class. He kept himself occupied with books and his gameboy. The class was mostly made up of women, but men were welcome. However, a women complained to the class teacher, and directly to me, about my son being present. She (and apparently a few others)didn't feel it was appropriate that an 8 year old boy was watching her doing strenuous exercise and the class teacher banned him from attenting Trying to explain this to my mystified 8 year old was not nice.

I complained in writing to the leisure centre, asking exactly what I was meant to do with my son while I was in a class - he was too old for the creche and too young to go to the swimming pool unattended. The reply stated that there were no childcare facilities for older children because there was no demand for them - load of rubbish, I think!

I tend to limit them to not being naked on the sea front trampolines, but crikes people LOADS of kids are naked on the beach, its all cool man....stop stressing

Tigermoth, in your situation I simply wouldn't have been willing to stop myself telling that woman that she was a neurotic, uptight lunatic.

Because she is!

sorry folks... couldn't let this lie.... just noticed HMC's post to me.

HMC - You're SO quick to insult.... dismiss comments and to "go off on one"... yet you add a smiley or a comment at the end that you think plays down what you've posted.... well it doens't and to say that I'M dismissive is so hyporcritical. You have a cheek talking about anyones tone!

... there I've added a smiley... so I'm clearly not being a rude bitch.

Good grief Toothache - you've shown your true colours there.

No smiley you'll notice.

I'm a bit taken aback actually - but it's your problem, not mine. Hope you feel better soon.

and all before 10am

caligula, if my son hadn't been present, and if the rest of the class weren't trying to lift weights( so needing to concentrate) I would have had a 'lively discussion' with her, definitely.

As she was not the only woman to feel like this, (she said) and as the class teacher agreed with her, I was outnumbered. I nearly stopped going to the class because of it, but it was the only class I wanted to do and the time was convenient. I gave that woman a very wide berth and still feel angry with her. I hope she has no children of her own.

I hate it when people superimpose their ideas of adult sexuality on chidren like this. It really gets my back up.

hey what happened to our nice naked cyberhug!!!!

they were a good group,,,,,oh read it wrong..that was new kids on the block..not naked kids on the beach ,,sorry lol

HMC - True colours? Don't act all the innocent. Perhaps your taken aback that someone is illustrating how you dress up your insults.... then act all shocked! HA!

I feel fine thanks.

Here's a timely news story from the Croydon Post: "Pensioner filmed naked girls in Diana Fountain"

I am really pleased to let DS run naked on the beach, and also pleased when we find ourselves on one of those relaxed beaches where it is just accepted that it is ok to be without clothes (certain beaches in N Norfolk, and any mediterranean beach occupied any Germans and Dutch!). Because I think it is healthy and civilised to be able to be calm about naked bodies, and to be confident that naked bodies absolutely do not have to equate with 'sex'.

Message withdrawn

ah but soupy -

"His criminal record stretches back more than three decades and includes eight counts of indecently assaulting young girls, some of them attacks in parks."

and

"He told the court that at the Diana Memorial Fountain the film started with two young girls lying down fully clothed."

So, as I said in my posts,

a) people taking these pictures often have a 'history' of sexual abuse/attacks

b) That it doesn't matter whether they're fully clothed or not, they'll stick take the pictures!

Still shocking though!!

right back to those naked cyberhugs - this thread is threatening to get nasty again

Also (re the pensioner..tho' what his pensionable status has to do with it, I'm not sure) he "had also been filming up the skirts of young girls as they clambered around the lions of Trafalgar Square."
So basically, any form of play in any state of dress or undress is a potential target.

I honestly think it is important that this confusion (between sexuality and naked bodies) is not implanted in children's minds.

Me too

Hey, that rhymes!

Thank you Blu - as per normal someone puts it much better than I ever could

i agree with blu, too

Well Fio, boo

To you

(this is art, this is).

I agree with you too Gwenick, it's just harder to find rhymes for your name

Gwen,
How sen -
sible.

That must be nearly a haiku. Blu.

I thoought that too

lisalisa, I really don't think it's a boy's fault if an adult woman feels uncomfortable with him watching her exercise in a public class. Any adult was free to attend the class. It was at a leisure centre. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can watch the class through the windows. It was up to the woman exercising to wear appropriate gear. If she felt her leg splits were revealing more than she would like, she could always wear bigger knickers!

People wear so many different types of exercise gear, there shouldn't be any problem in finding something less revealing. What about all those professional sportswomen who exert themselves in front of crowds of people - is there something inherently wrong about boys watching them?

Execise is exercise, especially if the person exercising chooses to do so in public - it is not a sexual come on. I totally disagree that boys of any age shouold be sho-ed away from an area where women are exercising because they might read more into it. It is very insulting to boys IMO. Fair enougth if they start sniggering, causing a disturbance etc - but this would apply to anyone, not just boys.

I do feel that's difference to your situation regarding your son in an all girls changing room after and all girls swimming lesson. Difficult to know what to do, there.

tigermoth, if you ask me the world has gone mad