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?

but times they are achanging free choice for adults etc has led to teh oversexualisation of children - why teach them it is ok to be naked and then put them in little whore outfits it gives confused messages. Better to teach them to respect their bodies and understand that sense of respect adn try to find nicer clothes than hark back to an era past and potential put our kids in damnger either from teh sun or from other adults.
Listenning to children talking where we live fears me with dread they already see girls as sex objects and 2nd class citizens so I think the time of innocnece has gone - it's sad but pretending it still exists will put dd at risk

Gothicmama - lol@ little whore outfits!

You could end up really paranoid. Most sexual assaults are commited by friends and family members of a child - so it could drive you mad thinking about who is looking at your child and in what context.

Caligula, by "less liberal" view, I mean the label that others may give the view that I am holiding (and that has been attacked when a couple of other people have expressed a similar one).

"appropriate" yes I do mean it more or less in the way you are describing. I don't believe it makes me a prude though. I simply believe its up to me to decide what is or isn't appropriate for my child (within the bounds of reason and the law!)I feel that I am making a choice for her that she can't make for herself (although at 8 dd wants to cover up)

As well as my dd2 now (aged 8)I had a dd1 in the 70's when it was de rigeur to allow kids to be naked all over the place (eg.at pop festivals)
I still didn't let my dd1 be naked in public then anymore than I do now with dd2, for exactly the same reasons as now. I have never felt the need to copy other people with regard to these things.

it does to some people and that is were teh debate lies do you go with teh freedom or do you asess the risk of being naked (sun damage etc.) and responsible curtail taht freedom cos of the risk involved

I find it quite disturbing that people are associating a child being naked as something sexual!! Where do you draw the line? Can I not even let my 10mth old dd lie and kick her legs on the grass with her nappy off??

Sexual thoughts have never crossed my mind regarding my dd's and ds's bits! And again I find this thread slightly disturbing....

Agree with Caligula.

Our 8 yr old is just beginning to become a bit self conscious about nakedness in public, which I find a sad sign that he is growing up, it's the end of an era! I suppose it had to come eventually, and it does just tend to be in front of his friends. Our 5 yr old is a different matter, and needs no excuse to totally strip off!

For me I find nakedness on the beach a sign of beautiful innocence (sunburn excepted!!) and I find some of the outfits the girls in his class wear are much more offensive - overtly sexual, off the shoulder numbers - yuck!

I don't believe for one second that I am curtailing my child's freedom by her wearing swimwear on a beach. I consider her to be appropriately dressed.

I think the crux of the matter is that the majority of people don't see children in a sexualised way but some people do
How you perceive the risk of this to yopur child is what is driving this debate adn how you feel about them being naked

Don?t really mind what others do but I wouldn?t be keen on mine being naked in public like that. DS2 (just 2) escaped me the other day mid-nappy change (strip-off job) and he was just wearing his socks. He ran about hilariously (it was quite sweet) but we were in a sports hall and knew the other people there iyswim.
It was only sweet because he?s so little (and thought it was so funny).
But I am wary (sadly) of eg dd (nearly 4) stripping off her swimming costume after her swim at the edge of the pool rather than in the changing room. And I wouldn?t let her or ds1 run about naked at the beach or the paddling pool in the park. Actually ds1 wouldn't want to I don't think )he's almost 6). Surely pants are OK if you?re caught without yr swim stuff tho?
Sad isn?t it that because of who might be looking we have to be wary of this. That?s my reason anyway, in private ie our garden I let them go naked in the paddling pool if they want. (with a hat on tho)
lol nemo at puttign suncream "there"!!!
Soupdragon basically I agree with you (not for the first time...)

I think the crux of the matter is that the majority of people don't see children in a sexualised way but some people do

But those that do it doesn't bother them whether the child is fully dressed walking to school, or running naked on a beach - either way the child is still 'at risk' so to speak from that person.

Nor is my preferring my child wearing a swimsuit on the beach in any way part of the sexualisation of children. What a bizarre suggestion. In fact my dd wears a pink and white spotty Boden bikini - you'll all be telling me next that I'm sexualising her more than if she were naked.

Toothache,

I felt the need to jump in with sarcasm - as you put it - not because I felt you were specifically targetting me (I'm not that paranoid), but because you said:

"OMG I can't believe how much people psychoanalyse EVERY situation!!"

which is quite dimissive and belittling - imo - towards any / all posters who feel some reluctance to let their children be naked in public places.

I like to see discussions and different opinions on mumsnet as much as the next person, but it's not what you say, it is how you say it....for instance, I've found nothing that Caligua has said to be inflammatory, although she and I seem to have different opinions on this.

Can we leave it there, I find these little exchanges quite tiring and I'm not as young as I used to be!

Agree with caligula about tarty girls? clothes too. We don't do those in our house, I search and search for plain girls' T-shirts (that's why I end up in the boden sale lol).
And also agree with other posters who want their kids to be free as a bird. I do too, hence finding little wobbly-bummed ds2 so cute.

Exactly Gwenick - nakedness is not the issue. Perverts watch kids playgrounds etc just to see kids AT ALL. As long as they are being properly supervised, there is no more danger to them naked than clothed!

Completely agree with Caligula,
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I'm much more offended, actually saddened, when I see 6yr olds, wearing high heels, 'spice girls' tops, makeup then a naked 6yrold on a beach!!!

I am tempted to google on this subject to try and find out where paedo's garner their material for publishing on dodgy sites on the internet - i.e. what proportion is collected by them via subversive use of a camcorder / mobile phone images (of nude children in public places and the like) because this thread is full of conjecture (from both camps).

But I am not sure what to put in my search engine to get the right sort of info (obviously don't want to pull up any actual porn sites - just want some of the academic and other literature on this subject)

I find 'sexy adult' clothing, cosmetics etc on children repulsive too, and like my children to be dressed like children.

and to clarify, I don't find naked children in public places at all offensive. I just don't want my children being oggled by all and sundry. Wierd that, eh?

I'm enjoying this discussion, but a straw poll in my office with colleagues is giving a very different bias than the majority view on here - which is interesting...(perhaps my colleagues are all too scared to disagree with me - which of course doesn't apply to fiesty mumsnetters)

this is a very thought provoking thread and I am amazed (honestly, not sarcastically) at how much people have changed their behaviour because of their beliefs about how paedophiles think.
As a general comment, certainly not aimed at anyone in particular on this thread, I find it extremely sad that British society has sexualised children to such an extent that prepubescent bodies are seen as sexual objects. It reminds me of the way some societies make their female children cover up completely in case some passing male should see a bit of flesh. Or the 'she waas asking for it' comments by judges to rape victims in mini skirts.
Of course, I don't mean at all that as some weird statement about this, all children should have to walk round buck naked all day either - up to you as parents. My kids would be covered up usually becaue it's bloody freezing otherwise. I just find it very very sad that we (British society) are letting this fear change our behaviour
Incidentally, someone was talking about feeling more relaxed walking alone abroad, I also find this but usually it is because I can't or don't read the local papers and so am isolated from all the horror stories going around. I think our fear of paedophiles is so great in the UK because the papers are constantly going on about it.

handlemecarefully - I have images of you frantically trying to close dodgy websites

hmc - try the Google Directory - allows search of sites about pornography rather than weeding out the porn sites themselves. This is about the directory. From which this is an academic article on the subject, which includes this which I agree with: "Childporno is not the same as pictures of nude children"

Also an interesting definition: 'The American Ministry of Justice employs five criteria to decide whether an image can be considered to be pornographic: "They must focus on the genital area, show unnatural poses, depict children as sex objects, imply that the children are willing to engage in sex, and have a suggestive setting."'

We ought to be doing proper work, not mn, you know :-)

Thanks slarti,

I am going to have a read through of that article.

Btw I have just used the NSPCC enquiry service to ask the experts what is there general advice on this matter (i.e. child nudity in public places and actual / perceived risks) - I should get a response within 5 working days according to their website and will publish the response on here when I get it.

Am getting ready to eat my own hat!