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?

i would never by choice allow my 8 yr old go to the mens changing rooms on his own. neither do i think it particularly healthy for him to go to the womans changing room where there are naked women .
but then we are lucky because our gym has two separat family changing rooms.

I wonder if there was such a thing as paedophilia when we all wore next to nothing as our ancestors walked in the Sahara?
This is such a sad thread. People talking about "all & sundry oggling" at their toddlers or young children.
I accept that there is a very tiny percentage of bad people out there but I am not going to let them spoil my children's freedom to play starkers on a sandy beach. As long as I am there to supervise and ensure that they are not going to burn, drown or be at risk from any stranger then they are free to be nude or not as they so wish to be.

Oh for the days when I was oggled on the beach, they look away now.

Sorry. Am lowering the tone.

I wonder if there was such a thing as paedophilia when we all wore next to nothing as our ancestors walked in the Sahara?

Sadly there probably was. Infact I've read in some places (various random ones that I probably couldn't find - especially as some were 'offline') that actually incidents of child abuse/abduction/murder etc etc are no higher now than they were many years ago (infact possibly lower as the awareness of it has risen). The only difference is that because of modern media we hear and see about it more often therefore making us 'think' it occurs more often, and that the world is much more dangerous place.

PMSL @ oliveoil - just wrote that last really serious post, submitted in then saw you comments - I know the feeling - infact I don't think I've ever been oggled on the beach (or anywhere else for that matter )

I wouldn't let my ds run around naked, but purely because of the risks associated with sun exposure. I had a small melanoma removed from my back when I was younger and would feel terrible if it happened to ds. If he was mad enough to want to be naked when there was no sun, then fine, what harm is he going to come to with me there?

If he was mad enough to want to be naked when there was no sun,

PLease please don't assume that because there's no sun it's not dangerous - I foolishly did this while on holiday once - plastered myself from head to toe in suncream EVERYDAY.........except for the drizzling and overcast one, still 'warm' and 'muggy' but I 'assumed' (foolishly) there was no real risk...............woke up the following morning with my entire face and arms blistered and peeling and VERY painful.

I meant like at night time, or under a tree. but yeah, I've been burnt on overcast days too.

sorry didn't mean to sound so patronising and pigheaded - just brings back horrible memories, took weeks for my face to fully heal

I'm with Caligula, Bugsy 2 et al. If ds wants to run about naked, then I'm all for it. I think it was morningpaper who said that even if someone were photographing him, then waht difference does it make to him? I think we are far more at risk of damaging our children if we give in to the fear and start constraining what they do.

I love the fact that ds (4.5) is so unselfconscious - long may that last. But before I get jumped on, we are already teaching him hwat is "appropriate" - for example, playing with his willy in front of guests is not encouraged! .

As Gwenick says, the stats are that the risk hasn't actually changed - it's just our preception of it that has. The risk of abuse - both physical and sexual - is also, sadly, still far greater inside the home, by close relatives or people known to the family. But we can't live our lives ruled by fear - as someone else said, "Who's won then?"

Oh - and when we are on holiday, I like to put the special "once a day" strong sun tan lotion (both UVA and UVB protection) on all over a naked wee boy, so that if he does choose to divest himself of any clothing, I know he is protected.

its so sad that we have to watch who look at out kids. I look back at pics of me and my sisters naked on beach and things like that at about 2. Back then nobody worried who was looking.. it was all about freedom! I wouldn't let ds (13m) run around naked.. dh wouldn't let him. He was disgusted on holiday that children were running around naked by the pool.

loulabelle, that's so sad! how can you be disgusted by a naked child? my ds is nearly 1 (bday tomorrow!) and it's horrible to think that people would be shocked by him naked, he's still a baby.

have to confess I enjoy watching my boys run around naked (not that they do it very often)

They look just like my DH in their build and (sounds terrible saying it so please don't take it the wrong way!) both got bum's like their daddy

oh loulabelle, that is so sad about your dh. Little nudey children are nothing to be disgusted by - they are a sweet reminder of what we all once were.

I know what you mean gwenick! ds is gorgeous with his baby skin and little fat tummy, and he's so happy when he's allowed to crawl around with no nappy on, makes me smile just thinking about it!

I still don't get why people think it is such a big constraint and curtailment of freedom to put them in a swim wear?

I do find it a little bit silly (sorry) that some of you are suggesting that those of us who don't want our children naked in public are giving into fear and really compromising our kids childhood. It's not really such a big thing in the scale of things is it, and I can't see my kids ending up in counselling over it....

(although sadly I probably will have unwittingly screwed them up over other unrelated things as most parents do to some extent - like my cleaning obession for instance...)

and I can't see my kids ending up in counselling over it....

Nah, they're probably just go naked skinny dipping at midnight in their teens insteads

that was a bit rude beetroot - but there has been a tendancy to rudeness on this thread in general - sigh

can anyone give me a link for ordering burkhas on line because I am clearly such a fucked up parent I need to buy two - one for a toddler aged 2.10, the other for a 13 month old