Iโm no prude. OK. A little bit, sometimes, about certain things โ like the womenโs locker room at the gym, for instance. The striding about from wall to wall in the buff … There are towels for this very reason, lady.
I know. I know. Itโs my own minor hang-up to sort through. Itโs me, not them. The truth is, if someone chooses to walk around the change room au naturel, do you, sister. (I will draw the line at trudging through public bathrooms and showers in bare feet, though. The level of gross is too damn high.)
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We all make our choices based on what makes us feel comfortable โ I get it. Where the fog sets in for me on the nudity question is around my young son and his choices.
At 5, the guy has exactly zero percent inhibition when it comes to being nude in public. Heโll hop out of his swim trunks in the middle of the open water park without a momentโs pause. For him, itโs all about changing out of these soaked shorts, not his bare bum. Once after swimming at pool, he even asked if he could stay โlike thisโ and essentially air-dry on the playground. Unfortunately, that was a no from me. If heโs working an intense LEGO build and his shorts or shirt are affecting his artistry, off they go. And also? Donโt ask him why he decided to drop trou, because heโs working. Sssh.
I donโt want to curb his comfort with his body and being natural, but I also donโt want him to be made to feel strange or weird.
It doesnโt matter if there are loads of girls or babies around (two types of human about whom he can be fickle), this youngster is not studying them. Heโs too focused on playing, reading, chilling, being and doing his own thing.
Most of me feels like this nude thing is no biggie. If heโs cool, Iโm cool. But as heโs getting older (too quickly!), Iโve started to wonder if I should perhaps break down the concept of modesty to him. He already understands that we all need privacy sometimes, when using the bathroom, for example. (The day he stopped following me into the loo was an unmistakable victory, friends.)
Do I need to extend that successful lesson and introduce the notion of being nude in private? Should I venture into when itโs โOKโ to be nude around other people? I donโt want to curb his comfort with his body and being natural, but I also donโt want him to be made to feel strange or weird around other potentially laughing, pointing kids. And, moreover, does strolling through this territory edge up toward talking about sex? Because Iโm not ready for all THAT. So, so not ready for that.
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Clearly, I have questions, but no real answers. And maybe therein lies the solution. This stuff will work itself out and worrying about it really helps no one.
My guess is, this nudist leaning is just some holdover from toddlerhood, and we will soon be knee-deep into big boy matters like bike riding sans training wheels. And when it comes to those kind of activities, clothing is not optional.
