My run-in with the naked baby police

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Common Sense — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:56:17 GMT

It seems simple to just follow the law. Would you allow a 10-year old to be naked in public? What about a 15-year old? Where is the line drawn?

I would simply teach my children, by example, that there are rules you must follow. As with a person's right to smoke, it shouldn't be at the expense of everyone else's right to not be exposed to it.

If you want your children naked, great. But others, including the law, do not share your interests. What you teach your children to do in private is your freedom. Don't force your "free-spirit" onto others. It's not about seeing them as sexual objects. I simply don't want to see it.

One final note... the majority of people on the planet, DON'T think your kids are as cute as you do.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Barnegat Blummis — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:47:05 GMT

I let my kids run naked on the lawn and play in the water. However, the neighbor 6 and 7 year olds came around to stare. I soon learned the back yard was better for my babies. Now they're all grown and parents, too. So I'm sure I screwed them up totally since they are all happy and well-adjusted.

To hell with the people who are so ashamed of their own bodies.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Kimberly — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:48:17 GMT

I was a naked baby/toddler/kid. My friends and I would skinny dip all summer in elementary school (that was in the backyard, granted), but when we'd travel I'd go to the beach naked/topless at all ages.

The fact of the matter is, there are a (few) perverts. Those perverts likely won't care if the baby/child is clothed or unclothed. Perverts don't seem to make the same distinctions as the rest of us in anything else, so why in clothing? And there just aren't as many perverts as we all feel like there are.

I dofind myself a little more awkward with Jack - as a boy, he's parts are so much more THERE, but I don't hesitate to strip him down at the beach or elsewhere.

I was recently at Target having his picture taken in the little bathtub setup. He wanted to climb out of the tub, and when he did his diaper showed. I asked if I could take it off so that it was a cute "baby getting out of the tub" picture rather than "baby not sticking with his pose" picture. THey said no - that the company wouldn't allow it past a "certain age". They wouldn't specify, but it shocks me that 8 months old is considered a "certain age". Is he so much more sexual than a newborn? REally??? I think not.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Raisa — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:40:30 GMT

Let kids be naked but why do you post the picture with the frontal nudity? Is that necessary to show her vagina in public? THAT is an insult to her right to privacy but otherwise tell people to mind their own business. What I do at home in MY house that I paid for with my OWN money is no ones concern....but I don´t like public pictures of a child where she is naked and her private parts are made public stuff. You are so prude in USA and you hardly see a thigh on adults ...but a childs private parts are obviously public parts?

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Marita — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:39:31 GMT

It is sad that nakey babies should be something negative and it is in the last years I have come into this discussion. Earlier, I didn´t even think about children and if they were naked or not. What parents do in their own home is one thing but is it necessary to put up pics on the web where the childrens´genitals are shown like above? It is about their privacy too and they will get very embarrassed when they grow older. I have nakey pics of myself but they stay in my mothers album but on the web?

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

ChrisA — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:37:00 GMT

I don't yet have children but I absolutely agree that naked babies are not a problem. Naked toddlers. Naked whatever. I remember going to Haulover beach for the first time and seeing families of adults and kids literally of all ages on the beach naked and really people couldn't care less.

The whole "what about the perverts" thing is exaggerated. Creeps are everywhere. Rather you have naked supervised babies than anything else to keep the creeps out. It's so stupid. Like creeps leave when you put clothes on. DUH!

Anyway, keep it up and tell that lady to mind her own business. Next time I suggest that the babies and YOU are naked in the pool and see what she says.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Paul in Carson City — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:05:40 GMT

It is a fact, that virtually all rapes, child predation, and other forms of sexual attack are fomented [or at least begun] with the victim fully clothed, or at least having on some form of clothing. Mere nakedness does not trigger an abuser to commit an offense.

If we use the logic demonstrated in many of the posts above, that the state of dress or undress controls the actions of the perpetrator, then a logical conclusion would be that nudity protects our children, and that we should keep them nude to avoid predation.

It might also be possible to ascertain that, in the 3 months prior to committing their offense, most sexual predators had consumed tomatoes in some form. Logic then dictates that to protect our children we need to get tomatoes off the market.

Paul [who believes that the only real protection for children is parental supervision]

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Scott — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:40:03 GMT

Ya, I'd be concerned about perverts... Force clothes on the kids and make a big deal out of it, as though the body were shameful, and watch them grow up to become perverts...

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Kat — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:45:25 GMT

Though I have no children, I am definitely pro naked baby as I was a naked baby. There are countless pictures of me with plastic curlers in my hair in kiddy pool naked. (I loved having curlers in my hair!?) This including my brothers and cousins. Also many pictures of Christmas time and me wearing only bows.

The only problem I would see would be unattended naked babies. I agree, there are "perverts" everywhere. If you supervise and set a good example for your children that is the most you can do.

Good luck fighting a naked baby cause! :)

-Kat

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Mary in Atlanta — Sat, 09 May 2009 12:57:41 GMT

this reminded me of a quote by Lewis Grizzard - great Southern humorist. " "Naked for a Southern means you ain't got no clothes on. Nekked means you ain't got no clothes on and you up to somethin'."

there is nnothing wrong with babies beinng naked ...

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Andrea — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:30:56 GMT

I have no problem with naked BABIES, but I am slightly concerned with the fact that you can't seem to let go of the term "baby." C and NC aren't "babies" anymore. They are toddlers. I enjoy reading your blog(s) and am looking forward to the one where you address the two-year-old still using a bottle. I intend no insult here, I'm just really interested in hearing what you have to say.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Niki — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:55:19 GMT

yup, all for the nekkid baby here, too! :) we're fine with 'em running around in the yard nekkid. house, too. luckily, never had a poop incident and am fine with the peeing that's happened which, thankfully, has been minimal!!

we have a fenced back yard at our current home, so i can't imagine any of the neighbors making a to-do about it when our now-toddler will no doubt be enjoying the upcoming summer au naturel (he loves going without clothes inside and no doubt will outside as well). our 6-year-old has become more modest and i doubt he'll partake aside from occasional 'watering' of the bushes, but as a toddler we'd let him frolick naked in his baby pool in our front yard at our other house (no back yard to play in, so it was all front yard). nobody said anything about him being naked per se-- in fact, the sight of him jumping and splashing caused passers-by to smile a little to see the fun he was having and how free he was about it, BUT we did get comments from a busy body regarding the fact that he is intact. seriously! naked toddler? no issue. naked toddler with a foreskin? ISSUE. it was odd, to say the least. that was nearly 4 years ago and i am still stunned someone had the audacity to even go there!!

friends of ours (we live in maryland) let their then 2-year-old, on a blistering hot day, run around naked in a park on a wooded pathway. they passed a couple who evidently were alarmed by the sight of the little boy, who was with his mom, dad, and fully clothed older sister, and contacted park police. the park police officers tracked them down, questioned them, made it VERY clear that this behavior was unacceptable, and really upset our friends, as you can imagine.

personally, i myself have 'body issues' and am extremely self-conscious, which is exactly why i am determined to do all i can to help foster a good body image and self confidence in our kids. so we let 'em run nekkid if they want to be without making a big deal out of it as one of the steps in that direction....

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Amanda B. — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:59:43 GMT

Don't forget, America still has a bit of a Puritan instinct when it comes to public nudity. I'm not saying that it's good or bad, it just is.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Ms. Booty Homemaker — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:41:53 GMT

Oh, it's nakers for us. The boy is free and happy that way. It's been a bit more of a stretch for his dad to be comfortable with it, but he's stretched rather a lot and has become far more comfortable with things that might earlier have been outside his comfort zone. The boy is 3.5. As it grows warmer, he's naked at home and out back, sometimes out front, too. When he was littler, even at the park sometimes. Yeah, we got some looks and my sister hasn't ever been terribly comfortable with it. Generally, I suss out the comfort level of our family and how that impacts others, and whether or not it merits some adaptation on our part. Sometimes it does, sometimes not so much.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

steph — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:24:53 GMT

I don't get American culture where anyone can have a gun but babies can't be naked. It's screwed up!

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

sarah — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:56:55 GMT

This is one thing that I never worried about. My oldest used to do this thing that we called the naked baby dance. I never specifically told her to stop doing the naked baby dance. It hasn't turned into a naked ten year old dance. In fact, she would be the naked baby police in your neighborhood. I can just hear her, "Mom, They're naked!" Long story short, they start cluing into social and cultural mores and they grow out of it.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Kate — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:27:07 GMT

I'm all for naked babies...most of us never get to enjoy wandering around in the buff for long enough. Also, I think each child has their own foibles about nudity and will let you know what they're comfortable with. I was a shy kid who preferred to have bottoms on (top off was fine), my sister on the other hand...she would have gone to school naked (I mean the whole 12 years) given half a chance.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Marj — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:36:05 GMT

Well, there are all kinds of people. Some people are very comfortable with nudity and some aren't. I don't think it's fair to say that everyone who isn't is a frigid uptight biddy. I am not comfortable with public nudity, and do not wander around my house naked. I don't think shame comes into it - just comfort level. I have to admit, if I saw someone's kids romping around naked, I would avert my eyes (not lecture them). I think for me, it is a privacy thing. Nudity is not shameful, it is private. I also pee, but that too is private. I do not pee in public view, but feel no shame over the act of peeing. Therefore to me, it feels intrusive to stare at nude people, even if they do not feel it is a private thing. I tend to preserve my own privacy, and sometimes accord others the level of privacy that I prefer, which maybe is more privacy than they want. So my boys will wear clothes. I hope that doesn't brand me an abusive parent. Nothing wrong with bodies, but nothing wrong with clothes either.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Annie @ PhD in Parenting — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:24:33 GMT

I'm also pro-naked baby. I expect my 2 year old to spend much of the summer with no pants on, as she will be doing naked potty training.

We do have naked kid photos in our photo album and I do have some on my laptop (which is why I won't bring my laptop to BlogHer this summer....concerned about being accused of having "child porn" when I cross the Canada/US border with it).

However, I have stopped posting any online. I used to have one on my post on potty learning of my daughter wearing just a shirt sitting on the potty, but got uncomfortable with the search terms that were bringing people to that post and picture.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

mamatried — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:23:00 GMT

I wonder if the children were her own (or grandchildren) if she would have felt differently? I have a very conservative, pretty young mommy friend who was VERY critical of a little girl running in just underwear at the fountains downtown last summer. Well, this summer her little girl was doing it and she had to laugh at herself. I am not very uptight about nudity and I even think about maybe I'm too relaxed sometimes (especially where we live).

When I saw the photo (very cute btw) all I could think of was sunscreen! My girls are very, very sensitive to sunscreen and the 'natural' stuff is so hard to apply so we cover up more b/c of this.

And Trumwill, I think before you have kids you think about these types of things but if you do have kids it will change your perspective. I am a mom to two little girls and I don't think perv when I see a guy looking at them in public.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Trumwill — Fri, 01 May 2009 06:14:16 GMT

Not a parent, yet, so take that for what it's worth. My (admittedly petty) concern about naked babies is just the awkwardness it can cause. I enjoy watching kids play, but am worried about being noticed in a different light if I watch naked kids play. Or if I make some conscious effort to avert my eyes... would that be weird? What's the protocol there?

Yes, I've been accused of thinking about things too much. Why do you ask?

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Debbie — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:51:09 GMT

I was at my best friend's house last night, enjoying outside time with her children ( 2 girls, age 4 & 2). The two year old started taking off her clothes, so I told mom about this article, asked her opinion. She didn't mind the 2 year old naked but not the 4 year old.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

kgranju — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:39:28 GMT

Oh, I should add that we don't have a backyard suitable for baby play at all. It's completely a dog space, and really messy and no nice lawn. Someday we hope to have it nicely landscaped and suitable for kid play, but for now the front yard is it for us.

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Jen S. — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:33:11 GMT

In principle, the naked baby thing doesn't bother me. In practice, both my girls would pee the second the diaper comes off and I'm not thrilled about cleaning up the floor/carpet, so we don't go naked too often. I also don't care for naked bottom on my furniture. Not all wipers are equal.

I live in a small, private neighborhood and don't have a problem w/the kids in the sprinkler/pool in the backyard. And while my neighbors probably wouldn't care and/or say anything about front yard nudity, I still prefer the backyard. I guess I figure the neighbors would prefer not to see it and it's no skin off my nose to use the backyard.

As for older kids (3 ish and up), I generally prefer them to be clothed in public, but still think the backyard pool/sprinkler is fine for a couple of years.

My 3 yo is in swimming lessons at the public pool and she showers and changes in the locker room in front of the other girls/ladies. She knows it's appropriate to be naked in the locker room but not in the public areas of the pool. At some point, they will need to know when it is appropriate to be naked and that can be done without shame. It's up to each parent to decide when they need to start learning that lesson though. Kudos for being civil to the busy body!

re: My run-in with the naked baby police

Emma — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:02:44 GMT

This post prompted me to finish and publish one of my own on nudity that's been sitting around for a while now - thanks!

I'm with most of your commentators, the woman was absurd. But the police and the naked baby photo problem - that's truly scary.

In Australia now (at least in my home state) you can't even take pictures of your kids at a public pool, beause maybe just maybe you'll get another kid - in their swimming costume, not even naked - in the frame, and maybe just maybe you're actually a pervert who will then use the pictures in a nasty way. It's complete craziness. What message are we sending? Everyone is likely to be a pervert? Your body is something to hide?