At what age is it no longer appropriate for your child to be naked in public (e.g. on the beach)?
We live in the UK. My 3½-year-old son loves to be naked. He spends a lot of time running around naked in our garden on hot days.
We went to the beach during the Summer, and - since we forgot to bring any swimming trunks, and it was boiling hot - we let him play naked there.
What do you think the appropriate age is to stop your child being naked in public?
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This is entirely subjective according to where you live. In some places any nudity at all, even in children, is unacceptable. In other places nudity at any age is acceptable.
In the UK I think that 3 and a half is ok, by the time they are five it's generally expected for them to have trunks on in public, in fact that's pushing it a bit. In the US once they are 2 it's really expected they have trunks on, but then again it depends on where you are in the US.
There should be no age restriction on nudity. Some locations have a fairly mature view on this which is why you get naturist and nudist areas and beaches, and many where clothing is optional, but other places are very strict so you need to follow their local guidelines to avoid trouble.
When making decisions like this though, make sure your child doesn't feel like the clothing is because they have done anything wrong or should feel guilty. Make them aware that it is just okay in some places but not others.
Its well accepted for children to be naked and shameless about it. I think the environment is an important factor. As soon as the child starts feeling shame for itself being naked, OR when its environments starts responding differently towards the child being naked, its time to clothe him appropriately. The environment is a factor that you should not ignore, even though the child is still shameless. Because a child so young can not put in perspective why people are behaving differently towards it.
E.g. You can only ignore the 'crowds/people' opinions when you can put it in perspective and choose to continue behaving/doing what is being opinioned without FEELING social 'pressure'. But this is a choice only a person(child?) can make for it self, nobody can make this choice for you.
You do not want to burden your child with feelings of social 'pressure' while it doesn't understand where its originating.
My statements may be stretched/dramatized, but its for example.
So at what age is a quantitative question, that cannot be answered here. It totally depends on the community.
It strongly depends on the country you live in. Regulations will be quite different in Saudi Arabia and in Germany.
In Germany, many local regulations allow children up to 6 years to stay naked in swimming pools, while on beaches staying naked is perfectly OK for adults too. However, it wouldn't be allowed to run naked in park, but in case of children, as long as nobody gets offended it should be OK.
Generally, people shouldn't feel offended by naked children, because children are no danger for them. That are adults that are potential danger for children, not the other way round. But it's highly culture-specific.
If people start complaining, I don't think your son would still feel comfortable with being naked. But as long as other people are OK, there's no need to restrict him, in my opinion.
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