Should Children Be Nudists? (moral, attend, America, experience, suicide)

[Faint]

Do you think it damages the psyche or moral development of children to see nude adults?

On second thought, seeing some adults naked might permanently scar the child's mind. The human body isn't always so beautiful...I can imagine there would be a lot of people NO ONE wants to see naked!

[standing_on_one_foot]

Well, I was a little nudist as a kid, so...

I think it's OK, as long as you make it clear that there are times when it's not appropriate to be naked, and you have adult supervision to make sure things stay appropriate. Nudity doesn't bother me that much. Doesn't have to be sexual, just because you realize that *gasp*, yes, people have things under their clothing.

[Terrywoodenpic]

Originally Posted by kreeden

I would still balk at the idea of seeing my parents naked ....

I think that it is a cultural thing . And as such , the earlier it starts , the less problems there are likely to be . Also , problems would directly relate to how the local culture views it .

A few years ago , a French family living in Vancouver was in the local news . Their teenage daughter answered the door topless . The older woman at the door was shocked by that , and more shocked by the fact that the daughter was home alone with her father .... The family actually ended up in court , coming close to losting their daughter . All because of a cultural difference .

I'm not saying that all French people are nudist . Nor that all Canadians are that hunged up over nudity . But things happen .

People who chose to spend time naked or topless are not being sexual or dirty.
Those who think so clearly have dirty minds.

[sahra-t]

Originally Posted by Faint

BTW, I knew an English family where the mother would walk around topless even if the kids were around, but not in front of strangers...is this common in England?

Haha, no, this is not common.

[Ðanisty]

A lot of people have mentioned that children run around naked all the time anyway. To be honest (and I don't know if it's an American thing or something else entirely), children don't really run around nude at all here. I think probably the last time I ran through the house naked as a kid, I might have been about 3 years old...maybe younger than that. I can't even imagine kids running around naked in the backyard. My parents would never have let me do that. Not that there's anything wrong with it really...that's just not part of the culture I grew up in.

[Draka]

Originally Posted by Ðanisty

A lot of people have mentioned that children run around naked all the time anyway. To be honest (and I don't know if it's an American thing or something else entirely), children don't really run around nude at all here. I think probably the last time I ran through the house naked as a kid, I might have been about 3 years old...maybe younger than that. I can't even imagine kids running around naked in the backyard. My parents would never have let me do that. Not that there's anything wrong with it really...that's just not part of the culture I grew up in.

Well, we are living in the day and age where if you happen to take a picture of your child running around naked with underwear on their head it is considered child pornography. In the U.S. it is a big "no-no" to have your child openly naked. Especially taking pics of them. As innocent and cute as it may be to take pictures of your little one in the bathtub with their hair spiked with soap, there are people out there who would have a fit and turn you into CPS for it if they saw those pics. Be careful who develops your film. Some people seem to think that any child being nude in a pic is clear child pornography and you are a sicko to them. But perhaps this is for another thread.

[sparc872]

While I think that it is something that really should be done, I don't know if I would be comfortable enough to do it. Sexuality has always been pretty off limits in my family so I have been basically on my own to figure it out. Images of naked people were basically forbidden and completely taboo.

I do believe, however, that the reason for the rampant sexual abuse in the US is directly related to our belief that the human body is for sex only and nothing else. It is ingrained into our cultural mindset that the body is dirty, sex is dirty, and that the naked human body is something that should never be seen outside of the bedroom.

I am trying hard to get over associating the naked body with sex, but it is no easy task. I do plan on attending a nude beach sometime, but I don't know how long it will be before I am comfortable with the thought of taking my own children to the beach.

[Ðanisty]

Originally Posted by Draka

Well, we are living in the day and age where if you happen to take a picture of your child running around naked with underwear on their head it is considered child pornography. In the U.S. it is a big "no-no" to have your child openly naked. Especially taking pics of them. As innocent and cute as it may be to take pictures of your little one in the bathtub with their hair spiked with soap, there are people out there who would have a fit and turn you into CPS for it if they saw those pics. Be careful who develops your film. Some people seem to think that any child being nude in a pic is clear child pornography and you are a sicko to them. But perhaps this is for another thread.

That may be the day and age we're in now, but not so much when I was a kid, which is kinda what I was talking about. I'm 27 years old. I know people didn't fear having their kids taken away from them for bathtub pictures 24 years ago.

Btw, the people who are reporting these pictures and the people who are taking children away must not know the law very well. We've been discussing this on another forum and I read up on it. The law states very specifically that at the very least, for a pic to be considered child porn, the genitals must be displayed in a lascivicious manner.

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by Ðanisty

Btw, the people who are reporting these pictures and the people who are taking children away must not know the law very well. We've been discussing this on another forum and I read up on it. The law states very specifically that at the very least, for a pic to be considered child porn, the genitals must be displayed in a lascivicious manner.

That may be true, but we are currently going through a phase of hysteria about about all things sexual in this country. These phases come and go every few years.

Here in my town, Colorado Spings, a woman recently dropped her film off at a drug store for developing. When she returned to pick up her pictures, she was given the wrong order. She discovered the pictures she had were of a nude man. Not a man doing anything else, mind you, other than being nude. So, she sued the drug store on the grounds she had been traumatized to see a nude man.

Poor woman! The strange thing is that a lot of people here in town thought she had a point. "Well, she shouldn't be subjected to that filth." was one comment I heard. In a time of sexual hysteria, plenty of folks think even mere nudity is traumatic.

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

So, she sued the drug store on the grounds she had been traumatized to see a nude man.

I hope that poor feller didn't find out.