Let’s face it: Since infancy, it has always been a challenge to shower and
watch your children. Running around in your birthday suit tends to be the norm motherhood, right?
Well, okay maybe not just running around, but you know what I mean. So at
what age do you stop prancing around naked in front of your children?
Well, for some families there is never a cut off time (hmm)…but for others
when the kids start staring at your baby-making parts then maybe, just maybe,
you start being more discrete. The last thing I want to do is leave a scary
irreversible image in my children’s memory.
I think it is good to create a sense of awareness and have the “talk” with
your children: that men and women are different, that no one should touch or
show you their body parts. So, perhaps by remaining covered up around your
children, you set the tone of what is and isn’t acceptable as you grow into a
young man or woman.
So at what age should you start covering up in front of your kid? I think
the answer depends on the maturity of your child. Around the age of five is
when it seemed to get a little awkward for everyone in our house, but perhaps
that is due in part to me having all boys.
My best friend was a single mom to her daughter, now 12, for several years
before marrying. She still feels comfortable being naked around her to this
day. I recently asked her if she felt that had anything to do with her having a
girl, not a boy. She definitely thinks that has everything to do with it and
the fact that it was just the two of them for the longest time. She went on to
share the funniest story: One day she developed a roll of film and as she stood
there in the grocery store thumbing through the pictures she about died, there
was a picture of her sitting naked on her couch sewing her pants! Her daughter,
at the time 3, had snapped photos of her naked, clearly documenting the moment
for a lifetime! Needless to say she kept the camera hidden from that day
forward.
I personally remember walking in on my parents naked, it took months
to not blush when I looked at them. I was mortified, embarrassed, shocked, and
only in second grade. Clearly, it was a life-altering visual that I can’t
erase. So my gift to my kids is not to allow the same to happen, if I can help
it. That is where the door locks come in handy!
I now give my children the respect of privacy when they are bathing or
showering, changing, etc.—and likewise they give me the privacy of taking a
shower and getting dressed.
What has worked for you? At what age did you
start covering up around your kids?
