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Believe it or not for generations it was pretty common to see family members in various states of undress, because there was little privacy in houses. I wonder how something that was fairly normal for the last two hundred thousand years now is regarded as a sign of being "mentally unstable".
200,000? I think you're mixing in fairly primitive humans. Until a few thousand years BC we were severely lacking in culture and civilization. I suppose technically humans existed and thus were going to be naked around their family since clothing didn't exist, but it's hard to study the mental implications.
Regardless, society is too concerned with general nudity and not repulsed enough by parental nudity. When the kid is too young to remember or understand, it is fine. After that, confine it to times when they would see other people naked. For instance, when going to a public swimming pool.
It's a (sub-) cultural thing. As long as no one is uncomfortable, what's the issue? There's no good evidence-based reason to think it is harmful to anyone either way. Plenty of families think yes, plenty no, and it works out ok for both types.
Some parents seem proud of the fact that they're so "open" - I see no advantage to kids. They can easily get online if they want to satisfy their curiosity and look at "art". But to see your parents naked - no.....siblings, not as big a deal as long as it's not done on purpose or repeatedly with opposite sex siblings.
I see no disadvantage to treating nudity like its no big deal. Because...its not a big deal.
Why is it ok to look at nude "art" (why is that in quotes anyway?) but not ok for children to see their parents get out of the shower or change?
Younger, okay. My parents were fairly casual and wouldn't cover up if I wandered into their bathroom. As a young kid, it didn't register with me.
Older? No. I have pretty strong feelings about this. No need for parents to parade around nude, even if you have the most amazing body. My kids would be mortified if I paraded around naked. Plus, it would be traumatic seeing my surgical scars from cancer. My mom paraded around naked with the same thing in full glory ( cancer) many years ago when I was a adolescent. She was horribly disfigured from lovely cancer treatments in the 60's. I developed a life time fear of doctors and illnesses from this. I knew from seeing her that I would go through the same thing and I did. To this day, I'm not sure what my mom was thinking since it made a pretty deep impact on me. Thank goodness my kids are both adopted and I didn't pass along my horrible genes.
Do yourself a favor and cover up. Even if I had the body of a super model, I wouldn't be parading around stark naked. Why do your kids need to see your topiary?
So, so odd.
Its not about parading around or showing off in front of the kids. Its just a natural part of living together, getting dressed and ready, etc. I don't know. I don't have any hangups about nudity.
As far as the cancer scars go, did you ever ask your mom not to do that?
This discussion could only come up in a country with a repressed Puritan heritage. Why would there even be a question about this? If my kid doesn't want to see me naked when she gets older, she can tell me, but so far, no one seems to have been emotionally scarred. To the contrary, she seems fascinated by the human body and freely asks questions about the differences between Mom and Dad's bodies. It's human anatomy. No big deal. She sees us getting dressed and undressed, spots us getting in and out of the shower, barges in when we're going to the bathroom, and loves running around the house with not a stitch of clothing on. Who cares?
200,000? I think you're mixing in fairly primitive humans. Until a few thousand years BC we were severely lacking in culture and civilization. I suppose technically humans existed and thus were going to be naked around their family since clothing didn't exist, but it's hard to study the mental implications.
Regardless, society is too concerned with general nudity and not repulsed enough by parental nudity. When the kid is too young to remember or understand, it is fine. After that, confine it to times when they would see other people naked. For instance, when going to a public swimming pool.
Humans have had clothing since the late Paleolithic era. Partly because the world was in a glacial maximum as people left Africa. The need to be clothed more often due to the weather was an obvious adaptation. I think we can also dismiss your assertion that humans lacked any culture or civilization until a few thousand years BCE as well. Humans have engaged in artwork, music, and some trade going back about Forty Two thousand years ago. The first cities began appearing around Twelve thousand years ago. Neither of which shows that humans were either uncultured or uncivilized.
There are no mental implications to nudity. Humans are born nude, not clothed. The only implications that happen are what society places on them. In areas where nudity isn't considered a big deal it's treated as such. In areas where nudity is considered a huge issue in which people must cover up people flip out when they see a boob put out on tv . What you should do is do what works best for your family in regards to your personal comfort levels and your children. However, the belief that only mentality ill people walk around nude from time to time is erroneous and without support.
Its not about parading around or showing off in front of the kids. Its just a natural part of living together, getting dressed and ready, etc. I don't know. I don't have any hangups about nudity.
As far as the cancer scars go, did you ever ask your mom not to do that?
What is so odd? Just sharing my experiences and my feelings as a kid and they aren't any less valid than yours. I was always a bit shy about nudity. Just my personality. And no, I never said a thing to my mom. I think she would have been hurt so I kept my mouth shut. It would have been just as easy to put on a robe. Look, I have no problems if someone walks into my bathroom unexpectedly or catches me dressing. It is a natural part of living together. My kids have seen my countless times sitting on the toilet (darned dog always nudges the door open and comes in lol). They are always saying, "Ew, shut the door mom." Walking around in the buff on a regular basis. Nah, not my cup of tea.
As a parent, you may have no hang ups about nudity and that is great. Hang out with your friends in the buff all you want--doesn't bother me. Your kids may feel differently and you need to respect their feelings. In our household, we don't have any particular hang ups however both of my kids are fairly modest as well. It is called respecting boundaries and for me to walk around bare arsed would make them uncomfortable. Why do it?
Again, my comments are more towards older kids---teens mostly. Not the young ones. Many times I would jump in the shower with them to wash their hair. I may have used the term "parading" around a bit too liberally in my last post. I did not mean to imply that parents are "showing off." Don't take me too literally since it wasn't my intent.
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Believe it or not for generations it was pretty common to see family members in various states of undress, because there was little privacy in houses. I wonder how something that was fairly normal for the last two hundred thousand years now is regarded as a sign of being "mentally unstable".
. What you should do is do what works best for your family in regards to your personal comfort levels and your children. However, the belief that only mentality ill people walk around nude from time to time is erroneous and without support.
