I am wondering how old it too old for your child to see you without clothes?
I have two schools of thought: 1. You should be private always to show your children that your body is not something you show to others and that you keep covered (not a bad idea in our gross world). 2. You should take your cues from your kids, and when they start to be uncomfortable or ask for privacy, then you do the same.I'm leaning towards the 2nd, but I am a mom of 3 boys and wouldn't want them to feel uncomfortable and just not voice it. So far, they haven't been too curious, but I know other kids at that age who have been curious for years. What do you think?
Brooke Romney is an unbalanced mom of three young boys who constantly has too much to do, and too little time. She writes the Mom Beat column for The Gilbert Republic.
Yes, I agree with your
Yes, I agree with your second more as well. It's about respecting each other's needs. You are setting the tone by respecting their needs for privacy or lack of it. My daughter is obsessed with my boobs. I don't mind if she asks book related questions, etc. - in fact it is an excellent chance to educate her - but sometimes she'll actually reach out for my breasts and it really does make me fell uncomfortable. So I tell her how I feel about her doing that and that she needs to respect that. Goodness knows someday she may have to voice those words herself! I shudder at the thought!
I agree with your #2 also...
I agree with your #2 also...
Elizabeth is a discussion leader for arizonamoms she writes about everything from her needing mommy advice to crazy and silly stuff that happens. She lives in the West Valley with her husband and 3 children.
I would agree more with 2.
I would agree more with 2.
I think it is a fine line we walk about being private and possibly giving the impression of being ashamed of our bodies. The fact you have 3 boys makes a difference. I have 2 girls so the issues are a little different. Yes, privacy is very important. I want my girls to be comfortable with their bodies, but I don't want them exposing themselves either. I think it starts at home, so we will be discussing this - thanks for the conversation starter in our home!
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
Pretty much we take the cues
Pretty much we take the cues from the kids. Around the age they can point and say, "what's that?" we start to cover up. My 15 month old could care less, my 5 year old asks a lot of questions. Now that we have one 8 year old who is very sensitive about bodies we are really careful all the time, although we always are open to talk about things and use anatomically-accurate language.
Susan is mom to Alexander, Isabel, David and stepmom to Eric. She does community outreach for arizonamoms. Be sure to enter the Back-to-School $1000 Giveaway every day July 4-31!