nudity within the home

I was brought up in a very strict household. Nudity was a definite no,no. In fact my mum was such a prude that she made my sister and I turn our backs whilst she adjusted her slip. We never saw her in a state of undress or even half dressed. Ditto my dad. My mum also has a very strange attitude to the human body and although well into her 70's she still uses childish terms when she is forced to describe a rude sexual intimate body part. I find her attitude quite sad and extremely annoying in equal measures.

I often wonder how I am actually here at all.

Ditto gillybob but now my mum is coming up 101 she has no qualms about letting a nice young male carer wipe her bum !!!

Oh gillybob - how I do identify with that! Lights off and think of England I guess!

But were you and their dad the same with your own children??

I don't ever remember seeing my dad naked, but if I happened to walk in on accidentally, she wasn't phased.

on mum

The strange thing is that my younger sister has inherited quite a lot of my mums prudishness (is there such a word?) whilst I have always been very determined to be the exact opposite. I do not walk around in the nude but have always been comfortable with things like taking a bath without locking the door ( my mum would never do that) and dressing and undressing in front of my husband or daughter. I remember being chastised as a child for scratching my bum and wondering what I had done wrong.

Oh I was the exact opposite with my children nina .

I never saw my parents in their underwear much less nude. I wasn't bothered about being seen in underwear in my own home and my children are all very relaxed about nudity with their own children..

A favourite story - the little boy who sees his mother en déshabillé,and rushes into the kitchen - "Daddy! Daddy - Mummy's got fevvers!.

When I acquired a five-year old step daughter it took me a while to become accustomed to her turning up in the bathroom to watch - fascinated - as I shaved. My total nudity didn't seem to register at all.

Are we so guilt-ridden (thank you religion) that we fear our own bodies? Answers on the back of a fiver, please, to...

I don't remember any prudishness with my parents, don't remember them in the nude either.
I'm not bothered really, my bits are no different to anyone elses'

my neighbours have come very close to a nasty shock

My middle DD once told my Mum that 'Daddy's got a tail'. She thought it was hilarious. She wasn't a prude and I often saw her naked but I never saw my Dad naked until he was ill and dying and I had to deal with certain aspects of his demise which I would rather not have done. Like Feetle's step daughter, I was always fascinated by his shaving routine in the mornings and used to perch on the loo and watch him. Our children saw us naked but less so as they grew up and had friends in the house. Nowadays, I would rather keep my nudity to myself - not a pretty sight

Thought 1 - best kept indoors
thought 2- reminded of Annette Crosbie's character in Calendar Girls drawing the line at "front bottoms"

Our children and GC have always wandered into the bathroom or bedroom when we have been washing or dressing and I know that it is the same in their homes. Youngest GS (2.5) is a bit of a boob man though and gazes longingly at the comfy cushions. He will grow out of it - or will he?

I never saw either of my parents naked at all, except, as Gally says, when they were at the very end of their lives. My Mum wandered about naked towards the end and dragged me into the loo while she had her bowels open in the nude - she was very demented. It was very sad. And poor dad lost all dignity at the end - he had a convene catheter which we all had to deal with. At first he minded - and it was worse really when he stopped minding as you knew he was "gone."

Remember on my wedding morning. I had my bath and came out onto the landing naked, with as usual,my nose in a book.
My father came out of my parents bedroom also naked and with his nose in a book.
As we crossed, we both glanced up and good morning.
This was usual in our house and the same with us and our children.

No nudity in my childhood and no prudery in my children's upbringing, we just didn't think about clothes on or off. Now DiL doesn't even like us going into the bathroom when GC are having a bath! Very odd.

Mishap my oldest GS was the same when he was 2-3. I used to take him swimming which necessitated us both naked in the shower together. He was fascinated by my boobs. One question he asked was why did I still have them if I didn't have any babies that needed feeding anymore. Good question I thought.

He's 7 now and has grown out of this you'll be pleased to hear.

I'm glad he is not alone aka. He is a real boob menace. If his mum picks him up he immediately shoves his hand down her top, strokes a boob and sucks his thumb very happily. He has caused her to lactate sometimes.

He tries to do it with others and often says to me "have you got a nipple?" He does try the plunging the hand down trick with me, but I usually wear a polo neck in the winter and it is a challenge too far. He contents himself with patting only. He is a slightly feral child - a real child of nature - but hugely affectionate and great fun. We love him loads.

What an interesting thread! I've never really thought about nudity in the family before, maybe it wasn't such a big deal.
But I'd never seen a nude male before I lost my virginity - a bit of a shock.
We lived by the sea when I was a child and I have a photo of me aged about 4 in the nude, changing after bathing. So we can't have been so prudish.

This reminds me of the time when DG1 aged 3, wandered into bathroom when DH had just got out of shower and said, " My daddy's got one of these too !"

Gally we used to call it a tail when toilet training DS.
I went to collect him from reception class one day his teacher took me to one side and as she couldn't understand why when asked to name something with a tail he insisted me !

My parents were reasonably relaxed about nudity. I saw my mum feeding my brother, I bathed with her and though I do not remember Dad walking about naked but if he was dressing and I was in the bedroom/bathroom he just carried on putting his pants on etc. Our own kids bathed with us and DGC see us first thing, showering and getting dressed if they have had a sleep over. Our bodies are 'natural' and we treat them as such even now when they are not in prime condition! We taught the girls that in the home was different to being out and about so' pants on in public' after the occasion when DDs were 3yr & 1 yr and we were asked to dress our daughters at the open air paddling pool in Rottingdean!

Like Gillybob my mum was a dreadful prude, and I am afraid I became like that as well.
DD once commented that her brother had a "ping" (his term for penis) and that "Daddy had a big grown up ping" We all started avoiding wandering about in the nude as the children neared school age.

nina that is why I taught my DDs the correct anatomical names. Too often had tricky situations trying to work out what kids in the calss were talking about!
My DGD2 is slightly deaf and has difficultly distinguishing B /V and is convinced women have breasts, bulbas and baginas.