Father/Son Nudity

I have a question for all of you parents out there, mostly fathers. Is it OK for a father to take showers together (nude, of course) with his small son(s)? When shouldn't it be OK? Is it OK if a father walks around the house naked where his children could see him? What about if the kids are older (teenagers or adults)? As a whole, should parents let their kids see them naked (not including accidents)? If you have any personal (or know of) experince please, would you share...?

Sure, bath with your son till about 5 or 6, and then shower after, since there are families that go camping or dads/sons who workout, then shower at gym. Helps a young man as he grows older to not be so shy as he goes thru puberty. As far as walking around nude, should be ok unless there is a daughter. Unless they are a nudist family, then go for it, but if not, only with boys.

Just my personal opinions ...

I think taking a bath together would be out.

Showering together with a young son might be ok up until age 8 or so.

I believe nudity around the house is normal and healthy within reasonable limits, assuming you have a purpose in being naked (like walking from the bathroom to the bedroom, changing clothes while the child is in the room, etc). Hanging out naked with the kids watching TV - nope, I don't think so.

I also mean showers, bath, swimming, changing clothes ...

I am a father (he is now 24 y/o). I bathed with him when he was young and showered with him till he was 6 or 7. Dressed in front of him if he was there. Didn't walk around the house much naked, but that was just me. Kids seem to start to want their own privacy, and not see Dad nude on their own around 8 or so. Casually seeing each other nude changing clothes at home or maybe in a locker room should be no big deal, but my son was always very modest from about 8 onward. Maybe you should just take your ques from him.

It's all very personal.

I agree with Honkworm in that you should take your cues from your kid. That being said, providing your kid with an example of someone who is comfortable in his own skin is (in my opinion) one of the greatest things you can do as a dad.

Sure, showering together might have more touchy rules, but there are lots of naturist families, and lots more that are just okay with nudity.

I can see a guy being generally immodest about nudity around dad or son. Actually, Ive known plenty of 18,19,20 year guys who didn't hesitate to get ready for shower or getting out of shower with Mother standing right there. It mystified me a bit, but is widespread i guess. I have a question about immodesty about sex noise and sex movement. If your dad comes to visit and stay with you and your wife or girlfriend for an extended period, and your wife asks you to make love to her in the next room, knowing full well it will be obvious to dad because of either noise or wall shaking, do you go for it? Also, say father and older teen or older son are alone in the house at night in separate rooms, or if one is visiting the other, is masturbation of the 'silent motionless' variety or is that only for when females are about? Is it the generally not weird for father to occasionally here son at it, or son to hear father?

I'm with Honkworm, no need to walk around the house in the nude all the time. However, I think nothing of a family seeing each other nude at times. As long as there's nothing sexual about it. Come on - you guys can tell the difference, right?

I know I'm European and we're less freaked out about nudity than Americans tend to be. It was quite normal in my family that we saw each other nude on occasion. I think I showered with either of my parents until I was about seven. My dad would always be flaccid, though - of course! When we stopped showering together, I'd still see my parents nude or semi-dressed at times. Unintentionally - you know, I'd walk in on them in the bathroom or something. Never, ever would my parents run around naked when we had friends over, though!

Sometimes I'd go to public swim halls with my friends, and I'd see their mothers nude showering before or after swimming. Quite normal, we thought nothing of it.

So: Respect your kids privacy, don't make them be nude around you when they prefer not to, don't force your nudity on them - but when they do see you naked, don't make a huge deal out of it. In my opinion it's perfectly natural to be naked around family members when it's in a non-sexual manner (like in the sauna, the gym, or when getting dressed).

You see plenty of fathers showering with their sons in sport centres and camp sites over here wihtout making a big deal of it. It's just the norm. It's not a sexual situation and also lets your kid know what to expect when puberty hits. It can be a traumatic time for some to suddenly start sprouting hair etc, but at least if they know it's normal, they have less to worry about. It also means that you're more approachable if your kid has any questions about his body and why yours is different to his.
On the hygiene front, it also lets you make sure that your son's getting properly clean.

Well said.

I am a father of a 2 1/2 year old son. I have bathed with him twice. No big deal. He sees me nude or semi nude often since I sleep nude and every morning he come in our room. Seeing my wife nude has happen not as ofter anymore for him. We want him to start realizing whats o.k and not o.k. When he's around and my wife is nude or topless we make no big deal about it. She is doing what she can to make it less often. My son will see me nude as often as it happens meaning if he walks in and I am nude no big deal. The question that my wife and I started talking about is when I have morning wood and he is in the room should I and when should I start to cover up? I think I won't cover up. Morning wood is a natural thing for males to have almost everyday even into late in age. He will go through the same thing so I am leaning towards not making a big deal about it.

Eventually he is going to start to not want to see me nude or knock before coming in. My dad would say to us (his three sons) when we knocked on the door, if he was naked or not. It so funny to us around 8-12 years old to here "I'm naked" when you knocked on the door. I would smirk and come it. Man, love my dad. Anyway I did get shy about being nude and seeing it (well my dad) during puberty. Not until I was 15-16 did I not care any more.

Like others said take signs from your son when he starts to age. If he is cool with it then not big deal if he starts to shy away then show respect. The best dads are cool, open, laid back but also the leader, strong and authoritative when the time is called for. Be chill and natural and I think things will fall in place. Being nude in front of your sons shows that you are confident out side out your clothes (regardless of you penis size) which in return will help him with his confidence.

Looking back on it, I think father son nudity is helpful because it gives the child an expectation of what he will look like as he ages. I grew up sharing a room with an older brother so I knew what to expect, but didn't see my dad nude until recently now that I am an adult. I think my dad didn't walk around nude nor did we because of my sister and mother.

My husband and I are social nudists and we are raising our kids that way.....so we don't really have a problem with nudity in our home. We do happen to live in a very conservative neighborhood.....so we are closet nudists when we are at home. Clothes are worn when we have non nudist friends, guests, extended family members in our home......and when we step outside of our home. Here inside our home our children usually like to run around in their underwear. I assume that is fairly typical of young children in general. We have places at nudist resorts that we go to in the summer......and the kids go totally nude the whole time we are out there.

So, we don't have any problems with family nudity. I prefer that everyone bathes by their self. But in case there is a water shortage or time situation.....or we are visiting somewhere and there is only 1 bathroom and a lot of people that need to bath at the same time......I would love it if my husband would let my son shower with him. And my daughter could shower with me. I am usually the one that ends up with both kids in the shower with me......and I hate that because I like to shave in privacy. And what happens is.....if the kids see me shaving.....they think they should get to shave their bodies too. They also are nonstop chatter boxes. Mom needs a break.....and that is what bathing is for me.....It is my time to take care myself and have a relaxing soak in the tub. But if we are traveling and out and about......no problem......but I would really prefer everyone to be independant bathing all by theirself.

We don't let our children see us having sex or acting sexual towards each other. We lock the bedroom door with the kids on the other side of it. I know my husband doesn't seem to like the kids seeing him with an erection.....This is what it seems like to me.....I have noticed that if he is getting an erection he will cover it up or do something different......he doesn't call attention to it......I think he doesn't really want the kids to notice.....and so far so good. Because I am sure they will have lots of questions. And my husband will get to be the one to answer those questions. Ha Ha.

I think if a person is interested in giving nudism a try and there are young children involved......it is better to introduce the children to nudism before puberty.....for best self esteem benefits......Also it is important for them to have nudist friends their age.....(Peer group) or the young person is probably not going to have any interest in nudism until that person turns 25. This was from a study I read about. Sounds semi true to me.

Just my 2 cents.

I never saw a naked man until high school football when I was about 15. Looking back, I'm now 29, the traumatic shock and awkwardness that I regret experiencing could have been easily disarmed if there was some man around when I was young (like 5, 6, 7) that was casually naked around me. It's not being naked that is damaging or traumitic to a child it is the attitude the adult has about being seen naked that has the potential to damage. I think it is important for a child's body image/esteem to be handled by the "naked father" than by pornography or strangers.

P.S. It's just a penis. God made it.

I remember going camping with my friend and his dad when we were about 16 and being surprised by how comfortable my friend was with his dad about nudity, and thinking how different my life was.