naked

Right now my children are naked. They do this at least two or three times per day - just take off their clothes for a little while and carry about their business as usual. Dare I say it's become routine?

For instance, every morning after breakfast, without fail, one of them will disappear, the other one not far behind (har) and within thirty seconds, they come running back into the kitchen without a stitch on, squealing "TWO NAKED KIDS!!" and then they chase each other around the house. This happens in the evening after supper, too, and occasionally in the afternoon if we're home long enough for them to get bored. Oddly enough, they're nicer to each other this way. Just now, for example, they started fighting over a toy truck and I hollered "You guys better get along or I'll make you get dressed!" and magically, the whining stopped.

What is so appealing about hanging around in the buff? I don't understand it, really. The novelty of it should have worn off by now, since this has been going on for months already. And it's not like it's particularly warm here, with everyone wearing wool socks and jackets outside.

I don't care so much, as long as no one sits on the couch (butt germs, yo) or pees on the floor. (With Anya, this is a significant risk, though she's more likely to use the potty if she's not wearing anything so it's sort of a tough call.) After all, we are in the privacy of our own home, and if my kids get their naked fun here, they're less likely to take their clothes off in the grocery store, say, or the park. And it's good to know that for the time being, they are happy and comfortable with themselves and their bodies without being too self-conscious.

When you live in a small house with only one bathroom, there's not a whole lot of privacy to begin with. Someone's brushing their teeth while someone else is in the shower and before you know it, the boy needs to take a crap, so what can you do? Truthfully, considering the traffic jam in the bathroom every morning, I'm okay with Anya not being toilet trained yet, since that would just complicate things further. In a few months, when the basement is finished (and the bank account is empty) we'll have another bathroom. We'll also have carpet downstairs (not in the bathroom, of course, but everywhere else), so come to think of it, I hope the naked phase is over by then.

Comments

"butt germs, yo". I'm laughing MY butt off reading this.
Jessi said…
My girls have never done that. I am not complaining. It sounds like they are having a blast, though!
Anonymous said…
Perhaps you have the thermostat set way too high?
-Opa
Anonymous said…
Hey , do you know that in germany, there are actual mom and kid reunions where the point is to have the kids take their clothes off. The idea behind this is that a lot of sensory integration hapens through contact. There are studies that show that kids who are naked have a better sense of their bodies than kids who wear shoes or clothes all the time, they are also statistically smarter. A lot of learning and experience happens just by feeling and touching with the bare skin. letting them be naked is actually a wonderful gift. Look at african kids from the countryside who grow up almost naked ... they have a feel for their body that most of us westerners will never have. Covering is moral but nudity is actually necessary. By the way, my three kids also love to be naked... Adelie is known in my neighbohood as the naked westerner.. sometimes she opens the door and walks out butt naked... in china kids go around with holes in the pants around the groin area so that they can pee or poop at any given time without having to pull down their pants. Appart from this being extremely ecological, it also teaches them to be potty trained very quickly.
Hurray for nudity!!!
Liv Tardieux from Tianjin, China

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