i think i mean this specifically for LOs of opposite gender from you.
i sometimes shower with my 3mo boy while he sits in his little bath seat or in a bouncer right outside the bathroom. DH one time asked me how long i would be doing that and I really didn't have an answer.
i still change in front of dd and see no issue there. but what about boys, moms? girls, dads?
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
I started feeling awkward between 2-3y. After a few comments made at inopportune times about what boys have vs what girls have, I decided to stop entirely!
FWIW my husband has never been comfortable, even though we have two boys!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
I have a girl who routinely sees me change, use the bathroom, etc, but Dh has never felt comfortable being naked in front of her. She's two now and I imagine it will be a long time before I wont change in front of, but she'll prob just stop following me everywhere.
pomelo / 5621 posts
DS is 2.5 and he is in and out of the bathroom while I shower. He mostly just plays in our room while we shower, but if he comes in the bathroom no big deal.
apricot / 347 posts
I feel like we're so far away from that. At least 2-3 years. DH and I are both very comfortable naked and want our kids to feel good about their bodies too. So I guess we'll see when we start feeling uncomfortable.
eggplant / 11716 posts
This probably just depends on the kid and the parent. My hard line would be when the kid reaches puberty, haha. But in reality I think it'll be pretty soon for us and my LO is only 2. She will go in and talk to my DH while he showers (we have a clear shower stall) and it's not a big deal but for whatever reason she FREAKS if he isn't wearing a shirt as it is and tells him to go put on a shirt.
So I can't imagine her being okay with him fully naked for long.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
I think it's whatever you are comfortable with. I do think people make a much bigger deal out of this then necessary though. fWIw, i walked in on my dad multiple times throughout the years after he was out of the shower and yes can remember it and I'm not scarred for life over it.
persimmon / 1361 posts
DS is 3 and we took a shower together this morning. When he was younger, I would have said before now but he still seems like such a baby to me. No issues so far...hopefully by the time he's 4? It's just so easy to not make a big deal of it and getting ready in the morning is more convenient this way!
pineapple / 12234 posts
My son is 6.5 and he still walks in my bathroom while I shower. I do ask for privacy when I change and I also ask for him to be private when he changes for his sisters sake (but obviously if he needs help, I'll be there).
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Anagram: thanks for sharing! Whenever this question is asked we always answer from our pov. But no one has ever thought about maybe the child's comfort level would be before ours!
@Foodnerd81: we are the same. I do wish DH was a little more comfortable being naked in front of her because I don't want her to see it as this big taboo thing. Overall she's just really silly about it!
She's 3.5 and I don't think I'll ever ask her to leave if she walks in while I'm changing. I'm sure at some point she'll be embarrassed and leave! 
bananas / 9227 posts
DD is 3 and she freely walks into to bathroom whenever I'm in there. I also change in front of her and it's never an issue until recently. She's a little rough (coupled with not knowing boundaries) and she's smacking my breasts and stomach and laughing. She also likes to pretend to smell our butts and say "ewww, poop". Ummm, it's not a very nice thing to do when you're just out of the shower and trying to get dressed.
DH has never felt comfortable going to the bathroom with her around. He goes to his "special bathroom" downstairs, to which DD always announces he's, "going poop" and he has "poo poo in his butt butt". Yeh, there's a lot of talk about bodily fluids in our house right now. 
pineapple / 12566 posts
I think this is a purely personal decision. I still walk around naked in front of my 4.5 yo DS. I shower with the door open and usually leave the bathroom door open because one of them is likely to open it anyway. I don't want my kids to feel any sort of shame about nudity. I doubt I will still be doing it when he is older like 8 or 10, but for now, it's just normal. We also live in Europe, so it's a very different mindset from elsewhere.
grapefruit / 4110 posts
When my kids want to ultimately. At 4 my son still sleeps with me and showers with me. It is often the only time he is clean. He runs around half naked as do I. He knows all of the body parts and we talk about them. It just isn't something we worry about or stress about. As I type this he is holding my breast because it comforts him (my daughter is nursing). Much like any relationship I believe it comes down to what both people want/need and comfort level.
persimmon / 1328 posts
Until he has a problem with it! I don't go out of my way to bowl around naked, but I'm not going to hide from him at any point. I don't want him to see naked bodies as something to be ashamed of / hidden.
grapefruit / 4817 posts
DS is 3.5 and still showers with me or my husband every night. If he's suddenly uncomfortable or wants privacy himself, we'd change how we do things, but we've showered together since he was about 2 weeks old, and it's just routine now. i don't even think about it at this point. I showered with my father until he passed when I was 5, and still have many memories from doing so. No scarring whatsoever! 
apricot / 428 posts
everybody ! thanks for sharing, I hadn't really formed an opinion on the matter but feel confident to do so now and discuss it with dh.
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
D is 3 and I don't think anything of changing in front of him, and sometimes I use the bathroom in front of him (when he's in the tub, usually, but he likes to come to the bathroom with me). I do ask him to knock, but that's mostly because I don't want him just barging in on other people.
pomegranate / 3791 posts
I used to say around two, but now I have a potty training two year old, so that has gone out the window since having him join us in the bathroom has been a crucial step.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
We're kind of a naked family, haha! DS is 27 months and we'll both take him into the shower with us, change in front of him, etc.
I'll stop when either of us gets uncomfortable, or if he ever asks me to.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@lamariniere: glad to see this! My son is 3.5 and when I say I'm going to take a shower, he still asks to come with me. I don't feel bothered by it.
I remember awhile ago there was a celebrity- I think Sandra bullock or Julia Roberts - who was under flame because it somehow came up that she changes in front of her four year old son. People thought it was a big deal. Now that I have a 3.5 year old, I don't feel it's a big deal. Yes, my son has noticed anatomical differences- but I don't shy away from it. I just explained it likes it's just another body part, which it is. I don't want to make a big deal about it. (Shrugs).
We'll see how long he's comfortable with it, and how I feel later on.
honeydew / 7586 posts
Whenever he expresses he is uncomfortable? He is 2 and I'm naked in front of him all the time. He's started to question where my penis is and whatnot but I don't think it's a bad thing. I just use his questions as teachable moments. I want him to be comfortable with his body and not think being naked is something to be ashamed of.
nectarine / 2987 posts
Whenever my kids seem uncomfortable. A lot of kids develop a preference for privacy between 4 and 6. But we are pretty pro bodies over here and I grew up in a house where my dad regularly walked around in his underwear. I eventually thought it was gross/lame, but in the same way I thought him blowing his nose was gross. It never made me uncomfortable.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
21 comments