What are the opinions of dopers regarding this? At what age (of the child) should fathers stop letting their daughters (or mothers stop letting their sons) see them nude? Does it differ for sons or daughters?
My daughter just turned 3. She regularly comes into the bathroom while I am on the throne, taking a shower or changing clothes. She will occasionally take a shower with me, primarily because my wife has already taken a shower, and we are short on time and it’s easier than giving her a separate bath. I currently don’t see a problem with it, but I have a feeling that it will become more awkward…at least for me.
Nudists: Never too old
Polar nudist opposites: Never at all
Most everyone else: Probably a range of all ages before puberty
And some families aren’t nudists, but walk around nude in the house.
no age, (wanted to say 80, but I bathed my grandmother when her nurse was sick)
not growing up with bodyshame is a great thing, IMHO
just make sure they understand about that there are rules and conventions about clothing in the outside world
I think a grown man showering with a 3 y.o. is a bit excessive, just because you’re in cramped quarters and their eye-level is equal to an adult’s genital-level.
I took showers with my dad up until I was about eight, I recall. I think by then our shower stall was running out of space for both of us, rather than the nudity being an issue!
Well, my mom’s a sometime nudist, and I was taken to my share of painfully wholesome clothing-optional family events as a kid.
Nevertheless, if I ever spawn/adopt/foster kids, they won’t be seeing me nude after they’re old enough to remember it, just because I’d be feeling uncomfortable about it (I just don’t like kids–or anyone except my partner, really–staring at my hairy ass, thanks). That discomfort would probably be more awkward than the nudity itself.
When they can remember it. You don’t want your adult kids going “Remember that time we took a shower together?” You don’t even want them thinking it. Gross.
Father with two (now grown) daughters chiming in here.
I’d say “until either the parent or the child starts becoming embarrassed about it”. In the case of me seeing them it was them that started getting embarrassed; in the case of them seeing me it was me that was bothered by it.
There were certainly no problems with my giving my kids a bath when they were little, and I do remember that when they were in the process of being potty trained I peed sitting down so as not to confuse the situation when the inevitable charge-into-the-bathroom-without-knocking-to-ask-dad-a-question occurred (“but daddy does it standing up!”).
…and when my twenty-four-year-old daughter dropped by the house aways back and caught me painting the hallway in my underwear (hey, I was backing into a freshly-painted wall all too often) it was definitely me that was embarrassed.
Both of my kids (one boy, one girl) started getting embarrassed by nudity at about 8 or 9. Both their own and mine. Any older and I expect I would have been the one to get embarrassed.
I think this is one of those cases where mother nature knows what she is doing and already has a plan.
My daughters are 8 and 6, and my wife and I are generally open-door people for everything except a number 2. My kids are frequently in our room when I’m changing after work, or we’re getting dressed in the morning. I’ve recently started wondering if I should be shutting the door when I change, but I don’t want them to learn that nudity is bad. Not that they would, but I just imagine the day when they’re 14 and think “oooh, gross- I know what my daddy looks like naked! Brain bleach!!”
My kids actually giggle and get embarrassed when they see me in my underwear (“Daddy! Your underwear is showing!!”), but then I take them off and they’re back to normal.
My 7 y.o. daughter has decided it is time to keep her nudity to herself- but it is equally true for her mother and me so she declared that nudity is done.
I’m not sure what age it becomes “oops!”, but I think it’s OK if it happens occasionally by accident in a family of several people living together in one home.
I’m thinking when they start remembering it is when they should not see you naked. So, around 4 or 5 ish. On the other hand, I think it’s still okay for a parent to bathe/dress a sick child. When I was 7, I was really sick and weak. My mom was at a conference for the weekend and I was miserable. My dad helped dress me, bathe me, etc. So yes, he saw me naked, but there weren’t a lot of other options. Have my brothers dress me? Not so much.
Nudity shouldn’t be an issue but in real life it is.
The simple explination is, if it bothers the OP then she’s too old. Obviously this bothers the OP or he wouldn’t have asked. In this particular case, which may or may not apply to anyone else, it’s time to stop it.
My daughter is 19, and got shy about he own body many years ago. However, she isn’t so shy that she won’t walk into our room whenever she feels like it, and I don’t wear pajamas in my own room. She doesn’t run out of the room screaming for a therapist, and I have no inclination to change my behaviour - it won’t be long and my wife and I will have the whole house to ourselves.