# Would a naked 4 year old on a beach disturb you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693 "2014-08-03T02:43:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/41 "2014-08-04T01:51:33Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > So should ads with toddlers on TV be allowed to show nudity? Yes. > [@JohnClay](#): > > I would be bothered because I’d be trying to avoid getting a glance of his genitals. I hope you understand that this is \*your \*problem, and that the 4-year-old shouldn’t be expected to go out of his way to accommodate you. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/42 "2014-08-04T01:55:03Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > I would be bothered because I’d be trying to avoid getting a glance of his genitals. You do realize that most well-adjusted adults (I assume and hope) really aren’t hung-up on sexualizing the genitals of a 4-year-old. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/43 "2014-08-04T02:14:13Z")
If you’re alone on the beach and he’s peeing in the water, fine…BUT… Naked babies and toddlers on the beach are cute, though maybe not so sanitary. (“Toddler” describing those still mastering walking and running.) Youngsters—say three, four, five—in only underpants barely register a glance. But a naked four-year-old is not a toddler and already knows some kind of clothing is usually worn in public. Kinder to let him pick out his own swimming trunks than to be shamed by another family’s six-year-old’s sneer. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/44 "2014-08-04T02:17:47Z")
Just make sure you apply sunscreen to all of the exposed skin. 🙂 Four year olds running around sans clothing isn’t offensive to me. Most families have at least one kid that sheds his / her clothes as a preschooler. The peeing should be done in the water though. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/45 "2014-08-04T02:25:39Z")
Missed the edit window. “Kinder to tell him to keep his trunks on.” ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/46 "2014-08-04T03:12:06Z")
All these intelligent dopers worried about where the did is peeing understand its sterile, right? There are not many places where there aren’t lots of creatures of all sorts peeing on the ground, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/47 "2014-08-04T03:45:42Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > All these intelligent dopers worried about where the did is peeing understand its sterile, right? Just because urine is sterile doesn’t mean I want to lie down in a puddle of it. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/48 "2014-08-04T04:01:12Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > All these intelligent dopers worried about where the did is peeing understand its sterile, right? [Nope](https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/urine-not-sterile-and-neither-rest-you) ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/49 "2014-08-04T04:06:42Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > > [@JohnClay](#): > > > > So should ads with toddlers on TV be allowed to show nudity? > > Yes. Where would you draw the line though? e.g. what if there is a close-up on their genitals for a show about toilet training? > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > > [@JohnClay](#): > > > > I would be bothered because I’d be trying to avoid getting a glance of his genitals. > > …I hope you understand that this is \*your \*problem… Well the OP asked “Would a naked 4 year old on a beach disturb **you**?” (me) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/50 "2014-08-04T04:23:30Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Where would you draw the line though? e.g. what if there is a close-up on their genitals for a show about toilet training? Since I’m arguing against sexualizing young children, I guess I would draw the line at the point where the nudity itself is portrayed in a sexual fashion. Where that line goes when it comes to such an inherently fuzzy concept, though, I have no real clue. > [@JohnClay](#): > > Well the OP asked “Would a naked 4 year old on a beach disturb **you**?” (me) Now I’m wondering exactly what emotions you fear that an inadvertent glimpse of a kid’s tiny sausage might stir up in you. I’m not really sure if I want to ask, though. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/51 "2014-08-04T04:28:41Z")
A naked 4 year old wouldn’t disturb me. And I don’t see why it’s your problem if some pedophile sees your kid at a distance and jerks off later. That’s NOT what pedophiles do that hurts kids. But… 1. I don’t want to see anyone peeing at the beach, even an infant. I’m not worried about germs, I just think it’s gross. And stale pee smells really nasty, so I hope he pees someplace where it will be washed away by the ocean. 2. In America, it is customary for people to cover their bodies with clothing. Kids need to learn that sometime. Four seems like an age when kids are learning social norms, like hiding their genitalia in public. So you might be giving mixed messages, and some other kid and/or parent who is applying that rule to 4 year olds might hassle you or the kid, which would be unpleasant for the kid. FWIW, I’ve twice accidentally stumbled upon a nude beach, and come across people of all ages (including lots of old wrinkled people) with no clothes. And that didn’t bother me, either. It was just people enjoying the beach. Also, while I only do it privately, I personally, love swimming in the nude. Water sliding across your body just feels different when there is nothing between you and it. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/52 "2014-08-04T04:33:01Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > 1. In America, it is customary for people to cover their bodies with clothing. Kids need to learn that sometime. Like toilet training, this is one of the things that people need to be less stressed out over. Yes, they need to learn it sometime. If they haven’t picked it up by the time they’re in college, you’ll have a problem. But, like with toilet training, I somehow don’t see that as being a realistic scenario. In other words, letting little kids run naked at the beach isn’t really going to increase the risk of them showing up naked at job interviews later in life because they somehow never learned that people tend to wear clothes. They’ll probably get that message anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/53 "2014-08-04T04:43:47Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > …Now I’m wondering exactly what emotions you fear that an inadvertent glimpse of a kid’s tiny sausage might stir up in you. I’m not really sure if I want to ask, though. I’m not sure why but if I’m caught looking at nudity when I’m not allowed to I feel like I’m a pervert. Maybe I got trained that way when I was young. BTW I avoided some camps in primary school because I thought people would see me in the shower. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/54 "2014-08-04T04:54:09Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > I’m not sure why but if I’m caught looking at nudity when I’m not allowed to I feel like I’m a pervert. **John** , if the boy is running around in full view, and happens to be in your line of sight, I think it’s fair to say that you’re allowed to notice his existence, in a neutral and factual sort of way, without that making you a pervert. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/55 "2014-08-04T08:27:15Z")
> [@MrsTime](#): > > It wouldn’t disturb me, I too have had experience with little naked bodies running around after bath time. however if I were you I would worry about pedophiles eyeballing your little boy. All it takes is one moment that you look away. Yeah, they are really fast,and they swoop down from the sky like eagles, and they are everywhere!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/56 "2014-08-04T10:41:54Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > All these intelligent dopers worried about where the did is peeing understand its sterile, right? > > There are not many places where there aren’t lots of creatures of all sorts peeing on the ground, you know. Urine isn’t sterile. Urine has an bad smell that clings. Sitting in a fresh puddle of urine is different from sitting in an invisible dried-up one. None of this should have to be explained to an intelligent person. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/57 "2014-08-04T11:11:50Z")
The beaches I go to have naked kids and maybe 1/4 of the women topless. Men generally wear trunks, but will discretely-ishly change from bathing suit to shorts right where they are. As long as the kid doesn’t come over and take a dump by me why would I care? (Happened. Dad came with a bag and retrieved the kids offering) ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/58 "2014-08-04T11:20:08Z")
I certainly wouldn’t be disturbed by other peoples’ 4-year-olds running around on the beach. Not a parent; if I were I’d also let a 4-year-old of mine (of either sex) run around naked on the beach. Peeing anywhere you happen to be would be right out, OTOH. I expect parents to make their children discreetly pee where nobody steps in it (i.e. in the water or in dune vegetation where present). ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/59 "2014-08-04T13:35:11Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Now I’m wondering exactly what emotions you fear that an inadvertent glimpse of a kid’s tiny sausage might stir up in you. I’m not really sure if I want to ask, though. **JohnClay** already said he doesn’t feel comfortable having naked kids around. He’s not ogling them or trying to see more, but strives to avoid it. What more do you want from him? With the media’s obsession with pedophilia, I’m sure a lot of people feel this way. In a sense, they practically advertise it by portraying kids as “forbidden fruit.” ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/60 "2014-08-04T13:57:05Z")
> [@grude](#): > > This bugs my wife so much she would prefer to avoid the beach because she hates our son being naked in public. In answer to the thread title, no, I wouldn’t be disturbed, but I’d put clothes back on my kid. In answer to your OP, I certainly wouldn’t avoid the beach (and certainly not for fear of pedophiles). Kids do all sorts of “embarrassing” things, this one is pretty harmless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693.md?page=4)