# 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:** 5
**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, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/81 "2014-08-04T23:37:07Z")
Yes, I fear it does happen, and being accused is equivalent to being guilty in the court of public opinion, so who can blame someone for not wanting to risk it? ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/82 "2014-08-04T23:42:14Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I think your post says a _whole_ lot more about you than it does about your alleged “half-honest Dopers.” I’m sorry that you are so hung up (heh) on nudity and sexuality that you are so threatened by a naked toddler. I hope you don’t have children. I have a gaggle of em, and they all wear their clothes in public. ---
**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, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/83 "2014-08-04T23:49:26Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I have a gaggle of em, and they all wear their clothes in public. Nice sidestep. ---
**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, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/84 "2014-08-04T23:59:21Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > To be honest, I think some people are at that point. It pretty closely matches what a friend told a friend when they blogged a picture of their toddler in the bath. The Facebook messages went something like “But someone might look at that picture and then someone might accuse them of having child porn and now that picture will come up in their browser history and, after all, who would want to see pictures of your kids in the tub if they weren’t into child porn?” It was all just a little bit hysterical (use either definition - they both fit). Wow, that’s even one further removed. Now we have A regulating the clothing status of B based on what friend F thinks that hypothetical D might think of poor C. (And still no sight of E.) So the issue isn’t the pedophiles. It’s not even the pedophile-phobics. It’s the pedophile-phobic-phobics. (Or, in the scenario above, the pedophile-phobic-phobic-phobics.) (I guess I’m lucky that I’m just a pedophobe, pure and simple. I wouldn’t talk to the kid, or give him a second thought, in any case. Unless I notice a puddle of pee where I’m sitting. Then I’ll kick him into the ocean.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/85 "2014-08-05T00:05:09Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Parent A lets child B run around in the buff, causing person C to refuse to interact with the child because of his fear that stranger D will call 911? Does this happen in reality? Does what happen? - the fear or the 911 call? The fear definitely happens. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/86 "2014-08-06T12:08:22Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > As an 8 year old the Y only allowed us in the pool totally nude. It wasn’t until years later that it became common wisdom that they Y was gay owned and operated. What the ever-living-fuck does being gay have to do with naked _kids_? ---
**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 6, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/87 "2014-08-06T12:12:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What the ever-living-fuck does being gay have to do with naked _kids_? Didn’t you hear? All gays are pedophiles. Either that, or all pedophiles are gay. I can never remember which. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/88 "2014-08-06T15:01:43Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I think your post says a _whole_ lot more about you than it does about your alleged “half-honest Dopers.” I’m sorry that you are so hung up (heh) on nudity and sexuality that you are so threatened by a naked toddler. I hope you don’t have children. If it were normal, kids would go around naked all the time. It wouldn’t be the mark of shame that your kid runs outside naked. I wouldn’t have gotten spanked for going outside as a kid with only my socks and shoes on. So either most of you US Dopers are extremely esoteric in your beliefs, are extremely out of touch with current social mores, or, as he suggests, you are focusing on the fact that you don’t feel scandalized or freaked out when it happens, and not on the fact that it is considered to go against social standards, and thus qualifies as rude. Yes, **grude** , your wife is correct about current social mores. It is, at best, considered trashy for your kid to go around like that, and, yes, part of the reason for that is that it shows a lack of caring about pedophiles, whether that’s rational or not. It is indeed the current social climate, at least, in the U.S. And it has been since at least since 1989, when I went out like that. Sorry, old people. Nudity is more a taboo than it was when you were a kid. Guys don’t shower together or swim nude much, either. Times have changed. And, yes, it’s stupid, seeing as we also for some reason accept little kids wearing “sexy” clothing. No one said social mores are rational. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/89 "2014-08-06T16:17:36Z")
I just said that seeing a naked 4 year old at a beach or lake wouldn’t bother me. That said, I DO understand the fear of looking like a pervert around kids. When I’m alone, I think twice before chatting with or smiling at even a fully clothed cute kid. Last weekend, my son was playing at a nearby creek, and starting hanging wround with another little boy. My son climbed a tall rock, but the other little boy needed a boost. I was more than willing to help him, but I made a point of asking if his Mom or Dad was around, and if it was okay with them. I mean, I WAS the streotypical stranger she’s probably warned him not to talk to! Luckily, his Mom was nearby, and she gave me a smile and wave, to show it was okay. But it just goes to show… even those of of who are NOT pervs worry about being seen that way. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/90 "2014-08-07T04:11:07Z")
I wouldn’t be disturbed by any nudity at the beach . . . regardless of age, gender, body size, etc. ---
**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 7, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/91 "2014-08-07T04:22:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, yes, it’s stupid, seeing as we also for some reason accept little kids wearing “sexy” clothing. No one said social mores are rational. It is rational. Well, it’s creepy, but it’s not a paradox. It’s just two sides of the same coin. Covering up nudity and dressing up in sexy outfits are both about sexualizing the body. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/92 "2014-08-07T04:44:24Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I have a four year old son that loves the beach, he also loves pulling his bathing shorts down to pee or for whatever reason and starts running around naked. > > He has two parents watching him, so I say no big woop. Nothing bad is going to happen under the observation of us two parents. > > My wife however not only thinks it is rude to other beach goers to have to see GASP a sexually undeveloped child, but that a pedophile could see him at a distance and jerk off or something when they go back home. And I am like so what? If someone is disturbed by seeing a naked child they have issues, and for the pedos well they aren’t going to touch or talk to him and if they see him from 200 feet away and wank off later what do I care? They certainly have no possible way of knowing where my son lives. > > This bugs my wife so much she would prefer to avoid the beach because she hates our son being naked in public. I am exactly with you. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest as long as the kid wasn’t p155ing in an inappropriate spot. Some others have made reference to it makes your wife uncomfortable therefore it must stop, my reaction to that is to tell the missus to lighten up a bit. Let kids be kids while they can, we take away their innocence soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/93 "2014-08-07T04:49:02Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > What, and a topless 8 year old at the beach with her parents isn’t innocent nudity? Is she pulling Betty Page poses or something? Yelling propositions at the guys playing volleyball? > > I don’t really have any issue with a 4 year old running around naked, although I think nearly school-aged is generally old enough to be learning that there are things we just don’t do in public. This idea that nudity is “innocent” or not depending solely on how developed your body is, though…that I have some serious issues with. I mean, yeah, the four year old running around with his dick flapping in the wind doesn’t have any sexually provocative intentions, but neither does the 10 year old running around with her barely developed breast buds hanging out. Same intentions, totally different interpretations. This – I have a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. While either of them will whip their clothes off at a moment’s notice, my wife and I are actively working on what is socially acceptable – being naked in public (generally) isn’t one of those things. Would it bother me? Nope. Would I feel better if a parent was attempting to corral the kiddo and get some form of appropriate clothing for the situation? Yup. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/94 "2014-08-07T05:18:04Z")
This will only make sense to Karl Grenze probably but nope not Maracas, Chaguramas. Just to clarify he is peeing in the ocean surf, and it is not a crowded beach by any measure probably hundreds of feet between people. Easy enough to walk away if you feel crowded. Also he takes his shorts off to pee or because he doesn’t like the feeling, we can try to put it back on and he can take it off again, we’re not intentionally exposing a naked kid to get controversy or anything. Interesting opinions though, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/95 "2014-08-07T13:49:24Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Some others have made reference to it makes your wife uncomfortable therefore it must stop, my reaction to that is to tell the missus to lighten up a bit. Let kids be kids while they can, we take away their innocence soon enough. Has anyone’s discomfort ever ended because someone told them to “lighten up”? Or does her comfort not actually matter so once your edict has been delivered, you can just carry on with doing things your way? Treating your spouse this way is quite crappy. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Toothpaste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@James\_Toothpaste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Toothpaste)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/96 "2014-08-07T14:41:57Z")
A naked 4 year old would bother me no more than a naked adult would. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/97 "2014-08-07T15:38:06Z")
Wouldn’t bother me in the least as long as, like **Ibanez** , the kid stayed away from me. If the kid was running around near me or, worse, trying to interact with me then I’d have to pack up and leave. I would be worried that some busybody would find a way to twist my presence near a naked child into an arrest or at least a talk with the police. Sure, the likelihood of that happening is small but the consequences are terrible and forever. I had plenty of busybodies eyeball me or even ‘check up’ on me when I was out in public with my own (clothed) children - “Is this you child? Are you from around here? He’s so cute you really should …” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/98 "2014-08-07T17:24:02Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I wouldn’t be disturbed by any nudity at the beach . . . regardless of age, gender, body size, etc. Right. Well, if that person was really hot _and_ showing off, then I’d be "bothered’. But kids being nude is no big deal. Nor adults just going about minding their own business. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/99 "2014-08-07T18:54:59Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Just make sure you apply sunscreen to all of the exposed skin. 🙂 This. You don’t want to be kept awake all night by a child crying about his sunburnt wiener! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693/100 "2014-08-07T20:12:38Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > 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… I hope he’s peeing in the ocean. If I _have_ to, I wade out until I am covered, then urinate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-naked-4-year-old-on-a-beach-disturb-you/694693.md?page=6)