I Let My Kids Run Around Naked. What's the Big Deal?

My toddlers love being naked and I don't care! I'm always bewildered by parents who don't let their toddlers run around naked outside. It's the ideal outfit for toilet training, for one thing. And nothing, not even the softest cotton, feels better on the skin than air (and water ... and mud ... and shaving cream. But we'll get there in a minute).

My kids have sensitive skin, so even the softest clothes make them a little itchy. Nudity, on the other hand, lets their skin breathe. Once winter is over, and the snowsuits are no longer required, we set up a little wading pool in the yard and have naked time all summer long (of course, I slather them in sunscreen!). We live across the street from a church, but no one has ever complained.


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The kids cover themselves in shaving cream and we let them use the hose (hooked up to warm water from the washing machine in the basement) to wash themselves off. We run the hose in the dirt bed to make mud and let the kids wallow like hogs. It's pretty funny.

One of my favorite videos features my three-year-old son on top of his dad's car in the driveway, with the radio blaring rock and roll, stark naked and dancing. His eyes are closed, his face is radiating joy, and he's lost in the "now" of being exactly who he is and where he wants to be. I love that he's so confident and comfortable in his own skin that he doesn't feel self-conscious at all!

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I'm not worried about getting my kids to keep their clothes on when they get older; I'm pretty sure peer pressure will do that job for me. While they're little, though, this is an easy gift to give them. It's free, it's healthy it's perfectly natural and it makes them happy. Is that so bad?

Can you relate?

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