Weird Fundy Rules for Dressing

[freejoytoo]

That's pretty sad. When we had a heatwave recently I saw lots of little kids playing in the park in just their swimming pants.

When I was in primary (elementary) school we all did PE in our underwear until the age of six or seven. They don't do that anymore.

[Esther]

I second this. I find it crazy that so many Americans advocate gun control and are perfectly okay with violent cartoons but act like a glimpse of breasts is a perversion. I would MUCH rather my child saw a sex scene than someone getting their head blown off.

I agree. So it's all right to teach your kid to shoot a gun BUT God forbid they see a naked breast or get sex ed at school or GOD FORBID - another pet peeve - hear the word "shit" on television!

[Deleted03]

reminds me that I had to beg at 16 to have the right to close my bedroom door (and it was not like I had a closed bedroom, the wall with the door was only partial there was a lot of free space above this wall).

It just sucks all the way, you don't own your kids, and if you don't trust them being "compliant" with your rules on their own, maybe your rules and teaching is not that good.

[holothuroidea]

I second this. I find it crazy that so many Americans advocate gun control and are perfectly okay with violent cartoons but act like a glimpse of breasts is a perversion. I would MUCH rather my child saw a sex scene than someone getting their head blown off.

Thirded. Most people I know recognize this as crazy bullshit, but it still exists anyway. I have no idea why. 50 years ago it would have been normal to see your father unashamedly hit your mother on a fairly regular basis, but to walk in on them having sex would be The End of The World. It makes zero sense. We've made a lot of progress against violence being normal, and some progress in removing the ridiculous taboos and restrictions on sexuality. There are a lot of backswings to "traditional values," though, (a lot of why this website exists) and progress is slow going.

[SpeakNow]

I think I must come from an abnormal american family. Neither me nor my sister shut the bathroom door when we showered/used the toilet until my mother finally asked us to (she didn't really enjoy watching her 10+ year old children going to the bathroom. Can't say i could blame her on that one). On vacations my sister and I (or my mother and sister) took showers together, and my dad was responsible for bathing my sister and I until we were old enough to do it independently. I'm 23 now, and none of us close the door when we change clothes. Nakedness just never seemed like that big a deal. If you don't sexualize it, it won't become "sexy."

[lilith]

It's not just America.

I'm in Australia, and I have had a stranger walking past my house come over and tell me to put pants on my 2 1/2 year old son who was playing in the front yard. When he was toilet training I left pants off often when we were at home, and even many of my friends, as they walked in the door, would ask him where his pants were and tell him to get some on.

Once when he was two and I picked him up without pants on I had an acquaintance flip out and tell me I was being inappropriate cause my arm was between his legs, near his naked genitals.

I grew up around adults and children who swam nude. The kids usually started choosing to wear swimmers and swim a bit away from the adults at about 10. But nudity is one area where my upbringing is FAR from the mainstream.

And the first time I ever saw an erection was with my first boyfriend. Nude swimming in a family context is just not sexual.

[bananacat]

I don't think kids really even need to be taught privacy. I know that when puberty hit, I WANTED to cover up more than I did as a kid. I think the only time a child needs to instructed is if they are bothering older siblings who are uncomfortable with openness. Otherwise they'll figure it out as soon as they start maturing.

[Conuly]

I know that when puberty hit, I WANTED to cover up more than I did as a kid.

I didn't particularly care more than I did when I was younger or do now... but at that point I was living in an all-female household and we had no A/C in the summer, so... yeah.

[Kishiria]

Holy mackerel! Are they allowed to close the bathroom door when they SHIT?