It’s quite normal for parents to be naked around their children when they’re babies or toddlers, perhaps sharing a shower or a bath or quickly getting changed while keeping an eye on them. But the question as to when mum and dad should start covering up in front of their kids remains a controversial topic.
Some believe once kids hit their teenage years there should be absolutely no displays of nakedness in the home, while others like Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman take the opposite stance.
Speaking on the Sali Hughes Beauty podcast recently, Claudia, 46, admitted she walks around nude in front of her three children, aged 15, 12 and seven, The Sun reports.
Growing up in a family that encouraged naturism, Claudia explained that she is completely comfortable with nudity, but admitted her teenage son Jake doens’t feel the same way.
“The 15-year-old is appalled, but the whole point about mums is that they are meant to be embarrassing!” she exclaimed.
As a child, Claudia said she and her family regularly embraced nudity, adding: “And I married a Danish man. He has never got his clothes on.”
Read more: Is it appropriate to be naked in front of your grandkids?
It’s the second time in recent months the topic of adult nudity in front of children has stirred debate. In July, a woman ignited debate after complaining that her mother-in-law was walking around naked while babysitting her two sons aged 12 and seven.
Writing on Mumsnet, the woman explained that her mother-in-law was graciously looking after the boys to help out with childcare in school holidays, but rather than coming home with exciting takes of fun and games, the biggest news from the boys’ day was gran’s bare bottom.
“Ds1 came home and said ‘gran was walking round naked!’ It turns out she had gone for a mid-morning shower and was walking about naked,” the woman wrote.
She then asked readers if she was being unreasonable to think it was odd to wander around naked while babysitting, especially given her sons’ ages.
Plenty of Mumsnet readers agreed it was out of the ordinary and suggested it would be embarrassing for the boys, who are definitely old enough to remember copping a full frontal view of grandma’s naked body.