My 11 year old son has no embarrassment or shyness at all yet about being naked around me. He wants to wear as few clothes as possible at all times anyway, which drives me crazy.

Anyway, shouldn't he be feeling a little weird about it by his age? I don't want him to be TOO uninhibited. He doesn't have the best social awareness and I feel like I can't trust him to figure out on his own when he's too old to be parading around naked in front of his mother, but I also don't want to make him ashamed of his body or whatever other psychological trauma I might inflict.

Why is he so freakin' weird?

Ask CPF - he is our resident 'Naked Guy'.

hee! That's right, he's probably not wearing pants right now!

You know, I'd like to see what other people have to say about this. It's Nudist Island for Vampire at our house. He doesn't want other people to see his weiner, but he has no beef with showing it to us all day. In fact, I've never seen a kid that can strip as fast as he does. Alex will come in, hang up his backpack, put his cane in the corner (LOVE YOU, kid) and Vampire will be naked by then.

We're sort of clothing-lite at our house (my husband is Underwear Guy. Prances about in his underpants all of the time. I told him he really needed to cut it out by the time our kids started having sleepovers. He agreed.) but all of the dainty bits and bobs are always covered except for Vampire. He's the Amazing Perpetually Naked Child.

It has nothing to do with you, and more to do with wanting to be free. Once the hair starts coming in, the shaving starts, and the equipment starts working, he'll naturally head for more private quarters when he's naked.

In the meantime, he should be preparing mentally for puberty, even if it's still a couple of years away.

Oh, I thought this was about parent nudity.

I'd say before he's 13 or so restrict naked time to his room. Equating it with privacy and what's appropriate behavior.

My dad was Underwear Guy and only started being Creepy Robe Guy since the boys were born. I grew up thinking every one's dad hung around the house in a pair of tighty whities.

I think 11 is a little old to want to wander around nude in front of mom, each kid is a little different, so 11 and still naked is not out of the realm of normal. As long as its his choice, and neither of you is uncomfortable, I cant see it being an issue,

It changes very quickly though, like a switch, suddenly they get modest. Then later they relax a bit after about 15.

My sons will still skinny dip with me on occaision, on warm summer nights, and we will change in the same room sometime, but its rare.

Ruth, dont worry about it, let him be, he will let you know when its time, he will simply start coverinng up. Enjoy your little boy for a few more months before he starts to really grow up.

I agree with Capt.

My oldest is 9 and is starting to require more privacy. But she and her sibs will shuck their clothes the minute a sprinkler is put into use. My first impulse is to tell them to go inside and put on swimsuit, but my wife says, what the hell, let them enjoy the moment. So we let them play until they start to get cold and then one of us goes and draws a warm bath for them.

Sam is already Underwear Guy. He NEVER wants to have anything on but his underwear and I have to force him to at least put on a t-shirt. For some reason that bugs me but I'm glad to hear it's not THAT unusual.

The nudity thing is more just not caring, and not being self-conscious, so I guess it sounds like that's within the realm of usual. He doesn't go out of his way to be naked, but stepping out of the shower, brushing his teeth, he doesn't cover up, just wanders in my room to tell me something, wanders back to the bathroom, etc. But there's also times when he's in his room with the door shut and he definitely wants me to knock and respect his privacy then.

Ellie, that's cracking me up, the description of Vampire getting stripped so fast! He's still so young though, I'm PRETTY sure by 11 he'll wait until he's in his room to strip off!!

I am cracking up over "why is he so freaking weird.."

I say enjoy it while it lasts, he's still young and if he feels comfortable in his own skin, fantastic.

But that's me, and I've got no problem with nakedness. I think we freak too often about bodies, and parts, and being naked and it's pretty much the most comfortable way to be, especially in summer.

My 11 year old just hit the shut-the-door stage - up to about a month ago he would come to the top of the stairs naked as a plucked jaybird if I called him at the wrong time.

What I have also noticed is that STB#2 is much more modest with his stuff now that his older brother has started being more modest. He will still leave the door open on occasion but will generally look surprised and scurry away when I point it out.

Glad to hear that my kids aren't the only ones who like to strip as soon as they get home from school/daycare. I had to explain to my oldest that stripping at school in the bathroom was not okay because other kids didn't want to see him naked. He has gotten better about it, but he still forgets sometimes when he is taking a leak and pulls his pants down instead of unzipping his fly and so his butt is hanging out. But both my kids would rather be in underwear when they are at home. My daughter wants to run around with no shirt on in the summer. I was the same way as a kid, I remember when I got to the age where my mom told me I couldn't go shirtless anymore like my brothers did. It was a sad day.

I am of the mindset that naked it alright, and that we naturally gain modesty, as another post stated, when our bodies start to change. I don't think he's weird. We ran around naked sometimes 'til we were about 10, and the only reason we started putting clothes on at home more was when my Mom (parents divorced) had a new boyfriend - we didn't want to be caught naked around him, but when it was just our parents, we didn't have any shyness at all. We eventually grew out of it, but it was on our own time. Various forms of dress are all social constructs that kids learn as they get older. Babies and young'ns have no concept of modesty until they learn it from older folks - so no, I don't think your son is weird. Your comment was funny, though! What's really weird is not all that long after we pick up on the fact that we are supposed to stay dressed in front of people, we end up in middle school where we have to strip down in front of other people in the PE dressing room! How confusing!

So is 37 too old to be naked guy?

I hope its not brought on by environmental factors - like naked parents... Then again, my dad was underwear guy, so I just debunked that theory.