nudity
Remember that scene in the Adam Sandler movie, Big Daddy, where he's giving this little boy a bath and the boy stands up and is wearing his swimsuit. Adam's character replies when the little boy asks why he's wearing a swimsuit, "Cause I don't know the rules with little kids and the whole shower thing."
OK, but what about if it's your own son?
I usually give the baby his bath because of the time and mess involved in the bathing process for a toddler. A few nights ago, Christopher volunteered. At one point, when I walked by (No, I was NOT checking up, thankyouverymuch) I noticed Christopher looked like he was going to take a bath with Owen. This seemed perfectly natural and a good idea to me.
Um, except when I walked by a few minutes later, I noticed Christopher IN HIS GODDAMN BATHING SUIT. Yes, swimming trunks. Shorts. Whatever. He didn't feel comfortable being naked in the bath with his own son!!!!
OK, Christopher, a little type-A-ish. A little uptight about certain things (he doesn't like me eating off his plate or being in the bathroom while he goes). That's fine. He was raised by a father who was an only child of an only child. I figure they were just not open about some stuff in his family. His father is distant and his mother is EXTEMELY self-conscious about body issues.
But being uncomfortable about your own nudity in front of our one year-old? What. The. Fuck? What kind of issues are we dealing with here? Christopher wasn't molested as a child. He doesn't have self-esteem problems. He goes to a gym, works out and showers. He takes a sauna with other naked men. He enjoys general (if private) nudity (his own and mine).
I'm unsure how to procede. I didn't want to press the issue then and there so I waited until this evening and asked him about it. He gave me the Adam Sandler line. He said he didn't feel comfortable and that the bathing suit was, "here to stay." Huh.
I want my child to grow up with a healthy attitude towards sex and to feel good about his own body and sexuality. How am I going to do this when his male role model won't take off his clothes in front of him????
OK, but what about if it's your own son?
I usually give the baby his bath because of the time and mess involved in the bathing process for a toddler. A few nights ago, Christopher volunteered. At one point, when I walked by (No, I was NOT checking up, thankyouverymuch) I noticed Christopher looked like he was going to take a bath with Owen. This seemed perfectly natural and a good idea to me.
Um, except when I walked by a few minutes later, I noticed Christopher IN HIS GODDAMN BATHING SUIT. Yes, swimming trunks. Shorts. Whatever. He didn't feel comfortable being naked in the bath with his own son!!!!
OK, Christopher, a little type-A-ish. A little uptight about certain things (he doesn't like me eating off his plate or being in the bathroom while he goes). That's fine. He was raised by a father who was an only child of an only child. I figure they were just not open about some stuff in his family. His father is distant and his mother is EXTEMELY self-conscious about body issues.
But being uncomfortable about your own nudity in front of our one year-old? What. The. Fuck? What kind of issues are we dealing with here? Christopher wasn't molested as a child. He doesn't have self-esteem problems. He goes to a gym, works out and showers. He takes a sauna with other naked men. He enjoys general (if private) nudity (his own and mine).
I'm unsure how to procede. I didn't want to press the issue then and there so I waited until this evening and asked him about it. He gave me the Adam Sandler line. He said he didn't feel comfortable and that the bathing suit was, "here to stay." Huh.
I want my child to grow up with a healthy attitude towards sex and to feel good about his own body and sexuality. How am I going to do this when his male role model won't take off his clothes in front of him????
posted by Lisa at
9:28 PM
3 Comments:
omg get a new daddy
No, no new daddy, maybe just a little work on the nudity thing.
I have to admit, I'm still laughing! Good luck!
I'll give that grabbing issues are a perfectly rational explanation for this sort of behavior.
Although I was more disturbed at the thought of Christopher being afraid of what other people thought of him being nude in the tube with his own son--or--worse yet, him being so afraid of his own nudity that he was incapable of being nude in front of the baby.
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