At what age do you feel children should be made to forced to wear clothes, at home, in a variety of situations?

Unless your family practices nudity, it is best to get children accustomed to society’s norms. That includes wearing clothes.

If a child balks, you can offer them the chance to choose between a couple of different outfits.

I think kids should at least wear underwear around the house for sanitary reasons. But they shouldn’t be forced to wear clothes in the house because it’s “modest.”

I have friends with children between the ages of 1 yr old to 5 yrs old. I would be more offended if I walked into my friend’s house to visit and I seen her 5 yr old son running around the house naked. I’d call that inappropriate. But I wouldn’t think anything of seeing my friend’s 1 or even 2 yr old running around the house in nothing but a diaper. I can’t really understand why a child should be completely naked for more than a few minutes at a time. Who cleans up the mess when they use the bathroom on the floor???

I think it’s silly to force a kid (or anyone, really) to wear any clothing inside the house. If they weren’t toilet trained then diapers might be enforced, but if my kid really didn’t want to wear one I’d show them where the toilet was and say they got to choose between going in the toilet or wearing their diaper! Any visitors I’d be likely to have wouldn’t mind. I’d probably enforce clothing for things like parties, though.

Outside I think I’d always enforce clothing, or at least a diaper (but probably clothing by toddlerhood). If it’s really hot out, I’d offer a bathing suit for playing outside if my kiddie was balking at wearing clothes. I don’t think a naked kid would invite child molesters, but I do think it’s good to teach children that outside is not a naked place. Especially the front yard. There are laws about public indecency, whether or not I agree with them, and you may as well teach your kids young.

When there is no one around, inside, no clothes are necessary for a toilet trained, or just a diaper for the younger. If anyone come to the house, they should be encouraged to stay in their room or only come with clothes on. Outside, unless private, clothes should be worn.

In our house, clothing is optional.

My children are six and they run around the house naked at times. Ever since the age of about two, we would however kind of nudge them back into clothing.

Every now and then (rarer lately, though), we’d come up to the living room where they’re playing with friends and we might find any number of kids having undressed. We would tell them to get dressed again.

I would, however, not consider it offensive and do not understand why people would take offense of what a child does in innocence.
As a parent, I would, in general, get clothes on all kids that walk on their own, when visitors are over. But when alone and in the privacy of your own house, why worry?

edit: When our boys were in the process of getting blather-control, we’d often allow them to walk around the house naked and without a diaper, so that it would be easier for them to make it to the toilet. We also gave them a period of walking naked after having showered or taking a bath, feeling that it benefitted their skin. It allowed their skin to fully dry. Especially in the age of diapers that proofed beneficial to them and cure diaper rash better than any cream. (We wouldn’t have visitors over at those moments, though.)

I see no problem with little kids running around nude or in diapers. My son does it all the time, I let him go out to play in diapers as well, but I don’t take him out to stores or whatever in just a diaper.
If he’s older like 7 or up, then he has to at least wear underwear, unless he just got a shower and that is when being nude for a while is okay (like up to an hour) I prefer being in my underwear all the time, but living with extended family prevents that :(

My children are always in their underwear. My son always liked to be naked and it didn’t bother me until his little sister had a problem with it. Once she didn’t want to see him running around, bouncing around, I switched the rules to accommodate a bit more privacy and modesty. Now they are 8 and 6, and I’m getting over the underwear thing, I want him to have pajama pants on now if he is around his sister. If I had two boys/two girls, I’m pretty sure that I would think a lot differently.

I don’t think it would ever make me feel uncomfortable, but I’m sure they’d want to start wearing clothes at some point. I am pretty sure they wouldn’t like to go around naked in public, so they’d probably make it a habit at home.

For my daughter nakedness was never an issue and I often don’t bother with a swimming suit when we go to the beach (she’s 4) or just change her in public and so on. I remember going swimming with her two best friends (brother and sister) and at some point they thought it would be fun to take their clothes off and be completely naked. The boy was 9 or 10 at the time, which I feel was too old to be naked (but we were basically alone and in the water, not sitting in a restaurant or something). The girl was 6 or 7, which I think was ok. The same kids often take off their clothes in my home if they have a shower or something (they are in a way part of the family, so we all feel comfortable about it).

I’d say the absolute limit would be 12 though. That’s when I’d probably try and persuade my daughter to put on her clothes. Until then, I might merely mention it.

My oldest is 3…he can run around naked but he doesn’t usually…in that we’ve always put clothes on him and he doesn’t care to take it off…shoes are a must on the stone floors downstairs but he doesn’t have to have them on our linoleum floors…

I let mine run around naked til they were about 3. Mostly after bathtime. After that they were too old in their own opinions!

125 or older. Forcing anyone to wear clothing just teaches them shame; shame is not natural, and should never be taught. Grandparents are great at teaching shame because they were taught to be ashamed.

Visitor are subject to the rules of the house; my house, my rules; your house, your rules. If you teach your kids to take cover every time someone knocks on the door, you’re teaching them to be ashamed of body.

Being natural, is natural.

@DrBill I completely agree. my children will never have to have clothes on in the house and neither will their friends, and their friends parents will be let know up front that we are a nudist family

My little sister NEVER wore clothes, even at the beach no matter how much my mum insisted on her wearing her swimming cossie she would always end up taking it off! She still goes topless abroad now and she’s 29!

My little girl used to go round the house naked, or in her nickers all the time, especially after bath time and during toilet training! She stopped wanting to do this around 4ish She sees me and her dad naked (as we sleep like this) but this happens less often now as she knocks before entering or room now!

As she gets older and starts to develop, she is starting to cover up more, she won’t let me see her in the bath to help wash her very long hair! etc.. (aged 10) So I have had to show her how to do – which isn’t a bad thing as she is becoming more independant!

Nakedness is nothing to be ashamed of its the way you entered the world, but with regards to appropriateness if your guest or your child feels uncomfortable don’t do it!