Maybe she doesn't like bathing suits.....

Today, my daughter actually listened to me! Ok, she half listened to me. After bickering with her for most of the day and her dashing out in the front yard in only her underwear, I told her sternly. "You cannot go in the yard with your underwear on! You need a shirt and shorts!" Well, guess which part of that she remembered. Yup, you guessed it - the first part. As I am finishing up the dishes, I notice that I cannot hear her playing in the living room. I call for her and no reaction, so I head to the other room, AND THAT IS WHEN I SEE THEM. A tiny pair of purple undies with little designs on them right on the floor at the door. I poke my head out and hear her just laughing away. She is right by the door splashing away in her tiny pool - naked as the day she was born. Now, had our backyard NOT been completely exposed to the road, I wouldn't have cared if she was naked or not. However, not knowing who is going by (creeps, CAS callers, etc), I need to get this child clothed! She still thought it was hilarious, as did I.

You see, in our home, bodies are nothing to be ashamed of. She is very curious about anatomy, as previously posted. She is often present as I nurse the boys, and body parts, to her, are simply body parts. Obviously, we don't live in a nudist colony, so nude living is not our way of life. That said, she is two, and she simply thinks it is silly that it would be inappropriate for her to be naked in the yard.

"Why do I have to wear a bathing suit? I was in the yard." I had to stop and think for a minute. How do I answer her without leading to more questions. 'Because it isn't appropriate'.... 'Because some perv might end up looking at you in a bad way' .... 'Because people might not like mommy letting your run around naked <gulp> in our yard'...  I was suddenly hit with the fact that my daughter is not going to understand any reasoning about sexuality, because <drumroll please> SHE IS TWO. Her body is not sexual. It is simply her body. For all she cares, she could be in a snowsuit or butt naked, and be happy. She could be in her favourite dress or a pirate outfit, and be happy. She doesn't care. There is no right or wrong way for her to be dressed. She just wants to have fun. We settled on 'Because I told you so' and both laughed as we went in to pick out a bathing suit for her to wear.

Now, I am not saying that she should be able to run around naked whenever she wants. I do think there are definitely places and times for clothes. :P I also understand that there are sick people in this world who do like to look at children in sexual ways, and protecting our children is a MUST. However, it would just be refreshing not to have to worry about having my two year old sexualized. Her young, pure mind just does not understand what is so wrong and 'scary' about being naked in the back yard. Obviously, I know that as she grows, we will have conversations about proper clothing, but how do you tell a two year old that she can't because 'she might attract the wrong type of attention'?

Honestly, I think it is sad that I even have to think about this. I do not want to rob my daughter of simply being able to have a body. Children become sexual being way to young these days, and, once that innocence is gone, IT IS GONE! I would love for her to be able to run around and just enjoy our back yard with no concerns - whether she wants to be fully clothed or naked. But, it is just not safe anymore. I guess fact of the matter is, that in a perfect world, she should be able to do just that, BECAUSE SHE IS TWO.

Thankfully, for now, 'Because I told you so' works well enough. I guess I will have to come up with more responses for when that doesn't work anymore. In the meantime, I am thankful for the fact that she has quite a few bathing suits that she loves, and I'm quite sure that she isn't going to be taking up streaking as a hobby. :) (Although, apparently, if she does take streaking up as a hobby, she would be taking after her father.)