I ask after a mum in Newcastle opened the front door to find two police officers on the doorstep because her kids were playing in their paddling pool with no clothes on.
I kid you not, a neighbour had called the NSPCC who in turn called the police concerning the βwelfareβ of the two children, who had done nothing more than splash about in their back garden.
Iβm sorry, but I canβt help having a rant about this one. It transpires the younger of the two kids wasnβt even completely naked β she had a nappy on β and, unsurprisingly, the poor mum was horrified.
And I find the whole thing absolutely bonkers!
Should kids be allowed to play naked in the garden?
Apart from the fact gardens are private property, and therefore, by definition, private, has the world gone stark raving mad?
Have neighbours got nothing better to do than snoop on innocent children playing in their back yards when the sun comes out?
And surely the police have got better things to do than turn up on the doorsteps of unsuspecting mums just because kids are being kids. Like actually fighting crime.
The thing is, people seem to fall into two very different camps when it comes to nakedness. My post Are you a naked house? remains one of my top performing posts despite being two years old, and some of the comments against it are quite staggering. I canβt even approve some of them because theyβre too rude.
Still, I’m unapologetic. Weβre most definitely a naked house, and that extends outside too. Although we donβt have a garden we do have an allotment, where the kids regularly splash about in our paddling pool in their birthday suits.
To me playing in paddling pools without a stitch on and running naked through garden hoses is a childhood rite of passage, not a crime that needs to be censored by nosy neighbours.
Not only is it huge fun, itβs a sensory experience which gets them outside in the fresh air, raises their heart beats and gets those happy hormones flowing too.
Thankfully the police officers in question conceded the Newscastle call-out was ridiculous and laughed it off, but even so, itβs not really a laughing matter. If you ask me itβs the neighbour who should have been investigated, for wasting police time.
So, I have just one thing to say to nosy from Newcastle: if you donβt like it, don’t look!
What do you think? Do you let your kids play outside garden in their birthday suits? Or do you think this neighbour was right to call the authorities? Iβd love to hear your point of view!
That’s just ridiculous! Stark raving bonkers! I would suspect the neighbour had some sort of grudge because no rationale human could surely see anything wrong in that? I live in a house with a 1st floor balcony at the back, the same as the next 3 houses in the row. I use it but I am always concious not to look into the neighbours gardens – becuase as you say, it’s private. I have no issue with people report REAL issues, let’s not discourage that, but this is just daft!
#ThatFridayLinky
I can’t believe someone actually called the police about this! When my girls were younger they were frequently in the garden in just their nappies, and on occasion they’ve gone into the garden in the summer in their shorts and t-shirts and before I know it they’ve stripped naked are bouncing on the trampoline. I don’t have a problem playing naked in the privacy of their own gardens. Sadly our garden can be seen from the pub next door which is why I don’t encourage my kids to play naked in the garden, but if my garden was 100% private and no one outside could see in, then why not! Like you, we’re a naked house. When I’m in the shower, my girls quite often come in to use the loo, brush their teeth or just have a chat, the same with my husband! Some people are just bonkers! Thanks for joining in with #ThatFridayLinky
we are a naked family too and I make no apologies for it. I don’t blame the police for taking a minute to check things out but that neighbor must be a real pain in the ass to live next to. I’d be out there giving her something to spy on in no time #thatfridaylinky
Absolutely kids should be allowed to play naked in the garden, their own inhibitions set in soon enough without us helping things along. #DreamTeam
our kids have always loved getting nakkie in the garden and I would never stop that it is just kids having fun and feeling free #dreamteam
Wow that’s crazy! I would be rather concerned for the neighbour who was clearly ogling young naked children… agree on your points – but then I partly grew up in Southern Europe where attitudes are more relaxed.. #dreamteam
We discussed this news story just yesterday as my young man was frolicking around the garden with no clothes on. He’d been in the sand pit so I stripped him down and hosed off the sand and he was delighted to be dancing around the garden in his birthday suit. We laughed and commented how lovely it was! #DreamTeam
I’ve just seen you on This Morning and whole-heartedly support your comments and views. I think the world has finally gone mad! As you say, children grow up so fast these days, so to play un-inhibited in the privacy of their back garden (or private space) is a valuable part of their development as your children. The shame and in-appropriate behaviour is on the neighbour’s part, who was clearly looking at the children over the fence!
In contrast, to constantly highlight from an early age that our children should always cover up their private parts could lead, in my view, to image insecurities and and physiological issues as they enter adulthood. Clearly we need to safe-guard our children, but please let’s do it in a sensible way and let children be children.
I’ve just seen you on This Morning and whole-heartedly support your comments and views. I think the world has finally gone mad! As you say, children grow up so fast these days, so to play un-inhibited in the privacy of their back garden (or private space) is a valuable part of their development as your children. The shame and in-appropriate behaviour is on the neighbour’s part, who was clearly looking at the children over the fence!
In contrast, to constantly highlight from an early age that our children should always cover up their private parts could lead, in my view, to image insecurities and and physiological issues as they enter adulthood. Clearly we need to safe-guard our children, but please let’s do it in a sensible way and let children be children.
My youngest son would play naked out in the garden, (well not exactly, he’d put his wellies on), he had a habit of sitting on the ground so for obvious reasons I would have to chase him to put his pants on. None of my neighbours said anything out of turn.
Wow! All I can say is wow! I cannot believe this was even a police matter. I could understand if they were out naked on a HOT HOT day without shade, that is definitely a cause of concern due to sunburn and heatstroke. But playing in a pool?! Ridiculous! People really have lost sight of what the police are there for. #DreamTeam
The world most definitely has gone stark raving mad! As you say, it is a rite of passage for kids along with making dens with mummy’s bed sheets.
Police nowadays do have a lot more to do then what they ever used to, not to mention much less resource so it”s a complete waste of their time.
Madness its madness… Every time I turn around one of my kids is stripping off. I can’t stop them and why should I? Like you say one of the joys of being a child is playing out in the summer and being free. So if being free means naked then I think they should for sure be allowed.
By the way if you tried to comment on my host post this week there was an issue with the privacy policy, but it is back up and running now. If you had time to pop back I would appreciate it. Thanks for being with us on the #DreamTeam