'Why is it not normal?': Mum defends bath with sons

[Danee]

Stacey Solomon has fought back after being criticised for sharing a photo that showed her bathing with her sons

I refuse to share a bath with my children. It's not that I think there's anything wrong with it, it's just that my bath time is one of the few moments of the day when I can get a little bit of personal space.

And I mean a little bit: I usually have one or two kids sitting on the bath mat chatting to me as I bath, so I don't get lonely. They're thoughtful like that.

But when Stacey Solomon – British singer and TV presenter – shared a photo recently of her in the bath with her two sons, she caused a social media storm with critics suggesting there was something wrong with a mum bathing with her children.
Stacey shared the snap of herself, Zachary, 9, and Leighton, 5, in the bath to celebrate UK Mother's Day.

"Isn't being a mum the best thing in the world?" Solomon wrote in the caption. "Even when they're shooting you in the face with their water pistols. Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers, grandmothers, carers, aunties, sisters, best friends you're all mothers in my eyes, one way or another!"
The photo attracted comments from people who disapproved. "This is wrong on so many levels," said one. "To each their own but I think it's healthy to teach children boundaries and privacy," opined another.
Solomon addressed the criticism on the British daytime chat show she co-hosts, Loose Women, saying, "I'm not horrified at all. Anyone who's horrified by the thought of parents sharing a bath with their children, I think, has issues."
She added that she doesn't see why the human body always has to be sexualised. "Why can't it just be the human body?" she asked. "Why's it not normal?"
Solomon went on to say having a bath together was just another part of the family's day.

"It's a normal thing in our house," she said. "It's almost like having dinner and going to bed and reading a bedtime story. Having a bath together is how we communicate and socialise and that's a massive part of our daily routine."

Plenty of mums agree, with a wave of support appearing on Instagram for the post.
"This photo is so beautiful! I love it," one commenter said.
Another mum wrote, "So lovely you and your kids are having fun love it."
And if I wasn't such a massive fan of personal space, I'd be doing it too. But my kids and I certainly all walk around naked a lot in our house, and I think that's perfectly healthy.

They're just bodies, after all – and one of the lessons I want my children to learn is to be comfortable in their own skin. If I can't model that in my own home for them, how will they learn?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/little-kids/96402717/why-is-it-not-normal-mum-defends-bath-with-sons

[Wesley]

I would take showers with my dad up to about 11 years old and absolutely loved the quality time together every evening. Especially being the oldest child out of three as my brother and sister (who are twins) would always bathe together it made me feel special that I got to shower with him as he was away at work all day. I'm not from a naturist family and as we grew older we started wanting to bathe by ourselves and thus these moments dissapeared. However, at our home it never caused any issues around privacy and no one really thought much about it. Many years later I walked in to the bathroom without knowing my sister was in the bath (If I had known I would have probably waited until she was out) to grab my toothbrush and ended up brushing my teeth and chatting with her, and it was nice that neither of us seemed to mind. We've left the parents house by now but it was great to grow up without unnecessary prudish privacy concerns

I bet European families are so much easier when it comes to this topic, but it still surprises me how much of a fuss people can make about these type of things.

[Danee]

I would take showers with my dad up to about 11 years old and absolutely loved the quality time together every evening. Especially being the oldest child out of three as my brother and sister (who are twins) would always bathe together it made me feel special that I got to shower with him as he was away at work all day. I'm not from a naturist family and as we grew older we started wanting to bathe by ourselves and thus these moments dissapeared. However, at our home it never caused any issues around privacy and no one really thought much about it. Many years later I walked in to the bathroom without knowing my sister was in the bath (If I had known I would have probably waited until she was out) to grab my toothbrush and ended up brushing my teeth and chatting with her, and it was nice that neither of us seemed to mind. We've left the parents house by now but it was great to grow up without unnecessary prudish privacy concerns

I bet European families are so much easier when it comes to this topic, but it still surprises me how much of a fuss people can make about these type of things.

The comments on her insta are like...from idiots.  Total idiots. 

Good for you, Wes! 

[Naturalguy87]

As usual, it's the people who with preconceived ideas about nudity who are throwing a fuss.  It's an absolutely beautiful photo, and nothing wrong with it at all.

I took showers with both of my parents at least into my early teens.  Never had any issue with it.  A lot of the times it was a lot more convenient, such as rinsing off after using the hot tub.  Easier to just pile into the shower rather than stand outside getting cold waiting for one person to finish.

[Brendarella]

She's absolutely right in her opinions, of course.  She even had the full right to put her photo on social media. I assume she though, like we would have done, that there's nothing wrong with it (because there isn't).

But social media is notorious for jumping on anything that can be twisted around. I wonder what actually constitutes a "social media storm" anyway?  Maybe it was just a few dozen idiots that simply had to get their comments in to make themselves feel important. 

My strategy has always been "I'm going to put this perfectly natural picture here and if you don't like it, then it's YOUR problem. Deal with it."

[highglyder]

Couldn't agree more, @Brendarella .

[Brendarella]

@highglyder
Thanks for your support.   

[rg007]

A nice article:

Want to raise body positive kids? Let them see you naked

http://www.essentialkids.com.au/development-advice/puberty/want-to-raise-body-positive-kids-let-them-see-you-naked-20160619-gpmxzk

[astaggs]

It makes me angry and sad that so many people react negatively to such a beautiful photo and to such a normal, everyday, innocent act. It's disgusting that people cannot see beyond sexuality when it comes to nudity, they need to get their minds out of the gutter. My wife and I bathe with our son and we will bathe with our daughter when she is old enough, and we will continue to bathe with them as long as they are comfortable with it. We will not let society poison our minds by making us think that this is perverted or gross, it's just natural.

[sargam]

Kids are the purest form of innocence and unadulterated mind. They don't have shame , anger , judgement , greed or lust  and they can be moulded in any form based on the knowledge shared by the parents/caretaker.

If a child takes off his/her clothes and walked in front of the guest and the parents reprimands the kid to put on some clothes , the kid associates nudity with anger , shame  and guilt.

But if a kid sees the "real people" and how they look like, he will associate human body with naturally growing up.

So its perfectly OK and I must admit that I know many woman who take bath in presence of their kids till they are 6 or 7 years old.

[Danee]

Kids are the purest form of innocence and unadulterated mind. They don't have shame , anger , judgement , greed or lust  and they can be molded in any form based on the knowledge shared by the parents/caretaker.

If a child takes off his/her clothes and walked in front of the guest and the parents reprimands the kid to put on some clothes , the kid associates nudity with anger , shame  and guilt.

But if a kid sees the "real people" and how they look like, he will associate human body with naturally growing up.

So its perfectly OK and I must admit that I know many woman who take bath in presence of their kids till they are 6 or 7 years old.

[Albinl]

Really cant understand what could possibly be wrong with a mum taking a bath with her sons. I often take baths  with my sons, 4 and 1 yo and Im not planning on giving it up any time soon. Its really great quality time actually without any phones or ipads to interfer.

Its a beautiful photo and it would make a great addition to the october photo round i think. Just to make a statement and back her up.

[cseven]

I would take showers with my dad up to about 11 years old and absolutely loved the quality time together every evening. Especially being the oldest child out of three as my brother and sister (who are twins) would always bathe together it made me feel special that I got to shower with him as he was away at work all day. I'm not from a naturist family and as we grew older we started wanting to bathe by ourselves and thus these moments dissapeared. However, at our home it never caused any issues around privacy and no one really thought much about it. Many years later I walked in to the bathroom without knowing my sister was in the bath (If I had known I would have probably waited until she was out) to grab my toothbrush and ended up brushing my teeth and chatting with her, and it was nice that neither of us seemed to mind. We've left the parents house by now but it was great to grow up without unnecessary prudish privacy concerns

I bet European families are so much easier when it comes to this topic, but it still surprises me how much of a fuss people can make about these type of things.

I grew up in the same environment at home. Wouldn't any other way for my own kids one day.

[Lisette]

I would take showers with my dad up to about 11 years old and absolutely loved the quality time together every evening. Especially being the oldest child out of three as my brother and sister (who are twins) would always bathe together it made me feel special that I got to shower with him as he was away at work all day. I'm not from a naturist family and as we grew older we started wanting to bathe by ourselves and thus these moments dissapeared. However, at our home it never caused any issues around privacy and no one really thought much about it. Many years later I walked in to the bathroom without knowing my sister was in the bath (If I had known I would have probably waited until she was out) to grab my toothbrush and ended up brushing my teeth and chatting with her, and it was nice that neither of us seemed to mind. We've left the parents house by now but it was great to grow up without unnecessary prudish privacy concerns

I bet European families are so much easier when it comes to this topic, but it still surprises me how much of a fuss people can make about these type of things.

It's the same with my family. I still took showers sometimes with my mom until I was 13 or so. She would not even mind if we would still take showers together now, because as a mother she enjoys it. My family is also not a naturist family, but we share the bathroom like it is the most normal thing in the world.

[SOPHIEW]

Brilliant article!!

Spooky my mum was cleaning her old things earlier and found this old photo of me and my brother in the bath together!!