Too old to be nudey rudey?

Last week we were at divine Clifton Gardens with my extraordinary Mum.

She is an amazing Mum and an even better Grandma and I am constantly in awe of her. She is all about letting kids be kids, get dirty, climb trees, be outside and so on.

So, when Wild Man stripped off for an impromptu swim, I was completely astonished when my Mum said "He'll be too old for that soon, you know."*

Seriously, three and a half is too old to be nude at the beach?

I was astounded that she thought that because it hadn't even crossed my mind. Perhaps I'm in denial about how big my little man is getting.

It also made me really sad. Playing naked in the sun is such a lovely thing in a child's life and I don't want it to be over for Wild Man yet.

And it isn't. Not yet.

I hope people aren't offended by it, and I do take my Mum's point that on a crowded beach in the middle of summer kids should probably wear swimmers, but if it happens that we end up somewhere that Wild Man can swim and he wants to strip off and play in the water I'm OK with that.

But clearly the time is coming when he is too old to paddle nudey rudey (as he calls it). And perhaps it is sooner then I thought.

But how do I know when that time is?

Perhaps it is when they start school? Or become self conscious themselves?

I've asked around at preschool and no one seems to know, except that the Mums mostly think it isn't yet.

Clearly opinions will differ widely on this. But do they split along generational lines? Or parents of young kids versus people who don't have young kids? Or conservative versus laissez-faire?

And is the time to stop different for boys and girls? Would I feel differently if it was Princess who was three and naked?

Who would know.

My plan is to take it day by day and assume that I'll stop him before he's 18!

So, what do you think the cut off age for playing naked is?

*In my Mum's defence ...
1) We had swimmers with us
2) She did clarify that it was less of an issue if not many people are around
3) Part of her point was that he needed to get used to wearing swimmers all the time for when he is older
4) She isn't offended by naked kids, she just thinks that there comes a time when swimmers are more appropriate.

Exploring the big wide world

Today I took my kids to see the massive surf along Sydney's coast.

It was amazing - nature at its most inspiring and humbling.

We watched the waves (despite the fact that it was freezing Wild Man had to be convinced that it was not a swimming day), played at a park, had lunch and then played on the sand.

It was brilliant and I felt like SUCH a good Mum - all that fresh air and nature (and not a TV in sight!).

Our day out really got me thinking about the activities I do with my kids and how infrequently we venture outside our little local world.

Seriously, every week we go to the same park with a friend and her kids, the little ones play and my friend and I have a coffee from the local cafe ... and I love it.

I love that we walk to 'our' bakery for coffee in the morning and that they know our names, I love that we always go to the same supermarket, and that we always bump into friends at the park. 

But there are so many amazing things to do with your kids in Sydney, and lots of them are free. And I'm not taking advantage of them.

It's all there waiting ... You just have to be brave, organised and a little bit flexible with sleep times. And you need to think outside the square.
 
So watch this space because I'm on a mission now. Today was brilliant and only such a little bit more effort than going to our local park, so we'll definitely be doing exploring in the near future.

Do you get out and explore with your kids? Where do you go?