someone mentioned that "the Japanese bath together" as proof that families should walk around the house naked.

The Japanese may soak in hottubs, but that is an isolated situation and modesty still rules: one wears a robe until lowering oneself into the tub, and young children would not share a hottub with grown adults. Animie aside, it is a very modest culture and parents most certainly do not parade in front of their children naked.

My Mom was and still is completely unabashed about her nudity and she is now almost 70 years old. She routinely dressed in front of us as kids, loved to skinny dip, and never has taken overt efforts to hide her nudity. This is still the case and I am just fine as a result.

My wife and I don't hide from our kids but we don't walk around the house naked either. It is all a matter of taste and comfort really. Soon enough the LW's kids will tell her to keep it clothed or will go out of their way to avoid situations that make them feel uncomfortable when they reach the age of embarrassment.

LW need not change anything. She should not however, and will not it is clear, champion or announce her nudity to the world because we live in the most backwards regressive "modern" nation when it comes to sex and the body.

A FYI to those who talk about America's hang ups about nudity. Most of the rest of the world observes strict modesty and not necessarily because of religion. Moslems, of course, but Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and a lot of countries where Catholicism is dominate, all observe much more modesty than Americans.

I spent a lot of time on nude beaches in my 20s. I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful women I saw - because I enjoy beauty, but it was not sexual. At least it was no more sexual than watching bikini clad women on other beaches. If a guy starts thinking about one of the women sexually, he can quickly embarrass himself.

I am a guy who was a single parent with a son. I was naked often. He was not. My nudity grossed him out, I'm sure - so I was usually clothed. Fortunately I never had to address the issue with a daughter, but my rule of thumb would be: If it is just natural nudity, no problem. If it is in any way sexual, big problem.

One time when I was sunbathing on a nude beach, a very attractive young lady came over, borrowed my suntan oil and began applying it in a very sensuous manner while talking about making love on the beach. She had been around for a while and I had definitely noticed her before - but I had to run into the water immediately - and for once I was glad that it was pretty cold.

It is all about context. You have to think and make judgments according to the situation. Likely to get hauled into court? Cover up. How is your son behaving? My mom was a prude. I saw a bare tit one time. I was a bit curious, but (no offense to mom) mildly repulsed. I was definitely not aroused. I had seen other women breast feed. Very curious, not repulsed, not aroused. First time I took off a girl's bra, very curious, not repulsed, very aroused.

The only context in which I would be concerned about the sort of brief nudity the letter writer describes is if her son seemed to display a lot of interest in catching her naked and prolonging those encounters. Not likely. Once his basic curiosity about the female anatomy is satisfied, he will probably avoid such encounters.

I think it's probably not a big deal if you walk around your kids naked. I would suggest, however, making your kids aware that most of our culture finds this behavior strange, even though you don't agree with that, and that they should act accordingly when outside your house. I suggest this because your kids are going to go over to their friends' houses, and if for whatever reason they take a shower there, or go to the bathroom there, or change clothes, and walk around naked unabashed, they might get made of fun of. Mercilessly. Kids are mean. My sister and her husband don't close the bathroom room at their house, which I think is kind of weird, but, in all likelihood, isn't going affect the kids one way or another. The problem is that when the kids are visiting my house or their grandma's house, they still don't close the bathroom door (and they're 8 and 10 at this point), which makes my mother and I feel uncomfortable. I wince to think what they're doing at their friends' houses.

Point is that the kids are part of this culture, and, while I think you can pick and choose at home, you should also teach your kids to realize that not everyone will be as comfortable seeing them naked as they might feel being naked. This shows respect for others, as well as preventing potential merciless teasing.

I remember checking into a youth hostel in Japan, and the first question from my roommate was, "Won't you come have a bath with us?" Public baths at resorts are popular, and many are co-ed. I don't know as much about other cultures, but my impression is that within the family or within a single-sex group nudity is no big deal.

and you were an adult, not 10 years old.

And they were friends, not your parents during your sexual developmental years.

Who cares? Individuality and privacy are two values of extreme importance in North American culture. Not so much in other cultures, especially when you are crowded together like sardines.

Parading around naked in front of your kids just isn't widely accepted in our culture. Either accept that you're countercultural or stop looking for acceptance. And maybe think a bit more about individuality and privacy, whether you share those values, and whether you want your kids to grow up without them.