Patricia and GWB share the same fondness for illegal drugs. no wonder their respective heads are sharing the same "space," dude.

You should be able to take the pictures you want with impunity, and your kids should be allowed to touch the camera sans fear. However, for the responsible, single people of the world--the ones who pay constantly for the inconveniences of your precious child-safe world without reaping any benefit--it's nice to see some of the child-safety hysteria finally biting families on the ass.

Anything that provides a deterrent to people considering polluting the world with offspring is definitely a good thing. Hopefully you (and others) will remember this experience before you fire off any more young'uns.

To say that family values have outlived their usefulness is a gross understatement.

"Clearly nothing related to this story went on to hurt this man's life in any way. I was waiting for his wife to lose the job in France, or their being barred from entry into the country due to the scarlet letter P upon their shirts, but nope. Turns out the system actually worked, and no charges were filed and the investigation was dropped. As frustrating as this investigation was, maybe the next time this man goes camping he'll be sure to plan ahead."

You call having your boss, your family, your neighbors, everyone you know in your life interviewed to find out if you are a child molesting freak "no damage whatsoever"? This entire ordeal can and should have been delt with by a simple warrant process that would require that someone make a decent judgement at some early point in the process if the entirity of this investiagatin needed to really go forward. I have no problem with the Eckerd clerk (and the idea of "more training" for those employees being the answer is just absurd), but at a much earlier point in this process someone should have looked at the actual pictures, discussed the issue with the parents and should have been able to dismiss this case fairly easily.

To those who actually think these pictures were a form of child abuse, seriously, grow up and get your head out of your rear. Children will actually do things without their clothes on, and Parents being parents will tend to find those sorts of things funny, endearing and adorable much the same way they find most everything that their children do to be adorable.

The response to this article has been so overwhelming, I can't read all the letters and this is likely repeating what others have said. To the author, his friend and their families, I'm so sorry for what you have gone through. While the memories of the children will likely fade, for the adults this is a trauma, pure and simple. It is a threat to the very foundation of family and safety in the world. I hope that writing this account of what you have been through, being in another place and the passing of time will ease the experience as much as possible. Your sound like a wonderful family. Best wishes to you.

I was a photolab tech for several months in college. I was given no training on what to do with pictures invoving nudity. During that time, I printed a set of photos that included one photo of a nude girl who seemed to be about 7. She seemed to have just gotten out of the bath. When the man came to pick up the pictures, I gave them to him. There is the possibilty he was a paedophile who would later trade this photo on the internet for others like it. There is also the possibility that he was just a father who had taken a picture of his daughter. Or maybe it was his wife who had taken the picture. I had no way of knowing. So I didn't report them to anyone. I still think this was the right decision. It was just not my business.

A lot of you seem to lack it. Around water, it's only a matter of time until a kid is naked, especially on a camping trip. There's usually a limited supply of clothing, and wearing wet stuff for extended periods is uncomfortable. And there's no way to keep a kid out of water on a hot day. We have a pool and a seven-year old, and our parties are declared "official" when he or one of his young colleagues emerges naked for the first time. They simply enjoy nudity.

On camping: the usual norms of privacy change. Ever have to change out of wet clothes with 3 other people in a small tent because you got caught in a downpour? That kind of stuff happens all the time. And peeing on a campfire is NOT an unusual occurance. Wouldn't recommend it though, the steam is quite smelly. And doesn't anyone around here use public bathrooms? Lots of genitalia there. Lets ban those while we're at it, and wear catheters to protect the privacy and morality of our children.

Modesty is a learned behavior and kids slowly develop it, usually through example. I could see how the photographing of nude kids by parents would be a record of fleeting innocence that is so quickly lost in the quagmire of self loathing and guilt that seems to permeate adult American life. Then, in time, the parents hand the pictures over to kids once they're healthy, fully programmed adults so that they can hide or burn them in shame.

Since so many people here seem to be freaking out about being nude and drinking beer while camping, this might help to explain:

Camping is done in the outdoors, where there are NO BUILDINGS. Hence, there are going to be times when one is in the outdoors with no clothes on. Just like at home, when a kid might not have clothes on while running through the sprinkler or getting in and out of the bath. While camping, THE LAKE/STREAM IS SORT OF LIKE A BATH.

Next, the fire thing. Sure, it's an *open* fire, BECAUSE IT'S IN THE OUTDOORS, where camping takes place. See above. The kids were no more near the fire while camping than they would be if they were sitting on the mantle at home by the fire. Duh. Regarding peeing on the fire, well, being female, this would be nearly impossible, but I guess if you're a guy this makes total sense. I've seen it myself. LIKE I SAID, CAMPING IS OUTDOORS. What's the big deal?

Next, the alcohol thing. PEOPLE DRINK BEER WHILE CAMPING. Why is this so different from drinking beer while at home? If you have a fireplace in your home, and you drink beer, and you have kids, then I'll bet you have enjoyed a beer while you had a fire going in your fireplace while your kids were around the house. And this is different *how*?

Finally, people take pictures while camping. Some of these innocent scenarios are going to be captured on film. If you are a person who has a problem with this you do not understand camping. Or photography, for that matter. Or memories.

What the fuck are people freaking out about?

The one thing that stands out as just stinking of total drama is the comment about a child's head appearing to be cut off. Excuse me? What moron can't tell the difference between someone's head being out of frame and a bloody, headless corpse?

Wow.