Modesty

I don’t really know where my feelings about little girls not being bare chested came from.

I know as a toddler I wore a red and white polka dotted bikini. There’s a picture somewhere, and to all intents and purposes it was a strip of material that went across my 2 year old chest.

As a 6 year old, I went on holiday with a friend and her Mum to a caravan park in Swanage, and her Mum tried to make me play out in just my knickers. I remember getting terribly upset by this and insisting I wore a full swimsuit.

I don’t ever remember a time when my parents were naked around us as children, and I’m sure if I asked them now, they’d say that it was never appropriate.

I don’t walk around naked in front of my sons, though the toddler has been known to wander into my bedroom at crucial moments!

I’m not a prude, and I believe that every person’s body should be celebrated, no matter how big or small.

But, earlier this week on a warm Wednesday in Chester, I went for lunch with my Mum and chose to sit outside in the sunshine.

Part way through our meal, a man, his teenage son, his father and 6/7 year old daughter came to sit at the table next to us.

She was wearing a pair of fleece trousers, flip flops and nothing else.

She didn’t seem phased at all by being literally half naked, though she did look cold (they were in the shade), and at such a young age, she had nothing to show.

I just wondered at how appropriate it was to be well beyond toddler age without clothing above the table height, quite obviously a girl (long hair) and in a restaurant full of other people?

Is there an unspoken ‘rule’ about how old a girl is before she starts covering up?

With 4 sons it’s obviously not something I personally need to worry about, but maybe I’m more modest than the next person and found the whole covering up in public more of an issue than most.

Never thought about it before, and wondered at other’s thoughts.

Sam x