Preschooler fascination with the unclothed

N seems to like stripping off.  He’s forever removing his top (pjs or t shirt, he’s not bothered, but he does like to snuggle under blankets without a top on) and quite often the trousers come off too.

What he’s now become obsessed with, is pointing out other people who don’t have clothes on.  I don’t think he’s quite connected his habit with what he sees others doing, but it is (at the moment), funny rather than embarrassing.

We were in the doctors surgery the other day and he told me

‘Mummy, he’s got no clothes on’.  I looked round the waiting room and saw only people fully clothes.

‘Mummy look, he’s got no clothes on.  Why’s he got no clothes on?’.  I follow his pointing hand to see a poster on the noticeboard for some kind of health check, with yes, an elderly man’s back without clothing.

‘It’s fine, it’s a poster showing people they have to check themselves. It’s fine he’s got no clothes on’.

‘But he’s got no clothes on’.  Cue smirks from all the other people in the waiting room.

N appears to have an innate ability to notice any posters and point them out if the people are naked.  As adults, you just don’t notice as it tends to be wallpaper (obviously David Beckham would turn most people’s heads, but most posters, no).  Instead, I get them pointed out to me by my 3 year old.

We popped into a supermarket the other day when the weather had heated up, and there were a couple of pre-teen boys without tops on.  Of course, N couldn’t stop staring at them (although at least he didn’t comment).

Then we get him saying at dinner

‘Mummy, in the shop those boys had no top on’/

‘No, they were hot’

‘But they had no tops on’ and on and on he went.

I’m dreading summer when men start removing their tops and girls start getting their legs out in hotpants.  N will be in his element pointing everything out to me.

Did your children go through a similar phase?  What was their most embarrassing point out?

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6 Comments

  1. Hahaha! Why do kids do this? Grace used to do it too. My brother, when he was young, used to go behind the sofa, strip and come out as the incredible hulk. I found it really embarrassing! Thank you for linking to PoCoLo x

  2. My pre-schooler is not really into that, yet. I think it is normal for kids to want to go naked because of the freedom but its just me (read: no expert). But he does like to pick his nose most especially in public =P

    #pocolo

  3. My two still love being naked (at 4 & 7) but don’t point other people’s nudity out, and *usually* only strip off inside the house (usually, although I’ve had the 4yo in just pants and a t-shirt because she’s pulled off the rest of her clothes in the street before…)

    One of my ‘favourite’ embarrassing moments is from when my eldest was two. A man with an afro came onto the bus we were on and she pointed and said very loudly “Mummy, that man’s hair is too big!” 🙂

    1. Brilliant. She was probably right about his hair being too big!

      N is big on being ‘angry’ at the moment. I can see him telling off people in the street before long!

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