In today's Virtual Meet we talked about the idea of creating an ANW meet up - a camping event that would definitely be about including and welcoming families and children. 

Here is the topic: Is it right to have events that are only open to families with at least one children under 18 or is it just another form of segregation? 

Naturism is about welcoming everyone and including everyone and to us the ideal choice is always inclusion. 

Are we not for example fed up of single men being made to feel so unwelcome in naturism. 

Though there is also the argument that having for example a women only swim session can encourage women to give naturism a go in an environment that is maybe a little safer in their minds. 

Could the same not be considered for families? 

Then there is the fact that children are noisy and silly and should be allowed to feel free to have a great time without being tutted at by those that do not appreciate their enthusiasm. 

Also would more families be willing to try it if they were guaranteed that other families would be there. Just saying it is open to families does not promise that other families will turn up. Our children for example enjoy a camping trip - but would certainly enjoy it more if other children were there. 

And what about the general lack of family based events in general. Yes some clubs have wonderful family weekends but these will only really be picked up by those involved in the club. 

We see lots of adult only, male only and female only events  - there are also some LGB only, Christian only, Black only venues, clubs and events - so is there a balance that needs addressing? 

Ideally everyone should want to just see everyone at these events, venues and campsites - though at the same time people can sometimes feel a need to just hang with people that they feel they have more than just naturism in common with and also see activities that are maybe geared towards a certain group or age. Though to be fair naturism is often something that brings out the fun, innocent, silly and young at heart in all of us. I am still happy to throw myself down a water slide - and would much rather do that then be propped up against a bar. 

There are middle grounds.

A family friendly fun event with a leaning towards entertaining children but open to all with the idea that those who cannot stand seeing children happy do not go. 

A family camping event with one day before, during or after open to day visitors for other non-family naturists to attend. 

Two halves of say three nights each with families able to stop for six nights if they wished. 

A family area and a non-family area both for camping and also around activities. So children are always entertained but some more adult activities are also organised (even using that term sound somehow naughty). 

Your thoughts on this would be fascinating. Not just in terms of an ANW get together but just in general. 

Should places like spas offer family only days?  

Incidentally Anna has just sent of the latest H&E article and as promised for International Children's Day it argues the case for families in naturism and more openly promoting naturism to families. In it she looked at some UK government statistics. 

Here is a clip: 













 

We think the point here is “Family.”

Firstly let us just say, if ANW did a Family only event, we would be on board with it, because from our point of view, our child want to hang out with other naturist raised children.

We prefer “Family Friendly”

Our reasoning behind this is actually quite simple. What is a family reunion, or a family get together?

It is multi generational. How amazing would it be to hang out with parents, who are not just parents, but also grandparents? A father may have a daughter and son, but should their age be relevant? We feel this is often overlooked, does it matter if your child if four, or forty? It shouldn’t, and that is the point.

Something else we feel is relevant here, is the very simple fact that if this was a community of clothed people, we would not even be talking about this, as it would be a given that everyone was welcome.

When we first encountered naturism, we read, “Naturists do everything clothed people do, just sans clothing.” Think about that, because we did, and we took it to heart, and that has been our motivating force since.

A clothing family camping trip is exactly that, granny, mum , and kids, be them five of thirty five and fifty.

We would pose, that within some aspects of naturism is the misguided belief that because we happily disrobe to do stuff, that makes us some how different, we would argue that is a misguided thought, because ultimately, people are just people, be them dressed or not.

Can you imagine going to a country club, or a cricket club and being told, sorry, you cannot enter as your are a single male, and our quota is full? It is unheard of in “Dressed Society” And yet it happens in naturism.

Simply implying nudity may be sexual, hence single men are excluded is the absolute antipathy of what naturism is not, and yet it is happening, and the same goes for children, coloured people, LGBT, and so on…

The literal definition of the statement above, proves naturism has lost it’s way, and we no longer do all the things dressed people do, just naked.

Families do not begin and end at 18, they are a wide and diverse arrangement of all genders, sexualities and age groups, which is why we prefer the term “Family Friendly.”

Children under 18 love arts and crafts as much as any adult, Adults love to fly kites as much as children do. Older men love to try playing football like the used to, and usually fail, as the kids run faster and score more goals, and yet, everyone smiles, everyone is happy and a good time is had by all.

We would pose the question: Show us a parent of any age that does not enjoy seeing their children happy… Regardless of their age?

If older people do not like children and think they are too loud and a nuisance, they have the freedom of mind and body to go elsewhere, adult only has become the largest aspect of naturism, so they will never be short of a seat... And they have Nudefest it is during school time.

The families of the young will always be restricted to school time tables, and that in itself allows many more weeks for the adults only events.

Thanks Steve for the post and the forum topic. My stance on this is fairly simple, as I want to make things simple. Naturism is a social lifestyle that is based on respect, diversity and inclusivity. Now because of the huge diversity of opinions, any event cannot please 100% of people. However, there should be a balance in life, particularly at naturist federation level, and everybody should be welcomed. Having said this, there could be men only, women only, adult only, for instance, events. Why not? As long as there are family and everybody-welcome events, with activities that span everyone. All in all, to me naturism is all about respect and inclusion, and this should be the ultimate message, otherwise, it will become another activity for a clique of people.

Just to share a bit of experiences from the two youth camps we have been to...  I think it's important to have enough children to be in a camp, any camp, in order to make it fun for the children themselves.  In an environment where children are the minority amongst a big group of adults, they will stick close to their parents (or be by themselves if they are teens) and don't see a point in participating even if the activities are specifically designed for them.  It's hard to say how many are enough, but it seems from observation that 10 to 12 kids from 4 or 5 families would be a minimum starting point.  The kids will also need to see the same group of adults throughout the camp.  If there are random people showing up around them every now and then, they will instinctively retreat to their parents for perceived safety.  That said, once the kids have come to know the adults, trusting relationships will quickly form, which in turn makes it paramount to vet all those who are going to spend time with the kids but are not parents themselves.

It doesn't really matter how racial, cultural, or gender representative the adults are.  Children, especially naturist ones who know that all bodies are really alike, don't really care about these things and think that a person is a person, until the parents push the agenda of taking a different perspective.

In other words, a family camp can run alongside a wider everybody-welcome camp, but it needs some form of segregation.  Those who opt in to help with the family camp, should be vetted and stay throughout.  Those who do not, need to keep a distance, but can join in camp wide activities like a talent night, or time at beaches or pools together, where the parents will be with their children at all times.

It may sound somewhat untrusting towards those not bringing their families but this is really no different from sending kids to summer camps.  Parents simply would not expect their kids to spend time with unqualified random strangers in any activities.