We are raising a nudist, which is to say, we have a perfectly normal two year old who prefers to be naked as much of the time as possible. I accept this, especially in Tucson in the summer, with little resistance except when we must go outside. First of all, I am okay with the expectation that most people have that everyone has at least some clothing on in public places. I'm fine with this. We can all wear clothing in public. Ila doesn't necessarily agree. She is uninterested in the norms and rules of society as they apply to clothing.
When I remind her that she needs to
protect her body from the outside – sun, cactus, tripping and
falling – she does acquiesce, which is a blessing. However, she
picks very astounding outfits given her proclivity for nudity. For
example, the other day, I couldn't interest her in clothing all day
when we were thinking of going out. “Hot shoes,” “hot shirt,”
she informed me. Okay, we'll stay home and be naked.
When it was time to go to a little two
year old birthday party for two friends, she selected a shirt, skirt,
leg warmers and socks. This was 4 in the afternoon, not a
particularly great time for leg warmers, if you ask me. Then, about
three hours later, in the cooler early evening, after taking a naked
dip in our friend's swimming pool and putting on some undies, she had
to take off her underwear a few minutes later, saying, “hot
undies.” This has become a frequent refrain around here. “Hot
undies.” They are, apparently, the most thermal item of clothing
she is ever forced to wear. How and why undies can be so much hotter
than socks and leg warmers requires the kind of logic only a two year old
understands.
