This question was inspired by an answer I gave elsewhere on this site. (I also posted it under another category as well.) I sleep naked and my gf wears pajamas unless it is very hot out, in which case she might very rarely sleep in panties and a bra. I have slept naked since I was about age 16 because I find it more comfortable - no other reason, really. We have three children, two boys, (7 and 6) and one girl (4). Like all kids, they sometimes have a nightmare or get up in the middle of the night. If I hear them crying, sometimes my gf will get up and comfort them. If I hear them, I generally throw on a robe, go and comfort them (or get them water or whatever) or bring them back to bed with us. Sometimes, though, eyes at half mast, I just go into their room naked and bring them back to our bed, If either of us do, we either put them in bed between us, or sometimes, to comfort them, I will put them on my chest. They are in pajamas - generally Spiderman PJ's for the oldest, Superman for the second oldest, Barbie for the little one, in case you were wondering - and I am naked and my gf is either in pajamas or (rarely) bra and panties. I keep them on my chest and nowhere near my waistline. So the most skin contact - which I have heard is actually good for small children - is their little faces on my bare chest. However, they do see me naked from time to time. This is not very often and it is not a major bone of contention with my gf. (Our oldest caught us having sex a few times, but that is another story.) However, she thinks that it is not a good idea that the kids - ESPECIALLY our daughter - see me naked. I don't think it does much harm since it is infrequent and not sexual in any way. Does it? Is it different for my sons as opposed to my daughter? (I should add that my dad was a doctor and I grew up in a house with an older brother and sister and a younger brother. Dad tended to see naked bodies as science projects and not sex objects and while we were by no means nudists or anything, we tended to be loosey-goosey about nudity and it was not unusual for me to see my siblings in their underwear or even naked - even my sister, though that was rare. Interestingly, I only ever saw my dad naked if we were at the gym. I NEVER saw my mom naked that I remember. My gf grew up in a little bit more straight laced house. So that is where we are coming from.) With all that as preamble, does my gf have a point? Good idea? No harm? Not good idea? Different answer for sons vs. daughter? To me it is a natural thing and part of being in a family. To her it is more of an issue. I would not want to do ANYTHING to hurt my kids, so I would be interested in your opinions. I am not going to buy pajamas since this is not exactly an everyday occurrence, but maybe if I bring the kids to bed I would put on some underwear and maybe a t-shirt. Good enough? I have Googled this topic and found remarkably little on it, so your opinions - and maybe anything on the topic you may have stumbled across - would be appreciated. Thanks and sorry for the long question.

Anything I write is of course not to be used as ammunition vs. your girlfriend and as you know I never had children of my own. She has her own reasons for feeling the way she does which it would be interesting to know about. I don't see how there could be anything wrong with it Perhaps she was taught that nudity is bad. Is just the facts of life and the sooner we know them the better we are able to adjust ourselves.

The following response IS NOT to be used in conversation with your girlfriend. I'm strictly an objective party and am not a professional on the subject so mustn't be depicted as one. I'm feeling a little wary of what you describe for personal reasons but as long as your children understand not to normalize situations of nudity, that it's not something to expect with friends, other relatives or sitters and that sharing your nudity with others is sacred, I'd say you're handling it alright. I advise you to use better discretion when having sex with your girlfriend, however. One walk in per child I might call normal (though I grew up with a single parent) but multiples by the same child? Lock the door or prop a chair against your side of it. Each of you was clearly raised in homes with almost opposite viewpoints on this subject and BOTH views are valid. Personally, I feel you might want to consider slipping on sweatpants when sleeping with the children but that's just me. Like I said, although I'm not a professional, I don't even have children, I've got a personal story just as both you and your girlfriend do.