Family naturism: The perfect way to bond

Naturism is one of those things that is best practised with your loved ones, and a naturist vacation can really lift your family bonds to a higher level. It’s as much about showing your children that there’s nothing weird about the human body as it is about spending time together in a carefree environment. In case you are wondering whether a naturist campsite is a good place to take your family on a holiday, we can tell you that it certainly is. And here’s why.

Born naturists

It’s often said that children are born naturists. Technically, because not a single person has come to earth clothed. But also philosophically, children don’t carry the same cultural baggage as adults and often haven’t learned yet to see the human body as something that needs to be hidden. Some parents have doubts about bringing their children to a naturist campsite because they are afraid of their reactions. In most cases, the kids adapt much more easily than the parents.

The younger the age at which you introduce your children to naturism, the more they will consider it as something normal. Even if they are not toddlers anymore, most children are more open-minded than adults when it comes to trying new things and will easily accept this new type of vacation. Teenagers can be difficult though, but more about that later.

Children like other children

One of the most important aspects of a successful naturist vacation with the family is whether or not your kids will have peers around. Of course, every child is different, but many love to make new friends. As different naturist campsites focus on different types of guests, it’s important to choose the right place. At Domaine de L’Eglantière, we focus a lot on naturism for the whole family and we organise daily activities in our mini-club. Not just to keep your kids entertained, but also to give them the chance to meet the other children that are currently at the campsite.

We like our activities to be both enjoyable and educational, so other than playing games or sports, we also focus on the creative, with painting and crafting. We also offer culinary activities - France being a very culinary country - including teaching your children to make bread dough for Chapati. And we put a lot of focus on the nature in naturism, with nature walks or fishing workshops.

The elephant in the room

As a parent, your ultimate goal is to keep your kids safe from harm. The obvious elephant in this room is whether it’s a good idea to expose your children’s naked bodies to all those strangers that will be at the campsite. What if there’s someone with the wrong intentions? Aren’t you just putting the cat with the milk?

We definitely don’t want to treat this concern lightly, but we can tell you that the cases of child abuse within naturist environments are little to none. Most importantly because naturists are a close community in which everyone keeps an eye out. Especially if it comes to children. If an adult would behave strangely, you can be sure that it won’t take long before someone will take action. We also have trained staff that easily notices uncommon behaviour and that will quickly react if something would happen. From this point of view, naturist campsites are much safer environments than for example nude beaches where there is less social control as well as no professional guards.

What if your kids don’t like it?

We’ve mentioned before that children are born naturists, but once they hit puberty, they may start to feel less about being naked all the time. Their bodies and minds are changing, and their world becomes confusing. They often start feeling more vulnerable as humans and see being naked as an additional reason for this vulnerability. If this happens to your children, do know that this is completely normal. Even children that have been going to naturist campsites from since they were born, might turn their back on naturism at a certain age.

Unfortunately, there’s no guide available about how to avoid this. Without wanting to tell you how to raise your children, from our experience, open conversation is what works best. Ask your kids what it is that makes them feel uncomfortable and look for a middle way. At L’Eglantière, we very well recognise these issues that teenagers can have, so we won’t force them to be naked everywhere on the campsite. Our golden rule is that everybody should be naked in and around the water facilities, but if they like to cover up during activities or anywhere else around the campsite, we will let them do so.

Bonding with the family

Naturism has a number of physical and mental advantages, and an important one is that it brings people closer together by removing artificial boundaries like clothes. We all are just who we are, there’s nothing we hide from each other. This helps you grow as a person but also as a family.

At a naturist campsite, you’ll be doing a lot together with the family. From the fun things like setting up the tent and participation in activities to the maybe less fun things like doing the dishes. The important part is that you’re together as a family. A natural environment without the distraction of televisions and video games is the perfect place to get closer to each other in all peace and serenity. You get the chance to spend time together as your pure selves. Isn’t this what any vacation should really be about?