My air conditioner is broken. And if you haven't noticed, it's late June.
Which means the same thing in upstate New York as it does the rest of the country -- humidity, humidity, and a little more humidity.
It also means by the time we're done with the first bedtime story of the night, my daughter has shucked her nightgown and is lying in bed in the buff.
Usually she keeps her underwear on.
Not always.
Despite the open windows on both sides of her room to give her a breeze, we're stuck just waiting out the heat.
For us it's just a fact of life -- and a quick poll of my Facebook friends proved we're not the only ones.
A few said their kids have never thought to sleep naked, but they have (working) air conditioners in their rooms. Others put the baby in a diaper and the older kids in clothes -- only to have them disappear by morning. And the moms who demand their kids wear at least underwear have given up on actually finding the undies ON said child at wake-up time.
It sounds like our house is the norm, not the exception.
So I was sort of surprised to find a CafeMom worrying about whether her kid was normal for asking to sleep naked.
Most moms weighed in to tell her it was just fine, especially considering 31 percent of American men and 14 percent of American women are still sleeping in the buff come adulthood.
Although those statistics might show the root of moms' confusion: It was slipped into a "sex" survey, trotting out our puritanical roots to scare parents. OMG: naked = sexy!
Except a 4-year-old schvitzing in the heat is not sexy. They're just miserable.
Do your kids sleep in the buff?
Image via Just Taken Pics/Flickr
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Comments 10
I'm just like a child.. I hate being hot, and all the layers get stripped eventually throughout the night :p..
they sleep in their underwear!
he sleeps in his diaper but there have been a few times he has slept nakey when he has had a diaper rash. i think its fine.. you're born naked, lol.
If they were even close to being potty trained and it was hot, then yes. No problem. Last summer, when they were only a month old, we had a heat spell (no one has air conditioners here, we rarely get that hot). The lived in diapers at home and if we went out, maybe a onesie.
I still prefer to sleep nekkid. I find that things get bunched up all around me if I dont. I put clothes on as soon as I get out of bed.
With the boys, once they are old enough to decide, I'll just make sure they have a robe to put on when they get out of bed so they are not still naked when someone comes to the door, or they walk by a window.
In the summer, we have to BEG my son to sleep in just boxers. He doesn't like being naked or even mostly naked, but when it's 103 with no a/c, sleeping with clothes on is just not a good choice.
I have 3 boys and they all sleep in their undies. My oldest will occasionally throw on a pair of pajama pants but the younger ones prefer their underwear. We would put pajamas on them but by the next morning they always ended up on the floor.
My oldest sleeps in a tshirt and panties, my middles sleeps in just her panties and my baby sleeps in her diaper, the two youngest hate to have clothes on to sleep, I have to fight the middle one to wear anything other then panties in the winter. I think however you are most comfortable and are going to get the most sleep is just fine.
We have an AC here, but my DD still likes to sleep in her diaper. Nine times out of ten when we do put her in jammies, at least the bottoms come off while she's in the fighting sleep stage. So I usually monitor her skin temp -- if she's too warm, I'll take her pj's off without waking her; if she's too cold, once she's out, she's out, so I add clothing.
My youngest daughter and my son would not sleep in just their underwear, not even with undershirts. Try as I might on those hot nights, no way!! I think its fine!! But they wouldnt hear of it.
Well usually mine are just in their underwear around the house here anyway so when they sleep thats usually what they wear, yes sometimes they do sleep nude. Its no big deal.