After months of intolerable wet weather the sun finally began to shine on us again for a few days this week and actually reached a peak of 17c on Saturday & Sunday. It was very strange and a case of “we’ll what shall we do now”. Unfortunately it was slightly cooler on the coast so the beach was out of the question, it was also a case of the countryside was too wet to go for a naked ramble, so instead we donned our wellies and went over to Arcadians and joined the others at the monthly work party. It wasn’t the first time I’d been there this year or even that week as I’d popped over in February to see the state of the waterlogged grounds.
Then earlier in the week I’d gone over to start refreshing the shower room with a lick of paint to cover up the scuff marks that had started to appear on the wall. This weekend work parties were all in all well attended and quite a lot of the jobs got done and the club is looking a whole lot better. The club is at heart a family club but what with an ageing membership and with the youngest members being over 40,we don’t see any children at our club which is a shame as some other clubs family membership sections are flourishing.
Unfortunately a lot of wrongly misdirected public opinion does not help Naturism’s cause with this, as well as the evil paedophiles who seem to lurk in all walks of life and some unfortunately describe themselves wrongly as naturists. This seems to tarnish all us genuine naturists in the same bracket in the publics eyes and couldn’t be further from the truth and makes getting new members that much more difficult. As one of my fellow bloggers explains:-
“It can feel at times like our lifestyle itself is under attack by stories like these and it can be tempting, as naturists, to leap to the defence of all aspects of naturism when it receives a negative depiction in the media. After all, we believe in the positive aspects of our lifestyle and it affects how we are seen by others when negative news stories about naturists becoming involved in child abuse or child porn come about. But we cannot defend the indefensible. Child abuse and child porn is a monstrous corruption of the innocent, positive values of the naturist community, and we should not be willing to forgive the actions of those who would exploit naturism to feed their sick perversions, nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that such individuals can, and do, operate in our midst. We need to be mindful at all times of the need to protect our children and the children who visit our clubs, events, and homes to be nude there. The image of naturism is better protected by taking a pro-active approach to child protection than it ever can be by burying our heads in the sand and popping up to complain about unfair portrayals when naturism is mentioned in connection with paedophiles who do appear to have been operating in our community.”
( For full text go to http://getnakedgetawesome.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/naturism-and-the-need-to-keep-children-safe/ )
To this end naturist clubs just like sports clubs and other organisation have a “Child Protection officer” to make sure rules are obeyed and children kept safe. BN also have guidelines on the subject too..
“Despite possible perceptions, problems in this area within naturism are rare. There is no evidence that naked children are at any greater risk than their clothed counterparts. In fact, children are safer in Naturism as children are never allowed to attend without their parents or guardians and entry procedures, members-only locations and/or dedicated sessions mean that the general public are excluded – unlike so many other places where children gather. The community spirit that pervades at Naturist places means that people keep an eye out for each other; anyone getting into Naturism for the wrong reasons soon would soon discover that they’d made a mistake.
Naturist children are happy, well-adjusted and safe. Children don’t care if they are wearing clothes or not – it’s adults who make them get dressed. They grow up with a better understanding of what will happen to their bodies and enjoy a relaxed, outdoor life. It’s often hard work persuading them to get dressed at the end of a day to go home! Also, Naturism is an activity that all the family can do together – rare in the 21st Century. Hot afternoons will see families, sometimes into 3 generations, at Naturist places, swimming, playing sports, BBQing or picnicking, letting off steam with friends in children’s play areas or youth clubhouses, or lazing about enjoying each other’s company. Naturist families have more open relationships – it is often reported by children who grew up in Naturism how they felt they could talk to their parents about anything. Many adults who grew up as children in Naturism bring their own children up the same way, remembering what a great time they had.”
Hopefully with all the right legislations and safeguards in place, Naturist clubs (including Arcadians) will once again flourish and become the family orientated paradises they once were.
Links
http://www.arcadians.greenglades.org/
The Naked Truth......... 
Reblogged this on simplenaturist.
Excellent and sound advice.
Reblogged this on Naturally and commented:
Great post about children and naturism. Children are born naturists but raised into the textile world