Birth nudity: Understanding the Christian tradition of birth nudity

Many parents think that children need discipline above all else. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, the most important part of parenting is attachment. The best way to give a child attachment is through birth nudity.

The Fifth Commandment is repeated in Colossians 3:20 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers here to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. This highlighted word ultimately refers to a secure attachment, where children were allowed to cry, and where mothers cooed while responding to the every vulnerable cry of children. The context simply tells us how to form a secure attachment to children, with the Early Christian method consisting of birth nudity.

Birth nudity was the way of the Early Christians in order to gel a bond with children. Children in biblical times went naked wherever they went, with mothers also going naked within the context of the family home. Whenever children cried, mothers cooed before picking up the child, and from there, the child was held close to the bosom of mothers in skin-on-skin sustaining warmth. When the child was milk-dependent, the mother held the child close to her teat, and breastfed the child. 

Birth nudity can be applied today, albeit with some tweaking due to the secular laws on human decency. However, even in the Early Church, young children under age 6 were wrapped up in swaddling blankets, covering up their nude vulnerability. The idea today is to allow children to run around the house naked, with a set of clothing hanging somewhere in a neutral location of the household. When children find the clothing, they should be encouraged to wear it. Usually, children want to wear the clothing by age 6, out of curiosity and a desire to prove their independence. 

The idea of birth nudity is for mother and child to form a secure bond with each other, in skin-on-skin format. The Early Christians had no concept of modesty apart from not making a fashion statement. Children then were allowed to go naked wherever they went, with parents also allowed to take off their garb if they were too hot. However, even today, birth nudity is lawful completely when it takes place within the context of the family home. Women in biblical times did not even shave, even in the context of parenting, as that was a luxury for wealthy women, with Christian parents then being dirt poor. 

There is a right way and a wrong way to do birth nudity. Birth nudity in Old Order Mennonite homes means striking your naked child in order to shame them for their nudity. However, more moderate Mennonites simply allow children to go naked as an opportunity to gel a bond with children. 

Birth nudity is a Christian tradition that predates the physical punishment of children by centuries. The Early Christians practiced attachment parenting by way of birth nudity, as did the Ancient Jews before then. Children were in constant closeness to mothers in biblical times. This context can be applied today, as long as the basics on the child and on the mother are covered up when in public. However, the tender, vulnerable nudity between mother and child is still allowed within the context of the family home. The way around public decency laws is to wrap up your young child next to your bosom in swaddling blankets. 

The depraved and entitled parents who punish their children for not wearing clothing will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Repent!