What is the issue with my son playing outside shirtless? Is not wearing a shirt outside inappropriate?

[Anonymous]

Now that the weather has broken my 6yo son has been outside playing a lot more often. Recently in the week where the temps here high 80s he came in and removed his shirt and went back out to play soccer and hide and go seek with the neighborhood kids.

My husband came home and called him inside instructing him to put on a shirt. I had no issue with him being shirtless outside in the 80+ degree heat.

A few days later our neighbor approached me with the same sentiment that she saw he had come in to put a shirt on and assumed I had called him in to do so.

What is the exact issue with a boy child playing outside shirtless?

FWIW, no weight issue or skin sensitivity issue. He had on tennis shoes and basketball shorts as usual.

Is not wearing a shirt outside inappropriate?

Asking for insight here - DH reasoning is that he just wasn’t allowed to as a kid, I have no brothers. I never assumed anything was wrong with tbh being shirtless outside for boys or men. We have neighbors who are shirtless outside in their twenties. They often are washing their cars or walkin/jogging for exercise in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Totally fine imo. Heck I've had to tell my boys to come in and put on pants because they were playing outside in undies.

[Anonymous]

Totally fine, and your neighbor is very strange

[Anonymous]

I do not really want to see any person outside shirtless frankly, and neither do my daughters (their preference). As a mom of 2 daughters, it bugs me that no one bats an eyelid when a boy is shirtless but it would make people uncomfortable if even a very young girl (eg 6-7) was shirtless in public. And I’m not arguing for the solution to be that everyone be allowed to go shirtless. Why is it so wrong to teach all kids to keep their shirts on? It is obviously not impossible if 50% of kids can do it.
I may be an outlier, I know. I also don’t love it when men go shirtless because I’ve had many instances when I’m running where a shirtless man passes me closely and his sweat (that would have been caught by his T-shirt if he was wearing one) hits me in the face. So gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not really want to see any person outside shirtless frankly, and neither do my daughters (their preference). As a mom of 2 daughters, it bugs me that no one bats an eyelid when a boy is shirtless but it would make people uncomfortable if even a very young girl (eg 6-7) was shirtless in public. And I’m not arguing for the solution to be that everyone be allowed to go shirtless. Why is it so wrong to teach all kids to keep their shirts on? It is obviously not impossible if 50% of kids can do it.
I may be an outlier, I know. I also don’t love it when men go shirtless because I’ve had many instances when I’m running where a shirtless man passes me closely and his sweat (that would have been caught by his T-shirt if he was wearing one) hits me in the face. So gross.

Wow are you uptight.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I've got no issue with this, and wouldn't really with a six year old girl doing it either. Your neighbor seems weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP your husband is a prude

White Christian male stupid

Huh. I am white and Christian and I allow my sons to play outside without a shirt. One of mine doesn’t like to, my other does.

[Anonymous]

If it was my own yard, I’d have no problem with it. I wouldn’t let him roam the neighborhood like that but we have a pool in our neighborhood and I wouldn’t find it weird if he walked home shirtless. Fwiw, I had a brother and his friends would sometimes play outside shirtless. Don’t kids play skins vs shirts anymore?

[Anonymous]

One of my sons is very fair and sunburns and I make him wear a shirt outside. The other one tans and is happy to play outside shirtless.

It's fine, OP.

[Anonymous]

I personally wouldn’t want the extra sun exposure for my child. Men who get melanoma often get it on their upper back/shoulders due to going without a shirt.

[Anonymous]

I am uptight and a prude and very judgmental but as long as he's wearing sunscreen I can't see why it's a problem.

[Anonymous]

I’m surprised this is even a question. Weird to even talk about it.
Neighbor super weird to talk to you about it.

[Anonymous]

Neighborhood kids have definitely played skins and shirts football in my front yard. It did not even occur to me to give it a second thought. And they walk to the pool shirtless all the time.

I do find it weird when I see grown men jogging shirtless though, especially on city streets.

[Anonymous]

Shirtless is fine. My boys love it.

One day at a class playground event, my son took off his shirt. Others followed. Two moms were aghast but the rest were fine.

[Anonymous]

As long as my boys are wearing sunscreen, they’re free to go shirtless when it’s hot.