I shower in front of my 18 year old daughter and she has seen me naked since she was a baby – people say it’s wrong but I’m teaching her confidence
A mother still showers in front of her 18-year-old daughter – to show her what a real body looks like.
Angela Karanja, 48, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, has been undressing in front of Dee since she was a baby.
She sees no point in stopping now, even though Dee is an adult – because she wants to teach her to feel comfortable in her own skin.
Psychologist Angela said she wants her daughter to know that bodies on social media aren’t real.
Psychologist Angela Karanja, 48, and her daughter Dee, 18, from Banbury. They shower and bathe together to promote body positivity
Angela said she was determined to teach her daughter to be comfortable in her own skin and taking baths together has played a big part
She said: ‘Our bodies are the vessels we have to live in. It’s what we have, we should be happy and proud of it.
“Especially for girls, I think if we don’t show them what’s real as they get older, they’re going to be exposed to a lot of Photoshop images and think they’re not enough.
‘My idea is to show them what’s real, and when they see an edited picture, it doesn’t threaten them and they know they’re enough.’
The daughter, Dee Karanja, 18, a student, said: ‘This has made me feel good because now I know what reality is like.
Angela said her daughter is ‘confident’ and ‘happy’ in her body, thanks to her efforts
Angela and Dee brush their teeth together. The pair regularly bathe and shower together and Angela said being naked is not ‘revealing’ anything. It just shows her true self
Dee said her mother’s efforts have taught her confidence and self-respect
‘We may not always love our bodies, but we should still respect them because we only get one body.
‘If we love our bodies, then you won’t feel bad about yourself, no matter what anyone says.’
Angela said that showering in front of her daughter from a young age has helped her daughter become ‘confident’ and ‘happy’ in her body.
She said: ‘We should help our young people become comfortable with who they are.
‘It is so lovely to see the confidence in herself as she has grown.
Angela said that first thing in the morning she will happily walk through the house naked to go to the bathroom
Dee is not bothered by seeing her mother naked around the house because she was raised that way to build confidence
‘We know people have different body shapes and all kinds, don’t forget I have things that fall south.
‘It is important to show that people change.’
Angela said that she also wants to walk around the house naked and her daughter is not surprised by this as it is what she was raised around.
“First thing in the morning, I want to wake up and go to the bathroom naked,” she said.
‘This is me, this is who I am before I put on clothes.
‘When we come to terms with who we are, nothing out there threatens you.
“Confidence is not about the clothes I wear or the make-up I wear.
“Don’t get me wrong, I wear nice clothes, but it’s not to hide or make people think I’m someone else.”
Angela said people will tell her she’s brave and some people will question why she does it.
She said she always chooses to ‘educate’ people on why she does it rather than argue with them.
Angela said: ‘People tell me I’m exposing children to something they shouldn’t be seeing.
“I’m like, ‘Ok, you’re telling me my kids shouldn’t know I have breasts or a butt?’
‘When I’m naked, it’s not like I open myself up. It’s me, being me.
‘Those who protest say I shouldn’t show them my parts, but kids should know how to feel good about themselves.’
Bradley Cooper recently revealed that his father was ‘always naked’ and would ‘take a shower with him’ when he was a child.
Bradley said this has made him comfortable being naked when his six-year-old daughter is around.