A
male
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:Is it wrong for for teenage son to just wear boxers around the house after school? This started happening a few months back and while it is not the end of the world it just seems out of the norm. He will change if we have visitors other then family. He has occasionally answer the door in his boxers but that is just him being stupid occasionally. Seeing my son walk around in his boxers does not bother us, but is it normal Reply to this Question
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female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (14 March 2017):
 I guess it depends whom you ask to. My personal opinion is that yes, it's wrong, I would not have tolerated it in my house, thankfully the most I had to contend with was my son's unhealthy attachment to his ratty floor length bathrobe, and I fought hard against that too , because i feel that bathrobes are made for a specific scope, which is NOT all day wear . You would not show up in bikini at your wedding, nor wear a wedding gown an the beach, so why one has to wear UNDERpants in full sight when they are made to be UNDER your clothes ?
To me it's not even an issue of modesty, although I am sure that many parents and siblings do not particularly enjoy having a teen relative dangling his boxered package under their nose. It's more that , either Homer Simpson is your role model, or he is not. For me he is not . I don't like slovenliness ( if this is the word that I am seeking ) or any habit that promotes it . When you are young it's all cute, funny , and endearing, even wearing tatty salmon pink underpants. Fast forward 20 years and you have ... Homer Simpson in armpit-flavoured T-shirts and tuft of hairs sprouting untamed from his nostrils.
Anrway, that's just my personal opinion. I suppose a more general answer could be : Does it bother you ? then, yes it's wrong. It's your house and hopefully all members of the household care about you enough to not dress in a way that grosses you out .
Does it not bother you the least ? Then it is not wrong. Again, it's your house , you pick the rules.
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (13 March 2017): it's not unusual, but you could ask him to put some slacks on. Same level of freedom!
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A
female
reader, Ivyblue  +, writes (12 March 2017):
 Ive never thought about it really, my son walks around in both boxers and jocks, so I guess in our home it is normal.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (12 March 2017): This is far more common than perhaps you realize. My sons when teens saw nothing wrong with this and because we did not make it a huge drama and went about things not making a huge fuss they just grew out of it. Though I did need to remind then to dress appropriately when their Grandma came to stay. Just in case it offended her. And once when my great Aunt (she was in her late seventies at the time) came to stay I knew I would never hear the end of it if she was faced with the boys in boxers. So I gave them an extra pep talk before my great Aunt arrived. My husband is not in the least bothered by it. I think it is the fact that things are more casual in homes today, than the way people lived in the 1960s or 1950s or 1940s or earlier. My sons always answer the phone most respectfully, even if they are just wearing boxers. I would not allow them to walk out on the road in Boxers. That said when we stayed at the beach they wore even tinier swimmers all day long. But the beach is a different arena where things are more casual and it is always summer when we stay there.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (12 March 2017): I take offence when they walk out of their bedrooms first thing in the morning with nothing on. Tell them to go back to their room to put on their boxer shorts, because I am relieved when they are at least wearing boxers.
They are more interested in what is for breakfast. They seem not to notice. their excuse in very hot weather is that it's too hot to wear even boxers. I counter that our home is not a nudist camp yet. No boxers, no breakfast.
Teen boys are still developing their empathy
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (12 March 2017): I am sometimes faced with my son,s friends on a saturday morning wearing nothing but boxers and occasionally a t/shirt. It does bother me but if someone were to look in it would seem weird. They are more interested in breakfast then dress sense.
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A
female
reader, RubyBirtle +, writes (11 March 2017):
My brother did this all the time when he was a teenager. What I took offence at most at the time is that he would wear tatty, salmon pink Y-fronts which my mother had bought him when he was 13! So I guess it is quite normal. We did live in a very hot country though - perhaps your heating is turned up too high at home.
But I agree with HoneyPie - ask him to wear something a bit less under-pantish. (At least don't let him wear tatty, salmon pink Y-fronts - Bleagh!)
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A
female
reader, Honeypie  +, writes (11 March 2017):
 I don't see the big issue, however... He can get in trouble if he opens the door and you have a kid/female who doesn't WANT to see a guy in his undies. So I'd suggest you guy have a robe hanging by the front door he can toss on if he opens the door.
Or buy him some shorts - like board shorts to run around in at home. If you don't like the thought of him in undies around the house.
Have you asked him why this is happening?
I think for the most part that it's great he is comfortable in his own skin. My own kids might be running around the house in shorts and a sports bra (especially if they have been working out in the basement - where we have exercise equipment) and I don't "make" them wear clothes unless someone shows up.
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A
female
reader, Youcannotbeserious +, writes (11 March 2017):
 What is "normal"? If you are comfortable with him being so relaxed in his own home and nobody else is made to feel uncomfortable, then I fail to see a problem. He is a teenager so pushing the boundaries and discovering what he likes. It is good that he does not subject visitors to the sight of him in just his boxers but surely the rest of the family are used to him by now?
In your shoes, I would ignore it. He will probably grow out of this in time and the less attention you pay to it, the sooner this is likely to happen.
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