Mother causes outrage for sleeping naked with teen son

One mother's question to a Q&A site triggered outrage online. Photo / Getty

A woman caused an online meltdown after posting a question on an online forum, asking whether there was anything wrong with sleeping naked with her 16-year-old son.

The anonymous poster, who wrote the question on Q&A site Quora, received a resounding 'yes' from others on the forum.

The question, which has now been deleted by the website's moderators, quickly racked up more than 500,000 viewers.

According to the Daily Mail, many commenters said her actions were child abuse and had overtones of incest.

"This is a most awkward thing to do," one commenter warned. "I don't understand your intention behind sleeping with your son, naked."

"It may be viewed differently in other cultures, but in American society it's 'f***** up", wrote another.

Others cited legal issues.

"If your son were to casually mention to someone (friend, teacher, relative) that you and he share a bed and that you also are naked this person could potentially cause a LOT of legal issues for you, at least here in the US, one person wrote.

"You could possibly be arrested for child indecency and put into prison and be forced to register as a sex offender."

Some commenters said the mother was not considering the impact it may have on her son, saying it may scar him for life.

"Why are you not wearing night attire?, another asked. "I do not think that it is appropriate for either of you to be naked in the same bed. Certainly it does appear to have over-tones of incest."

Other people on the forum asked why a mother was sleeping in the same bed as her teen son in the first place, and queried whether he suffered from a medical condition.

"The initial reaction is, WHY do you need to sleep in the same bed with your 16 year old son in YOUR home, does he have medical issues?" somone asked.

"Do you only have one bedroom in the apartment? If that is the case then you should be in single beds, albeit it the same room."

While many commenters flew into a rage, others explained that it simply wasn't appropriate.

"I think you're 9 years (or so) too late in asking this question," one person wrote. "Granted it's been a practise that you've been doing since he was an infant, but at school age the practise becomes innappropriate.

"While you may choose to raise your family in a certain way, at school age he starts to interact with other members of society, other than just his family. Therefore, he must act within the boundaries set by society. Sleeping NAKED with your teen son is inappropriate in our society."

"Don't distort his values!... Please put clothes on."

-nzherald.co.nz