The naked city

Curb your child
Passing a person who is relieving himself on the street is just one of the delights we sign up for as New Yorkers, like the dearth of parking spaces and the rats in the subway. But even a seasoned urbanite will look twice if pee isn’t the only thing being evacuated. “I used to take my sons every day to Tompkins Square Park, where kids just do their deed on the pavement. It’s kind of a cesspool,” says Smith. “My son got Coxsackie virus and I’m almost positive it was from the ick the diaperless tushes were depositing.”

It doesn’t help matters that New York City is devoid of clean public restrooms, and Spiegel urges parents to lobby for them. While you’re waiting, be conscious of other people’s experiences: Bring along the travel potty, and remember to set it up by a bush, rather than next to the slide or sprinkler.

So keep hygiene in mind,but don’t add more perspiration to your summer by sweating the strip-down. Just be sure your children follow the example of that famous topless tot, the Coppertone kid, and wear sunblock. Nothing kills the joy of nekkidness like a burned behind.