At least that’s what she’s fessing up to in a recent Marie Claire interview. She sleeps in the buff and walks around naked in front of her stepson, aged 6. And therein starts the age-old debate over when it’s appropriate to start dressing when in front of kids. On one side, those who say you should cover up immediately in the delivery room and on the other, those living in nudist colonies feeling free as birds, monkeys and other naked creatures.

Reasonable experts I talk to say you should cover up when you start to feel uncomfortable.

Another issue here is that she is not the child’s mom, so self-selected experts are dying to opine on that difference, and also whether the reaction would be different if it were a 6 year old girl and a stepdad. Again, it’s probably what her family feels comfortable with and really none of my business except for opening up a discussion of what makes sense for me and GreatDad readers. in my most humble opinion, in our house, six would be about the limit, stepmom, stepdad, or whatever. We try to desensationalize all this in our house, preferring to just suggest closing the door. Nudity is no big thing, but we also reach a point where we need to talk about what privacy means as well.

When kids see their parents (or their dad’s girlfriend) naked…

Hilary Swank walks around her house in the buff, even when her boyfriend’s 6-year-old son is around. Isn’t this healthy and natural?

[From The Mommy Files : When kids see their parents (or their dad's girlfriend) naked...]

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People Magazine reports that the former Saturday Night Live star and his wife, Viveca Paulin, are expecting a third child.

The star, 42 and Ms. Paulin, 40, already have two sons, Magnus, 5 ½, and Mattias, 2 ½. The third child is expected to be a boy.

You’ve got to hand it to the mom. Jumping around with Will Ferrell alone has to be exhausting. I can’t imagine a house full of four of him.

The new baby is in January 2010, according to Ferrell’s representative.

Ferrell starred in last summer’s Land of the Lost. He also had a Broadway show early in 2009, featuring his George W. Bush impersonation that was nominated for a Tony Award.

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This time it’s Farrell and his Polish girlfriend, Alicja Bachleda-Curus. Farrell already has a six-year-old son, James, with Canadian model and ex-girlfriend Kim Bordenave. But this time, he says he’s playing for

keeps and is ready to commit. The couple, or at least Farrell, has bought a 1.5 Million pound house in Poland where they are spending all their time. Farrell has joint custody of his first son.

Farrell met Alicja during the filming of Ondine. Ondine, one of two films Farrell has premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall, tells the story of Syracuse. Farrell plays Syracuse, an Irish fisherman whose life is changed when he nets a beautiful woman (Alicja Bachleda).

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Jude Law, as reported by US Magazine, has been “advised” that a woman he had a relationship with last year has a baby due in the Fall. In a statement, his representative said, “Mr. Law is no longer in a relationship with the individual concerned, but he intends to be a fully supportive part of the child’s life. This is an entirely private matter and no other statements will be made.”

Law, who is 36, has three kids (6,8, and 12) with his former wife, Sadie Frost, whom he divorced after six years of marriage in 2003.He was engaged to G.I. Joe star Sienna Miller, but the wedding was cancelled after Law had an affair with his kids’ nanny.

Gotta say that Mr. Law is a busy beaver. I’m always amazed by people who have this much stamina. It’s going to be hard road for the kids though.

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“Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio is expecting his first child with his writer/director wife Lori Silverbush.
Colicchio earned two Emmy nominations for the hit Bravo show on Thursday, but insists he’s more excited about the August birth.

[More at: SFGate: Daily Dish : Colicchio to become a dad]

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Words for dads to live by. Some times it takes great tragedy to really understand what living in the moment with your kids really means. We all fail at this a million times a day, but anything it takes to bring us back to the “now” when with our kids is good stuff.

Actor Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s Disease has helped him to become a better dad.

The star insists his medical condition made him put his kids first and his work second.

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on her daily talk show on Tuesday, Fox said, “If I’m sitting, watching TV or something and my kids come and they want to show me something, they wanna ask me something, I just made up my mind that there’s nothing that I’m doing at any time that’s more important than that, and I’ll always get up every time and go.

[From SFGate: Daily Dish : Parkinson's Disease Helped Make Fox a Better Dad]

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In an interview with Men’s Health editor Dave Zinczenko, Obama talked about coming to terms with his relationship with his father. ”I would like to think that most of the issues related to my father have been resolved,” he said. “That’s part of what writing Dreams from My Father was about: understanding him, his own personal tragedy. He wasn’t a presence in my life, he was an idea that I had to wrestle with for a long time.

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Every one has to make their own choices in life and parenting, but it’s clear that kids need a lot of attention and time. I always want to read more when I see stories like this one about Gérard Depardieu’s son, who just died of pneumonia.

He got in trouble for speeding, drugs and a conviction for drink-driving that landed him in jail earlier this year.

He had his right leg amputated in 2003 as result of a hospital infection developed during operations to recover from a motorbike accident in 1995.

The son of Gerard and Elisabeth Depardieu, Guillaume had starred alongside his father for the first time in director Alain Corneau’s “Tous les matins du monde” (All the world’s mornings) in 1991.

Father and son would later be seen together in two television movies, even though they were locked in a difficult relationship.

Guillaume accused his mega-star father of taking little interest in him while he was growing up.

[From AFP: French film star Depardieu's son dies of pneumonia]

Whenever I see someone with a lot of money, fame, or power, I think of the consequences to the people around them, especially the kids. It’s very rare for any one dad, or mom, to be able to be a super person during the day and a great parent when the kids come home. Often, it’s the kids who miss out, and sometimes there are very real consequences.

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People magazine reports that Russell Crowe is a “pushover, as far as the kids are concerned.” He says he isn’t strict with his two young boys. I don’t know whether that’s to be expected, or to be surprised.

Importantly, he added some comments about multitasking and fatherhood: “everybody who’s got kids knows exactly what that drill is. When you are the father of two, and sometimes moms got to work, you got to do it, man.”

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