Photo of father holding his son in the shower continues to spark debate

Heather Whitten's image has been called 'beautiful', but some think she was wrong to share it

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A mother’s photograph of her husband holding their ill son in the shower has been shared tens of thousands of times in the few weeks since it was posted, but it was also removed from Facebook a number of times for violating the site’s nudity policy.

In a public post, photographer Heather Whitten said she was surprised by negative reactions to the photograph, which she felt showed a touching moment of intimacy between a father and son.

“I was taken aback by how many people missed the story, or didn’t even look past the nudity to find the story,” she said.

“They were just hung up on them both being nude and being in the shower.

The image has caused a great deal of debate over social media, with the majority of people reacting positively to the photo, and even posting pictures of themselves bathing their own young children in order to show support.

Many parents shared stories of when they, too, had gone into the shower with sick children to help to bring their fever down, and clean them of any vomit and waste.

One user said: “As a parent you feel so helpless. You will do anything to try and make them feel better… I would have been right there in that shower trying to get the fever down while my child pooped and vomited, I wouldn’t care.”

Though the picture has been called “beautiful” hundreds of times, it has also received some negative reactions.

Ms Whitten has been criticised for sharing the photo in the first place, with some Facebook users advising her to keep matters such as these private.

One user said: “The point is, unfortunately, there are millions of people with sick, depraved minds, on the internet. And this selfish mother has just posted a picture of her naked child into the public domain to prove a point’”.

Others expressed disapproval at the nudity itself, arguing that parents should not be naked around their children in the first place: “Why would you expose your nakedness to a child?” one user asked.

A similar photo came under attack in December of last year, when Danish comedian Torben Chris posted a photo of himself in the bath with his two-year-old.

He said that it was “bloody disgusting” if a child was not washed properly, and “unfair” if the mother was always the one with the responsibility.

“If we couldn’t stand to see each other naked we’d be born with clothes on,” said Mr Chris.

“Nudity with your child’s not gross, but natural. A father in the shower with his daughter’s not paedophilia”.