Ear piercing??? - Page 2

[fuzzylogic]

Both my girls had their ears pierced as infants---one was 3 weeks and the other I think 4 weeks.  You can buy spiffy baby earrings that screw on, but I found that the best were high quality piercing studs with the point smoothed over with an emery board....the ones that they use in the piercing guns.  The backs stay put and don't creep tight.  Cleaning isn't a problem....I held their faces still to wash them and also to clean their ears.....

[Peony]

Pierced ears on babies/toddlers look silly to me, boys or girls. It is cosmetic and who needs to enhance a young child like that. My children's bodies are not mine to decide to poke holes into. My kids can get them when they are older, no set date, when we feel the time is right, and they want them.  DD1 was 7, took excellent care of them, we did it the proper way by going to a piercing shop and she still battled infections. 

[Adaline'sMama]

We have decided that we will wait to get her ears pierced until she can ask for it, take care of them, and until our tattoo/piercing shop will pierce them professionally.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I'm a big advocate for respecting bodily autonomy in children. Your daughter is too young to consent in any way, so don't do it.

My plan is to allow my daughter to get her ears pierced when she's old enough to express an interest in it for at least 3 months. I didn't get mine pierced until I was 8, and it was an exciting experience and ultimately no big deal. The important part was that it's what I wanted, not my parents.

[darcytrue]

I don't see anything wrong with peircing a child's ears BUT I chose to wait with both of my girls (ages 8 yrs old and 1 yr old) because it's their body and their ears and it's ultimately their choice to decide if and when they want to pierce holes in their ears. JMHO.

[MayasMama88]

Thank you for your input, ladies! I think I already knew in my mind that I didn't want to do it until she could tell me herself that she actually wanted to get her ears pierced, but I was curious to know how other moms (and dads) felt about the subject. And FYI, when she DOES get her ears pierced, it will be by a professional piercer, not with a gun in the mall. I apprenticed to be a body piercer and I know how the blunt studs that are used with piercing guns can actually shatter cartilage, while piercing needles go straight through and take the cartilage and skin with it (since they are hollow).

[Smokering]

Yay! I'm glad you've decided to let your DD dictate the puncturedness of her own earlobes. :) I don't have pierced ears and neither do a fair few of my friends, so I don't think you can assume it's a choice every girl will eventually make, you know? (And even if she does, there are good health and ethical reasons to let her make that choice for herself, as PPs have pointed out.) Who knows - in a few years' time it might be considered totally gross/weird/uncool and nobody her age will do it! :p

[OkiMom]

Im hesitating as well but my oldest has expressed a desire to have her ears pierced.. However, 1) there is no place I can find over here that speaks English and I trust to pierce them and 2) she is a very rough and tumble preschooler and always dirty so I don't think she would be able to keep them clean. I got my ears pierced right before I started Kindergarten and took care of them myself (well, until I had an allergic reaction to the metal in the earrings and had to have them taken out and flushed daily) so if she still wants them around that age I will reconsider. I just didn't/don't think she is able to fully understand what it means and what it entails at 3, she just wants her pierced because mommy's is.

[MrsBone]

another one here who doesn't think a baby should have their ears pierced. They should be able to ask for it and know that it might hurt a little before-hand and be prepared to be comforted by you. But yeah, full-consent is my vote. It's no different than circumcision in my book! Just my two cents.

[2xy]

I want to add that the "he/she won't remember it" argument always makes me mad. Is it okay to pinch a baby because they won't remember it? What other hurtful things should we be allowed to do, solely because they won't be remembered?

And if those things in question are truly no big deal, and truly hardly cause any pain, then why is it so important for them to not be remembered?

Yes, I think people should get to decide whether to alter their bodies. And I also think jewelry on babies looks silly.

[MountainMamaGC]

I am not doing it because I think there should be consent. Also I think if she does someday want earrings we can make it a bonding experience. I think it would be fun to make a big day of it. Have mommy/daughter day where we have lunch and go to a professional piercer to get it done. We will probably go to the big city and have a really fun day. I think it will be a much better experience than doing it before she can remember and before she can consent. I know it hurts but sometimes we have to go through some pain to get something we want. That is also another important life lesson.