Piercing their kids ears themselves?

[sadean]

Does anyone have experience pieircing their kids ears themselves? I took my 8.5 yo to a piercer today (one of the best stors in town), and they claimed it was against the law to pierce anyone under 16. I went online and that isn't true, but if they don't want to do kids, I respect that.

In my conversation with the piercer, he recommended that doing it ourselves is superior to going to the mall, which I agree with, but I only have experience piericing my own ears and have never done another person's. So, I know little about placement, strategies for doing it quickly, what kind of needle to use, etc. I have put out a couple of calls to pierced friends to see if anyone is willing to do it, or at least look over my shoulder while I do, so I don't screw it up, but if anyone has any thoughts/advice here, I would appreciate it.

[4evermom]

Most people on MDC seem to advocate having it done in a doctor's office rather than the mall.

[textbookcase]

I wouldn't do it myself.

[milehighmonkeys]

I've seen piercers for sale that are spring loaded. I don't know if they are still available, though. Maybe this link will help?
http://www.earpiercer.com/

[sadean]

Update-

I chickened out and ended up calling around more and found a piercer that would do an "underage" child with sufficient ID. It was not my first choice in piercing places, but it was clean and the guy knows what he is doing. It just has a reputation for attracting a "tougher" clientle. It was pretty quiet in there today and he gave DC a lot of attention and care. He harranged me for even considering doing it myself, but whatever . It is done and DC loves it...it goes great with his faux-hawk:.

We are ready to start school in 2 weeks!

[cosmos]

Just curious about why a person wouldn't have their kids ears pierced in a mall?
Thanks

[whalemilk]

Mall piercers aren't usually sufficiently hygenic.

Though doing it at home...oookay. Not going to say much about that. It's a novel idea, I guess.

[Mama2Bug]

Originally Posted by cosmos

Just curious about why a person wouldn't have their kids ears pierced in a mall?
Thanks

There is the hygiene issue- How do you KNOW they clean everything sufficiently? Mall kiosks/ costume jewelry stores are not regulated in any way.

The staff is inexperienced. Anyone who can get a retail job can pierce ears at Claire's. These people know little to nothing about placement, proper aftercare or metal allergies.

The most frequently used method of piercing is by using a piercing gun. This apparatus actually pushes the flesh inward as it makes a hole. The flesh is then trapped inside the earlobe (in the hole) where it decays. This is a fine set-up for infections.

[earthie_mama]

Never ever ever use a spring-loaded piercer, you need a surgical grade piercing needle, nothing wrong wiht doing it yourself if your only other option is a mall, but finding a good piercer at a tatoo shop or soemthing is far superior.

[Mirzam]

Well not me personally, but my 18 yo DD had her ears pierced at five by her Filipina amah (nanny) with a sterilized sewing needle and some cotton thread, the way they traditionally do it in the Philippines. Her ears never became infected. Not that I recommending this.

[DevaMajka]

Originally Posted by cosmos

Just curious about why a person wouldn't have their kids ears pierced in a mall?
Thanks

Some of my experiences with gun piercings:
1. They hurt worse than piercings at a tattoo/professional ear piercing place.
2. One time, the earring got stuck in the gun, so that the gun was very very hard to get away from my head.
3. Another time, the piercer pierced her glove to my earring. She had to remove the back of the earring (see #1 where I say they hurt worse anyways) to get that piece of her glove out.
4. They use stud earrings, which are harder to get totally clean than a hoop that you can spin totally through your piercing.

Those are my experiences, and that's not even touching on the training and pride one takes in their job.

[mata]

for us the gun was a pita. my oldest had our pediatrician do it, but what ended up happening with the gun is that it didn't pierce enough to truly form a hole. After my daughter had worn the starter earrings for well beyond the prescribed period, any time we would take her earrings out, clean them, etc. there was no hole! It was like I had to pierce her ears all over again each time she changed her earrings, and that went on for about a month until she finally formed holes. Not pretty, let me tell you.

[cosmos]

Thanks for all the info on mall piercers. I had a bit of reservation when my 8yo wanted her ears pierced, but figured the mall was the only place I knew of to get pierced, so we did it. So far, so good- but I also remember when my ears were pierced all the difficulty in working with the tiny hole and getting a new earring in ouch ouch ouch! We got our ears pierced at the same place only mine was 30 years ago for my 8th bday. How cute is that?
Oh- and the "free" piercing was $79 !!! We had a bunch of other junk grandma paid for while we were there (like the solution you "have to" buy), but still!

[Maeve]

Originally Posted by cosmos

Just curious about why a person wouldn't have their kids ears pierced in a mall?
Thanks

"Reusable ear piercing guns can put clients in direct contact with the blood and body fluids of previous clients."

"Piercing guns can cause significant tissue damage"

"The length and design of gun studs is inappropriate for healing piercings."


Also, they are done by poorly trained, inexperienced employees, not to mention all the things that can go wrong with piercing guns (stud not going all the way through the lobe, getting stucks, etc).

Here is some great info:
http://www.safepiercing.org/FAQ.html

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by Maeve

"Reusable ear piercing guns can put clients in direct contact with the blood and body fluids of previous clients."

"Piercing guns can cause significant tissue damage"

"The length and design of gun studs is inappropriate for healing piercings."


Also, they are done by poorly trained, inexperienced employees, not to mention all the things that can go wrong with piercing guns (stud not going all the way through the lobe, getting stucks, etc).

Here is some great info:
http://www.safepiercing.org/FAQ.html

A big, yeah that. There is no way to properly clean a piercing gun. Even if you could there is still the issue of the gun forcing the skin inside as opposed to cleanly removing it.

The other biggie is that all reputable shops I know of use surgical grade stainless steel jewelry. That's a big deal as sterling and gold are far too porous and can in and of themselves promote infection.

Most of the reputable shops around here will not pierce under the age of 16. Their feeling is that you need to be responsible enough to care for the "art" if you are going to get it. Their feeling is that most 16 year olds aren't (not my opinion, just sayin') and they do not want to be liable for improper care.

Hands down I would find a reputable shop were my kiddos to want it.

[mommy68]

No way I'd do it myself. First off, I wouldn't feel confident enough to do it and secondly I don't wear earrings so I don't see the point. I would call and talk to the store manager about it or go higher up if they fight it. Maybe they dislike doing children because they cry or make a big deal out of the pain. But they can do it as long as their parent or an adult signs for it.

[Nautical]

:

Originally Posted by earthie_mama

Never ever ever use a spring-loaded piercer, you need a surgical grade piercing needle, nothing wrong wiht doing it yourself if your only other option is a mall, but finding a good piercer at a tatoo shop or soemthing is far superior.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by mommy68

No way I'd do it myself. First off, I wouldn't feel confident enough to do it and secondly I don't wear earrings so I don't see the point. I would call and talk to the store manager about it or go higher up if they fight it. Maybe they dislike doing children because they cry or make a big deal out of the pain. But they can do it as long as their parent or an adult signs for it.

only if they choose to. You can definitely follow the chain of command, but most shops are privately owned and they can make the call.

All the ones I know refuse based on the responsibility issue, not crying or whining. You can't be a piercer if you don't like that. You'd be shocked at how many grown people pass out.

[BedHead]

I did my own ears when I was 16 and again a few years later, and didn't even think twice about doing dd's when she wanted a second hole in each ear. We'd had the first one done at the mall, then I heard bad things about doing it there and just did them myself. She was 12 I think. (I have 4 years of microbiology from uni so I do know a thing or two about sterilization techniques) Since then she has also pierced her own ears again and her own eyebrow. She tried her own lip but it got infected and she let it grow in. I have been trying to put the brakes on her self piercings and have managed to convince her she can NOT poke a hole through anything that isn't just skin - no cartilage.

[vtgirl]

dh's best friend is a professional piercer and operates out of another friends tattoo shop. he has always said "when dd is ready let ME do it for her - DO NOT take her to the mall". he cited the same reasons as above. i think it's pretty cool to take your little one to a REAL tattoo shop to have their ears pierced. i mean, we haven't done it yet since she is not there yet (she's 8 but nervous about the pain of it) but she has been to the shop and loves all the freaky folk that come in and out! maybe thats just us, tho! we love our freaky friends!!
my friend took her dd to the mall last year and she had no ill effects whatsoever. i guess she got lucky but i don't think i would take the chance.