ear piercing????

[kittybean]

I got my ears pierced when I asked. I think I was about four, possibly five, but it was definitely before kindergarten. It was done at my pediatrician''s office. My dad cleaned my ears every day, and I only wore gold earrings until I was a teenager and had very few problems with them. I got my second ear piercings when I got straight A''s all year in sixth grade.

If I have a daughter, I''ll wait until she wants and asks to have her ears pierced to do it.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 12/13/2009 2:06:02 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 3 months old.. she had very little hair and despite wearing A LOT of pink, people often thought she was a boy. She was pierced with 14k gold balls, never had any problem with infection or ever playing with her earrings. Her holes are still tiny, nor have they ever moved. My own ears were pierced when I was 12 I believe.


*eta, I'll go against the grain here.. I like the look of tiny gold earrings on little girls.. but that's my opinion. She wore her small gold balls for a year before I changed them to gemstones. I only ever had her wear gold.. never silver.. never costume. I attribute the fact she never has had an infection to wearing only gold to begin with. It cost more, but it was worth it.

SD I think you and my mom had the same idea (apparently without earrings I looked VERY much like a little boy

). I got mine when I was a baby and never had a problem with them. Also, I never wore anything but gold - no silver, etc. Never regretted getting my first set of holes as a baby.

I got my 2nd set before 8th grade, my cartilage freshman year of college, and holes in the middle of my ears (on the outer edge but halfway between the cartilage and my lobe piercings) junior year of college. Of all of those, I've only had one infection problem (my left middle) and had to take it out. Otherwise all fine.

And all of my ear piercings were done at Claire's or at a beauty salon. My belly button piercing was done at a good tattoo/piercing parlor though and it came out crookedly, whereas the ear piercings are fine.

Totally anecdotal, but just my experience.

 

[mia1181]

I''ll just be the horrible person here and say that I think earrings on little babies are cute. I don''t think it''s the same thing as tattooing your baby or whatever. So if your 10 year old is old enough to ask for a navel ring or tattoo, would you let them? Clearly it''s not the same thing. The majority of girls will get them eventually and no one is forcing them to wear earrings. If the hole never closes, noone will see it anyway. Your daughter might still resent you for letting her do it at the age of 10 or whatever anyway, when they are obviously not old enough to be making decisions about permanently altering their bodies. But I''ll bet not. I doubt there are many girls who are mad at their parents for doing it anyway.

My parents waited until I asked (age and my holes are uneven so waiting doesn''t guarentee eveness. I got my first holes at 8 and my second at 14, and both times I was aweful at taking care of them. The nice thing about getting it done to babies it that you can take care of keeping them clean until they heal completely. My little sister''s were done as an infant and she never had any problems with infections like I did.

Anyway, I don''t think it''s fair to judge people for choosing to do this. In the grand scheme of things it''s not that big of a deal, and is similar to circumcision in boys. To each their own.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

My parents made me wait until I was 11 to have my ears pierced and I think waiting that long made me more determined to take care of them.

With my girls, the rule was that they had to be 7 and do the aftercare themselves. My older DD did fine with no problems, but my younger DD has now had her ears done TWICE and currently they''re closed up. It wasn''t her fault -- the first time, the piercer did the one at an angle so it was higher in the front than in the back. It got worse as it healed, so we decided to take them out and try again later. A year later, DD got them done again and one got infected. Her dad took the earrings out, which freaked me out because you''re supposed to leave the earrings IN if you get an infection. Otherwise, the hole can close up, leaving the infection inside.

Eventually, I''ll take her to the piercer''s to have it done right, but I''m pretty sure they won''t do it around here until 16, even with a parent''s permission.

 

[NYCsparkle]

dh and i had another discussion and we both agreed that when she asks for them is when we will take her....i do think little girls look cute with them ,but we''ll let her decide.

my parents don''t care either way, but my inlaws always ask because my dd is the 1st girl born in the family in 34 years sooooo they want all things to be "girly" which i understand...they''ll just have to get over it or teach her to say i want earrings and i''ll take care of them at 5 months old..lol

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I was in 6th grade when I got my ears pierced. My dad made me go to the doctor to get them done (he didn''t the mall). I was given a numbing shot which was good b/c I remember the doc had trouble working the gun. I am glad I waited. I have a friend who got them done really young (toddler) and her holes are so stretched out. She hates them. My DD will get them when she is old enough to ask/want them AND be able to take care of them.

 

[AprilBaby]

I got my daughter''s ears pierced at 3 months. No infection, no pulling, she didn''t realize she even had them. She has two older brothers and everyone thought she was a boy till then. She has no regrets (age 22) that I did it.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

My mom made us wait until we were 13. We had to do it at the doctors office. I felt kind of dorky because most of my friends had them, but in the long run I don''t really care. I am glad she made me wait until I was mature enough to take care of them myself.

 

[Clio]

My younger daughter got them done at 7. She had been asking to do it for a couple of years, but by 7 she seemed mature enough to actually do it. 3 years later, she hasn''t had any problems and loves wearing cute earrings.

My older daughter is 12 and doesn''t have her ears pierced. She simply has no interest in it. She knows that if she changes her mind, I''ll take her to do it, but I don''t want to push her.

My mother got my ears pierced when I was 3. I remember it (hazily), and it wasn''t traumatic at all. I never had any problems, except when I wore earrings that broke my ears out (basically, anything that isn''t gold). Still, I don''t really like the fact that it was done so young.

 

[trillionaire]

I got mine when I asked. It was for my third birthday. I remember it hurting only mildy, I whispered 'ow', but didn't cry. Then my ears felt really warm for a while. My earrings were 2 gold doves. They had pointy edges and would scratch me sometimes, but I loved them! I never had infections, but was allergic to cheap metals. Anything not silver or gold, etc did and still does make me break out.

I would never pierce a baby's ears, even though I like the look of it. It is very common to do so, however, in the black community. We wear earring all the time, like uniforms. I get really self conscious even now if I leave the house without earrings!

 

[somethingshiny]

I was 9 when I got mine pierced.

I actually had this conversation yesterday with a friend of mine over our LO. If we have a girl I will NOT pierce her ears before she''s old enough to ask. It is my belief that a little girl doesn''t need pierced ears nor would I want to put her through the uncomfortable act of the piercing and the days or weeks of healing with the pain and itching. My own ears were sore for months when I got them pierced.

My sis has a friend who is 20. She doesn''t have pierced ears and has no want for them. I think a girl should have that choice.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I was not allowed to get my ears pierced until I was around 14 or so, and when that time finally came, I completely changed my mind and didn''t end up getting them pierced at all. I think I initially wanted earrings because everyone else was getting them or already had them. But by the time I was 14, I was able to think for myself a little more. I''m now 25, don''t have pierced ears and currently have no intention of piercing them. I wear some lovely little clip-ons from time to time, though!

 

[elrohwen]

I wanted to second everyone who recommend going for non-reactive metals for earrings. So important! The best you can get is gold or stainless steel (often used at professional piercing places). Everything else probably has nickel in it and some people are very allergic. It can even cause permanent bumps to form which are not attractive and have to be surgically removed.

 

[geckodani]

Not a fan of the babies with earrings personally. I got mine done at 9 years old. One of them is crooked.

So whatever you do, whenever you do it - don''t go to the mall and triple check that the darned things are even!!!

 

[Clio]

Date: 12/14/2009 3:02:04 PM
Author: elrohwen
I wanted to second everyone who recommend going for non-reactive metals for earrings. So important! The best you can get is gold or stainless steel (often used at professional piercing places). Everything else probably has nickel in it and some people are very allergic. It can even cause permanent bumps to form which are not attractive and have to be surgically removed.

Yep! I can wear costume or silver earrings for up to a day, but anything longer than that will irritate my ears. I''ve found that the safest for me is yellow gold.

My daughter hasn''t shown any signs of similar problems, but I haven''t really let her try, either! I''ll let her wear fashion earrings for short periods of time, but for day-to-day wear, it''s gold.

 

[TravelingGal]

Not for me personally. I understand for some it''s cultural. I understand for others, they are thinking of sparing their kid the pain of it later on it life. But I think for a lot of people, it''s vanity...they like seeing their little girl with jewelry. Many times it''s for THEM, not the kid.

Nothing wrong with vanity...I mean, I''m guilty of it by dressing up my kid in cute clothes, right? I just draw the line in punching holes in my kid''s ear since it''s not a cultural thing for me. JMHO.

 

[zoebartlett]

I was allowed to get my ears pierced when I was 12. My parents wanted me to be old enough to take care of them on my own. My sister, who is very much a tom-boy, will never get her ears pierced.

 

[Bliss]

Oh! Tiny earrings are so cute! But boy, I remember how much they hurt when I got them. My mom took me to the dermatologist's office when I was 3. She got her ears pierced first and I remember being excited that I was going to get them next. Well, she pierced one ear and it hurt so much I started crying. I remember my mom and the dermatologist discussing what to do next. I was sobbing and I wouldn't let them near my other ear. They debated letting me leave with just one stud or persuading me to get the other one done. Finally, they kind of forced me to get the other one pierced. Ouch! Maybe I was just extra sensitive to the pain and it's much better nowadays. I hope so! In any case, I had no problems with them and I was a pretty active kid.

 

[AGBF]

This discussion took me by surprise because it made me realize that I had totally forgotten what had once seemed an important event in my life and my daughter's: getting her ears pierced.

First off, I hadn't had my own ears pierced until I was 48. My mother had me thoroughly inculcated with the belief that it just wasn't done! Of course all of my peers did it during the 1960's and 1970's. A lot of the time, back then, it was done by your girlfriends with ice cubes and sewing needles in their mother's kitchens. I don't know if they even had piercing guns yet! I never wanted to do it, though. I didn't think it was very classy!!! I gave in at age 48 so that I could wear diamond studs! My daughter desperately wanted pierced ears, however.

I remembered that I was fanatical about it being done by a physician. I took her to our dermatologist, who did it. I didn't remember how old she was, however. I had to ask her. She said she was 10. The reason it seems funny now is that I have become so inured to her being pierced! Thank goodness that the only piercing that she still has is a belly button piercing. Her belly button has been pierced either three or four times, though, since she has changed her mind about it. She has never had more than one facial piercing at a time, but she once had a (thank goodness, tiny) stud in her nose and once had a tiny "Monroe" piercing. (A tiny stud where Marilyn Monroe had a "beauty mark"-i.e. a mole.) I hated the facial piercings. They are gone. The facial piercings and the extra holes in the ears (at one point she had three) gave me a sense of perspective, however. Now I think that the one set of holes in the ears and the belly button ring is not too bad .

What were you talking about again?

AGBF

 

[star sparkle]

My mom took me to get my ears pierced when I was 3 or 4. I asked for them and was so excited about it, I remember it as if it were yesterday! Then she let me get a second set of holes when I was in 7th grade.

If/when I have a daughter, I''ll let her get them when she shows interest and asks.

 

[monarch64]

I LOVE the look of pierced ears on little girls. I don''t really have an opinion one way or the other whether you should pierce your child''s ears at a very young age, though. But I can tell you my experience:

I was in 1st grade when I started begging my mom to let me get my ears pierced. She resisted, saying I wasn''t quite old enough to take care of them myself, etc. I went to my grandmother, who helped me campaign for pierced ears. Finally, when I was in 2nd grade, 7 years old, my mom caved, we went to the mall and got my ears pierced. 6 weeks later, I had swollen lymph nodes all over my neck and the back of my head. I had to go through some MAJOR testing because doctors thought I had Hodgkins disease. What a nightmare. It turned out I was allergic to nickel. Took out the earrings, didn''t re-pierce again until I was 14. I can''t wear anything but 14k or higher gold or platinum earrings for extended periods of time. I can get away with wearing some costume or sterling earrings for a couple of hours, tops.

I''m just relating my experience here because the allergy issue is something to think about. I can''t imagine the stress my mother would have gone through if she''d pierced my ears at a very early age and I had that sort of allergic reaction!

 

[yssie]

It's cultural for me

. We've had them done at 1yr for generations, FI and I are planning to do the same for ours (that is, assuming we have a little girl

).


When the time comes round, though, I honestly don't know if I'd prefer to have it done at a doctor's office or at a tattoo place. I definitely trust that professional tattoo artists/piercers have much more experience, but if something goes wrong, I'd much rather have a doctor on-site...

 

[Kay]

I was 12 or 13 when my parents finally let me get my ears pierced. I had been asking for a few years since most of my friends had pierced ears. My mom did not have pierced ears until then, so we actually got them pierced together at a family jewelry store (not a mall store). It was done with a gun. I am terrified of needles and could never get pierced with a needle instead of a gun.

After DD was born, I asked DH what he thought of having her ears pierced as an infant because people kept asking me about it. He was horrified at the idea. I don''t think I''ll make her wait as long as my parents did, but it will be at an age where I think she will be responsible for keeping them clean. (After reading some of the comments here, it will definitely be after she is old enough to dress herself -- I have a hard enough time getting clothes over her head without worrying about earrings!)

 

[joflier]

My parents were against ear piercing, so I didn''t have it done until I was an adult. That being said, if it was my choice, I would have had it done when I started school - around 6 or 7, as all the other girls had them pierced, and I didn''t want to be the only girl in my class without!