baby ear piercing

[Dancing Fire]

my daughters had their ears pierced right before they started kindergarten.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 4/15/2010 2:20:38 PM
Author: winelover23

Date: 4/15/2010 8:39:07 AM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

WL-It''s clear you are vehemently against this practice, so I doubt many people who favor it will respond. You basically called them barbaric child abusers....


This is a personal choice. I had my ears pierced at 8 weeks and had no issues with the holes getting infected, I don''t remember the pain and I''ve enjoyed having my ears pierced ever since. My mom had them done because to be honest she wanted to avoid the back and forth arguments about it when I was an adolescent. Later, in the eighth grade (so 13 or so) I had second holes pieced. I had horrible problems with them and they never healed properly I was miserable. I let them close on their own.


Ear piercing hurts no more than getting blood drawn or a shot. It''s momentary and fleeting. If the piercing is done at a young age it''s easier to take care of the healing holes and ensure that there are no infection or rejection issues. Earrings can also be removed and the choice can be made to wear them or not in the future.


So yea, call me a barbarian, call me an abuser. I will most likely get my daughter''s ears pierced as an infant (if I have a daughter).

I''m calling CPS on you. That is all.

Yea, I did it.

 

[that_someone_special]

I think it''s more about ethics for me than "abuse".

 

[megumic]

Date: 4/15/2010 3:10:30 PM
Author: swedish bean
I think it''s more about ethics for me than ''abuse''.

Can you elaborate? What is it ethically about piercing a baby''s ears?

 

[megumic]

Personally, I would not pierce my child''s ears. I believe it should be a choice whether one has holes in their ears or not. As a practical matter, as an infant grows the middle of their ears during infancy may become uncentered as ears and other body parts get bigger and change.

I guess I just don''t see the point of piercing a baby''s ears, besides decorating your child or for cultural/religious reasons.

 

[Kaleigh]

My DD got her''s pierced when she was 5. She wanted them so badly. I was fine with it. But man did I get tons of flack from both sides of the family.

MIL said it was tacky. Ummm tacky?? Oh Puhlease!!! I won''t even say what my Mom had to say.....

 

[Tuckins1]

I don''t think it''s "barbaric" at all. I had my ears pierced when I was 10 months old and they have remained pierced since... Never had a problem. And if I ever have a daughter, I will do the same for her.

 

[princesss]

When I was living in Spain I made a comment to my host mother about how all the little girls had pierced ears. She said they did it very early on (sometimes in the hospital) because in Spanish there is basically no gender neutral way to say "Oh, what a cute baby!" - you have to pick whether you think the baby is a boy or a girl. So people get the ears pierced to signal "girl" to everybody around them.

The only gender neutral way to say "How cute!" is "Que mono!" which literally translates to "What a monkey!" I think it''s a regional thing, but it also made it clear that you still weren''t totally sure what gender the kid is...

 

[Pandora II]

Personally I really don''t like the look of young girls and especially babies with earrings

. Here it is also a bit of a lower class thing to do.

Plus it''s dangerous - many children every year end up having plastic surgery on torn earlobes due to pulling off clothes or during games. It was one of the reasons I had to wait till 16 - my father spent a lot of time dealing with the consequences.

Daisy can have hers pierced at 16 if SHE want to.

I wouldn''t make any changes to my child''s body unless it was a true medical issue. (I do not consider circumcision to be a medical issue in the vast majority of cases. I disagree with in and would never inflict it on my child).

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 4/15/2010 1:18:04 PM
Author: Haven
elro--It''s addicting, right? I only wear one earring in each ear now, but the holes are all still there and still open. (I try them out every once in a while.)

I''ve actually re-pierced my tongue TWICE, so I''ve sat through that piercing three times, which is a little ridiculous now that I see it in writing. I kept taking it out and wanting it back, but that''s an expensive habit and it hurts more each time you get it done.

Now I''m sticking to tattoos.

Lol. I feel like I''ve joined a club! I had 8 piercings in each ear (5 in the lower part, 2 in the upper cartilage, and then one on the tragus and the other on the rook) plus my belly button, and like you Haven, I''ve had my tongue re-pierced twice, for a total of 3 times as well!

No tattoos here though. Tattoos and piercings are two totally different animals in my book.

 

[waxing lyrical]

I don''t like it at all. I took my 5 year old to get hers done shortly after her 5th birthday. She asked to get them when she was 4.5.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

My best friend''s mother took me to get it done as my eleventh birthday present with the permission of my mother.

When I was a freshman in college, my mother told me if I came back with a belly button ring at Thanksgiving, she''d yank it out herself. I got a ear cartilage piercing as a senior in college, but it hurt so bad still after four months, I took it out. I couldn''t even accidentally brush against it in the shower while washing my hair without yowling, and it wasn''t even infected.

I had my eyebrow pierced when I was 24 and in grad school. I really liked it because it was so surprising to people who knew me, but it lasted only about 4 months. It came out when I bought a new outfit for my cousin''s graduation - pink linen pants, pink sandal heels, floral frilly top with satin ribbon around the waist, pearl necklace and earrings. Somehow, the eyebrow piercing just didn''t match the Ann Taylor look!

The eyebrow piercing hurt less than plucking my eyebrows - very painless. I highly recommend a professional piercing/tattoo parlor to Claire''s or Piercing Pagoda.

 

[TravelingGal]

Nope, not for me either. I''m lazy...don''t care to take care of them. If she wants them, she can get them later.

I don''t have a problem if people do it culturally. If it''s not cultural, then I do believe a lot of moms choose to have their daughter''s ears pierced in the hopes of saving them memorable pain later on in life. But the mother is assuming that the girl will want them later. We''d probably think it would be pretty dumb to do it to a son, right? But heaps of men pierce their ears these days...why not pierce them too?

Where I kind of wonder is when the mom does it because she thinks it looks cute. I really wouldn''t make my kid suffer even a little bit for my own vanity. So if THAT is the reason, I disagree with it.

 

[PinkTower]

I am a kindergarten teacher, and I speak from that experience. I don''t like earrings on little girls on the playground. They aren''t safe. We have jungle gyms, parallel bars, tire swings, etc. If it were up to me, the girls would not be allowed to wear earrings if they wanted to use the equipment. Some of the little girls have oozing red ears. I don''t know if it is lack of attention, or metal allergies. I cannot wear gold or silver, so I suspect many children are also sensitive to the alloys.

Also, I notice my teenaged daughter and her friends never wear earrings. These girls are athletic, and play on soccer teams, etc. My daughter is also a lifeguard. I don''t think I have seen her wear a pair of earrings since she was a preteen. Of course, she wanted them done when she was a preteen, and I allowed her. The novelty wore off rather quickly.

 

[lyra]

I''m all for personal choice and see piercing as one of those choices. I let my daughters get their ears pierced when they asked for it. I think that was around 5 and 3. When they were older teens and wanted cartilage and nose piercings, they went to a professional piercer and I watched the process. I didn''t know I should have done this with their first piercings, they''ve never had any issues with professional piercings, just with mall ones unfortunately.

I hate seeing babies having their ears pierced. When I watch in person, it is kind of horrifying to me. I feel sorry for them, but they''re not my kids. They do cry, and I wonder why this ornamentation is so important. It may be cultural, just not my culture. I would also be very upset if my daughter had ended up with uneven piercings, that would be awful. Or if they grew to be uneven, that would be worse. My oldest daughter''s friend ended up with one torn lobe. She couldn''t get it repaired until she was in her teens, and ended up having to get new piercings much higher up, which looked kind of bad IMO.

 

[JSM]

Date: 4/15/2010 8:16:42 PM
Author: Pink Tower

Also, I notice my teenaged daughter and her friends never wear earrings. These girls are athletic, and play on soccer teams, etc. My daughter is also a lifeguard. I don''t think I have seen her wear a pair of earrings since she was a preteen. Of course, she wanted them done when she was a preteen, and I allowed her. The novelty wore off rather quickly.

I think this is fairly normal. I begged and begged for pierced ears and got them when I was 10. I hardly wore earrings all through the teenage years, but I really appreciate having it done now as an adult. Before I developed my nickel allergy I wore earrings daily (now I''m saving for platinum).

I would have thanked my mom had she gotten them done for me when I was a baby, honestly. Pierced ears are hardly abuse in my book (but I am not a parent yet, so my opinions are likely skewed).

 

[jaysonsmom]

I think a lot of people get a ton of piercings later on in life because it was considered taboo by their parents. My daughter never makes a deal about her earrings because she''s had them for most of her life. She''s actually surprised when people say "What pretty earrings!" and she looks around to see who they are saying it to.

Here''s a cute picture for those opposed to one tiny stud on a baby girl

 

[PinkTower]

I agree with what
Lyra said:

My oldest daughter's friend ended up with one torn lobe. She couldn't get it repaired until she was in her teens, and ended up having to get new piercings much higher up, which looked kind of bad IMO.[/quote]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Exactly. As a teacher, the safety of the child is our first priority. Children come in every day with assorted injuries,bruises and cuts that happened away from school.
I am always so relieved when it did not happen while I was responsible. If a parent wants their child to wear earrings, that is their choice. My issue is that I do not want to be held accountable for the loss of jewelry at school, or the torn earlobes on the playground. Please save the jewelry for when you as a parent want to be responsible for the earlobes and the earrings.

 

[onedrop]

This thread is one of the reasons I love to log on to PS. My horizons are always broadened reading such vehement opinions on a subject that I have never spent time thinking about. Honestly I never thought one way or the other about babies getting their ears pierced. My Mom had mine pierced by my doctor when I was a baby. So "no" I don''t find the practice to be barbaric or even unethical as someone wrote. As I see it my Mom getting my ears pierced as a baby was not something that scarred me for life, nor do I see it as a choice that was taken away from me. Even if I had felt either of those things I still don''t see piercing as barbaric, it was just a choice she made. I have no idea what her motivation was for getting my ears pierced, but I think there are much worse things that could have been done to scar me for life.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Call me barbaric, my daughter had her ears pierced for her first birthday. I remember getting mine done when I was 11. Although I wanted them done, I was scared. My daughter is now almost 6 years old and does not remember a thing about getting them pierced. We never had a problem with the cleaning and healing.

They were done, with a gun at the mall. And no, I would not tattoo my infant or child (ridiculous).

And for what it''s worth, both my boys are circumsized.

 

[katamari]

I see it as nothing more than a cultural choice.

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 4/15/2010 7:57:52 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Nope, not for me either. I''m lazy...don''t care to take care of them. If she wants them, she can get them later.


I don''t have a problem if people do it culturally. If it''s not cultural, then I do believe a lot of moms choose to have their daughter''s ears pierced in the hopes of saving them memorable pain later on in life. But the mother is assuming that the girl will want them later. We''d probably think it would be pretty dumb to do it to a son, right? But heaps of men pierce their ears these days...why not pierce them too?


Where I kind of wonder is when the mom does it because she thinks it looks cute. I really wouldn''t make my kid suffer even a little bit for my own vanity. So if THAT is the reason, I disagree with it.

That''s a big part of my refusal to get my DD''s ears pierced, I wouldn''t want to make her cry! I already get sick to my stomach when I take her in for vaccinations

 

[violet3]

Well, I don''t really think it''s barbaric, but i do think it should be a choice that should be made by a child. This is ONLY because i wasn''t allowed to have my ears pierced until i was 11....i can remember wanting SO badly to have pierced ears and having to wait. I think certainly it''s reasonable for people to allow ear piercing earlier, but my parents were pretty strict

But it was the greatest thing ever, because when i finally got to go with my mom and get my ears pierced, it was such a great and special day for us both. If i had my ears pierced before i can remember, I don''t think i would have that great memory.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 4/15/2010 9:43:13 PM
Author: katamari
I see it as nothing more than a cultural choice.

ditto.

But I still think HH is a barbarian....

(I kid I kid!!

)

 

[Amethyste]

I got my ears pierced when I was 4 months old, and my brother "the other treatment". I think I lucked out on that deal!

In Canada, at least at the time I was born, the only person who could pierce ears on a baby less than 5 years old was at the doctor's office by a nurse.
Only gold could be used. That's what I had. I still have the studs at home too... They are so cute and tiny!!!

 

[luvinlife]

In my birth country it is common for the pediatrician ask the mom if she want them to pierce the baby''s ears prior to leaving the hospital.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I don''t think it''s barbaric, but since I hate to sleep in earrings (except my awesome leverbacks I wouldn''t want to make my child sleep in earrings....

 

[Callisto]

I''m not going to say what is right and wrong for people''s kids, but just point out that for some people piercings are not "fleeting pain" as some have mentioned. Some people react badly to piercings, myself included. It''s not an infection and its not an allergy, but it takes a VERY long time for my piercings to heal and I have had a lot of problems with my two lobe piercings and had a cartilidge piercing that I had to to cut out with a wire cutter because it swelled up to where I couldn''t get the ring off. But at least I did all these things to myself where I could say "ok this will heal eventually, but is it worth it?" You don''t know how your child will react and my not even fully realize if they are in pain. For that reason, I personally will wait until my daughter (if I have one) can decide for herself if it is worth it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 4/15/2010 10:07:56 AM
Author: hawaiianorangetree
I honestly don''t like the look of a baby with their ears pierced, and i didn''t do it to my daughter, we waited until she asked. Having said that she has had her ears pierced twice now and both times we have had to let them close up due to infection. Maybe if i had had them done when she was an infant we wouldn''t have had that problem.

I thought this post was interesting because if I''m really honest with myself - it doesn''t matter. Like anything its a matter of personal preference. If I''m really open with myself - these are just choices and of course we each have our own opinions and what we choose to do might be very different from what someone else chooses - but ultimately there is no blanket right or wrong answer.

Also, from what I can tell, if you''re going to do a young child''s ears you need to do it when they''re very young. I wouldn''t do a 2 year old''s ears. As an infant they don''t mess with stuff like that and by the time they CAN mess with them they don''t think to - their earrings are a part of their body like anything else. There''s no "oooh what are these" they don''t care - they''ve always been there, no biggie. I''ve never met someone who had their earrings done at a young age who resented the choice their parents made to do them. I''m sure one exists, but I''ve met more men who wish they weren''t circumcised and that''s a very popular option in the united states.

 

[kenny]

Sara, you summed up my feelings on the topic.

The diversity of opinions here is wonderful.