Pierced Ears?

[boomba]

I think they should be able to choose. As a few of the girls have said its thier body. I still dont have mine done and am so glad mum and let it be my choice.
But they are your little girls and regardless of anyone elses opinion you have to choose what is right for your girls! Good luck xx

[helle]

My mum waited for me to ask for them. I was three, or maybe four, so she took me to get them done. She reckons I was fine getting them pierced but never let her touch them, she would clean them in my sleep. Anyway needless to say they got infected and had to come out.

I had them done again when I was 10 and I asked. Same thing. Was too much of a sook to let mum clean them cos they hurt, got infected, had to come out.

I then got them done again 12 months before we got married because I wanted to be able to wear some nice earrings and this time, being that I could look after them myself, they were fine. Thank god.

Point of the story, I wish mum hadn't been such a goody goody parent and got mine done while I was small enough to not remember how much they hurt. XD
And personally from having it done as an adult once they're done, and they're cleaned properly and not infected all the time they don't hurt at all. It's that initial shock that's the shock.

Personally at the age Ava is I would probably give it a miss now. She would be old enough to know they're there and might play with them, and when they're infected they hurt. Z might just scrape in, however, does she pull her ears when she's teething? Jacksons does and I think he'd rip ear rings out if he had any XD

[loulabelle]

Just wanted to add also that a friend of mine had her 2 year old ears pierced and she played and played with them. They got so infected in the end that they had to come out.so it does happen.

[Just Me]

Am thinking i might ask DP's cousin to watch the girls while we go to a movie then sneakily ask her to go and get them pierced.. then DP can't say ANYTHING to me..

Getting ears pierced might be a little bit painful and I think they would want their mummy there ... nothing even comes close to cuddles from mummy (and daddy) for a little kid. It might be a bit traumatising for them to be taken by your DP's cousin for something like that and it could have a really bad impact on their relationship. It might also badly affect your DP's relationship with his cousin and cause all sorts of problems.

I can understand your reasoning for wanting your girls' ears pierced, but make it special and do it with the support your your DP

[Mum2SweetCs]

i got my ears pierced when i was only a few months and my sister too. We got ours done with a needle. It was more of a cultural thing I think.

I never lost my earrings and our ears never got infected. My sister always lost her earrings though!

I also find them cute on girls but cannot subject DD to them as she is already mega mega scared of injections let alone a loud gun, so for me, i will be waiting.

Goodluck with convincing your DH, afterall the choice is yours =)

[loulabelle]

I think tacky is a bit of a harsh word to use when you are talking about little girls.

I think the tacky has been used because that is what the op asked.
She said "do you think it's tacky"

[LimeSlice]

I think the tacky has been used because that is what the op asked.
She said "do you think it's tacky"

:yeahthat:

[MummaSue]

I'm against it, but for this reason: I worked in a jewellery store before I went to uni and once had to pierce the ears of a 3 month old baby.

I'm still traumatised. She screamed the house down. Seriously. I cried when she and her mother left the shop.

No way would I do it to my little one. She can have them done when she is old enough to ask me and know what is happening and what it means.

Each to their own though, they do look very pretty.

[Lulu]

Wow.

Why do people pierce babies ears so young?

[briggsy's girl]

Wow.

Why do people pierce babies ears so young?

for me, it was because we wanted to. plain and simple. it wasn't cultural, it wasn't due to pressure, it wasn't to make her more girly or anything like that. we simply wanted to do it. and we did. no different to a parent choosing to do anything else with their child - it's their choice, they do it. we chose to do it when she was young as our niece had been HARPING for earrings from the age of three til her dad said yes at 6. she fiddled, she pulled, she messed about with them - and she had infections for weeks. we decided to get DD's ears pierced when she was young enough that she wouldn't play with them - she was 12 weeks, didn't get a single infection, never showed signs of pain (and she was quite clear at letting us know when things hurt by that stage). she reacted less to her ears being pierced than she did to immunisations!

like immunisation, circumcision or anything else, it's all about personal choice

ZF - don't ask your DP's cousin to cover for you or get it done. the last thing you want is to have dramas within your family. if you and DP can't agree, you either need to keep working on him, or do it and cop the blame yourself. personally i think if he doesnt agree , let it slide. too much conflict there already.

[Glamourcide]

Wow.

Why do people pierce babies ears so young?

I haven't read all the responses yet so someone may have already answered this, but it's quite common for Drs and piercers who are asked about the procedure, to recommend that it be done either BEFORE 8 months of age, or then left until after the child's 3rd birthday, because that window in between is when littlies discover body parts and start to pull and tug at their bits and pieces, especially their ears etc, increasing the risk of infection. It's thought that piercing a baby's ears before they hit that curious and capable 8-month mark will decrease the risk of infection or damage to the lobes because they haven't yet worked out how to pull or touch their ears, and they can heal without interference, and it's easier for Mum to clean them as they are more likely to be able to sit still/be held still while it's being done twice daily.
I didn't want to get the DDs' ears pierced that early because I figured it was unnecessary, and FWIW when I took DD1 to get her ears pierced at 17 months (ish, I can't remember the exact age but it was when she started daycare so that's how I remember), she had been asking about 'getting pretties' for a while (DH and I are both tattooed and pierced and she is fascinated by them). I fully acknowledge that she was far too young to understand me when I explained that it would hurt and that she would have to let Mummy help clean them while they healed, but that explanation didn't put her off and she was really excited about getting her ears pierced. I would not have put her through it if I didn't think she could handle it, but this is the kid who never sheds a tear at vaccinations and jumps right back up and keeps going even with a skinned knee. Pain doesn't bother her much, and she was fine as soon as she saw in the mirror that she had the earrings she wanted.
Sure, I could have waited, and yes, I do sound like a hypocrite when I speak so adamantly against infant circumcision, but for me, the two procedures are very different things.

As for wanting to 'feminise' a little girl by getting her ears pierced, YES. I have often considered it for DD2 purely for that reason - I dress that poor kid in head-to-toe pink, frills and all the rest, and people STILL say, 'What a cute little boy, look at those curls!' Right now, that's not reason enough for me to get her ears pierced, she's not quite as advanced as DD1 was at that age and therefore wouldn't understand, so I won't force it upon her, but yeah, I can see why parents choose to do it if they're constantly trying to find ways around the awkward, '...but she's... a she?' thing.

[loulabelle]

Wow.

Why do people pierce babies ears so young?

I'm curious. Honestly, the thought never even occurred to me before this thread. No way I'd do it, I just see no need to inflict pain for beauty when a child is so young.

[Phteven]

In some cultures it's the norm.
I prefer the tiny little gold bangles and anklets myself.
http://www.newbornbabyzone.com/wp-co...lls-anklet.jpg

Not only do they look adorable but the tinkle of little bells makes it easy to find them.

[angelaartsstudent]

Sometimes I think maybe it is a gender thing.

Now I am NOT judging here, but I was in the shops on the weekend with P at a cafe at at the table next to us was a Mum with 3 boys and a girl. The girl was the youngest and had a physical disability/slight deformity and was about P's age, maybe closer to 2, but was TINY. She was obviouly happy and well natured but you could tell from her size and physicality that earlier in life she hasn't been well.

She was top to toe in pink with pierced ears.

I say again - I am NOT judging - but I AM curious as to why it was done. If I had a baby with health issues, I wouldn't make it a priority to get her ears pierced. So I wonder why they were done.

I immediately thought maybe that the Mum was so wanting a little girl after 3 boys that she just wanted her to be very girly and 'pretty'. (I write pretty like that becuase everyone's idea of pretty is different!)

Now, I am a bit of a dirty hippy in this regard and just want my kids to be and look whoever and however they feel right being...whoever they feel they 'are'....but I totally understand that some people like the girls to look girly and their boys to look boyish.

[Persephone1]

I had my ears pierced when I was 6. I had two more ear piercings when I was 14. I had my belly button pierced at 18, my tongue pierced at 21, and two tattoos at 22 and 26 respectively. All the piercings and tattoos were reflections of my personality and self-expression (although at 6, I could have waited a few years and arguably wasn't able to comprehend the event) and so I am also curious as to why parents would make that choice for their little babies. To me, it seems to be more about the parents (seemingly from many of the above posts, the mother in particular) and not about the little girls.

[angelaartsstudent]

Ditto Persephone...all my piercings were done when I was older (with the exception of my first lobes at 12, but I asked for them myself)...I started piercing at 16 and now have 22 piercings.

[Rouge]

I guess it's no different to any other type of parenting choice... people weigh up risks and make a decision that is best for them.

Did I pierce my ears for myself? No I didn't. I did it because I had it done when I was little I don't remember it and I've never ever ever thought to myself I wish my parents hadn't put me through such awful mutilation... not once. I sat with my friends at 6, 10, 12 and saw how terrified they were, how some got infected because they played with them with dirty hands etc and the rejections.

I just asked my daughter in a very unbiased way if she wished I hadn't got her ears pierced (now keep in mind we've never talked about it before) and her response was "no way!" I said but would you have preferred to choose it for yourself. To which she replied "Mum you know what I'm like with needles/pain... if you didn't do it I don't know that I ever would have."

So maybe I'm just lucky but that is why I did it because that is how I felt too.

So not all mothers do it out of their own selfish reasons. I know I didn't. And can I just say I've heard mothers say the opposite too... I have a gf who said she wasn't going to get it done because she wanted to take her to get it done when she was old enough to feel and remember the pain so she wouldn't go nuts and get herself pierced all over in her teens. And I know this isn't the case as I know plenty of people who never had their ears pierced but went on to have many piercings.

Just because it is not something you would do please don't make assumptions about another persons reasons for why they make the parenting choices they are. I am not a monster nor am I ignorant or sadistic.

[toomanyshoes]

I had my ears pierced when I was 6. I had two more ear piercings when I was 14. I had my belly button pierced at 18, my tongue pierced at 21, and two tattoos at 22 and 26 respectively. All the piercings and tattoos were reflections of my personality and self-expression (although at 6, I could have waited a few years and arguably wasn't able to comprehend the event) and so I am also curious as to why parents would make that choice for their little babies. To me, it seems to be more about the parents (seemingly from many of the above posts, the mother in particular) and not about the little girls.

hahaha I'm so not listing my past piercings

I had my ears first done when little, with a gun and had nothing but problems and took them out. I wanted to have them redone in year 11 and went to a qualified piercer and never had a problem.