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Hi all,
Our DD is nearly 6 months old. I am of Italian background where it is quite common practice to pierce little girls ears early, generally during their first year. Its seen more of a sign of adorment of the female, and i personally think it looks cute. I would like to get DD's ears pierced prior to her baptism (end of June), BUT DP is dead against it (says she'll look silly, she'll be teased, doesnt like the look of it etc etc). Would love to hear your opinions!
TIA xxx
Oh my Seppy!
You have just opened a HUGE can of worms :lol:
There have been a few threads about this very topic which uuummmm, got a little uuuummmm....heated.
But in answer to your question, no, I don't like it on babies or young children at all. My DD had to wait until she was eight. If I had my time again, I would wait even longer.
I am not a fan of it. DD wont be allowed to have hers done until she is 13, understands the process, the pain, etc, etc. i always think of how much mjne hurt when I got mine done. only my opinion tho....
Hi Seppy, there was another thread similar to yours a little while ago called 'When did you get your Daughters ears pierced' (I can't attach the link for some reason). I got my DD done at 4 yo and she says it hurt. She wanted to change her earings and sadly I couldn't get any back in, so they have closed now & she is in no hurry to get them re-done! I know some places in Victoria won't allow them to be done under 1 yo now (we are in the Sth East Suburbs and my cousin couldn't get her DD anywhere until she turned 1 yo. We are from European backgrounds so usually it is done when they are babies)
I do piercing and won't do it til they are 5. Number 1 reason is that ears can grow and are never even, I have had to re pierce lots of ears that were done young and ended up uneven. Number 2 reason at 5 most understand not to pull them, seeing a little toddler with a ripped earlobe is not nice.
I have had lots of mums get angry at me because I won't take their money and do it ;)
:hide:
I'm not a fan of babies having pierced ears. My DD won't be getting hers done until she is a) old enough to understand what getting your ears pierced entails b) is old enough to understand how to look after her ears and earrings to avoid infection.
I had my pierced when I was 5 and I understood what was happening, but we will wait until she starts asking to have it done and take it from there.
What a can of worms ;)
For me, not a fan. I think it looks...I can't think of a word that isn't insulting. I think it detracts from a little baby/little girls beauty. Too grown up looking and I don't want to put holes in my daughters ears until she's in school and has been asking constantly for a while.
Im of the opposite opinion - I love seeing pierced ears on little girls, I think it looks adorable. :hide:
But.... my sister and I both had ours done when we were about 6 months old as did my sisters 3 girls.
Just my personal opinion, I understand why some people choose not to it before a certain age however its not an issue for me.
xxx
I know kids who have had it done within months of birth and I'm not a fan. I can see both sides of the story, but having a 1yo myself.... She's not getting done til she's 13.
Okay, okay, jokes aside, I should actually answer the question. I know it might lose me some fans/friends here, but quite simply - I think it's cruel. I hate seeing babies of any gender with unnecessary modifications to their body. This is from someone who's had her own ears (and nose, and belly button) pierced multiple times, has a few tattoos, etc., so don't think I'm against body modification overall. Just those done to people who can't choose for themselves.
My age limit is maybe five-ish, and only when/if they ask and understand that it's going to hurt and they have to let me help them take care of the piercing.
Let the flaming commence :lol:
I'm of Italian background too so it was presumed I'd get the girls done as babies but we didn't. DD10 had hers done last year for her birthday, she wanted them done and can look after them herself.
Regards,
Dianne
I don't mind it. I probably won't get my daughter's pierced (if I have a girl) til later.
My sister and I had ours done as babies. I have let mine close up now but my sisters favourite thing are earrings!
At the end of the day, like anything to do with parenting, everyone will have their opinion, but it's your child ;)
Neither of mine will be getting piercings in their ears until they are over 13. I don't like it and don't think it is appropriate.
I'm not a fan. I think it detracts from the baby and looks tacky. I also think that the child should make that choice and not have it forced upon them.
Personally, I'm not a fan of babies getting their ears pierced. I got my ears pierced when I was 5 because that's when I asked to have them done. My parents explained it would hurt a little bit and I still wanted it done so they figured if I was old enough to ask for it they were ok with getting it done. I will be doing the same thing with my little girl. She may not ever want her ears pierced so it's not something I'll decide for her.
Another non-fan here, I personally do not like the look of them on babies and also I have concerns about safety/management of them etc
Age 10 is what we are saying at the moment for DD1 if she wants to get them done (she is pushing now :rolleyes:). I just don't feel she is ready now, or responsible enough to look after them, plus I can see DD2 just yanking them out.
This is a 'here we go again thread'! My views are I personally hate it - I wouldn't pierce my baby/child's ears. It will be their choice when they are old enough. That is how I feel, I realise others will feel differently and that is fine.
I'm of Italian background too :)
My DD had hers pierced at 16 months.
I realize I'm going against the grain here, and hope everyone will understand its my personal choice.
I think my DD looks super cute with her earrings.
She loves them....
Choose wisely for the first pair though- I didn't change them for a year.
I had mine pierced when I was 2, and have worn earrings my entire life with no issues.
Good luck!
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I personally don't agree/like it. And DD will only get hers done when old enough to look after/choose them for herself. I had mine done at 9 but they got so infected I had to take them out and they closed over. I then didn't get them done till I was about 15 but I don't currently wear earrings and my holes don't close over. I only put them in for very special occasions (ok so they slightly close and I have to shove a bit-yep this was great on my wedding day lol) but if I leave them in they get infected.
All my 3 girls had theirs done at 8 weeks.
I personally like the look of them and I don't really care what others opinions was. My grandmother hit the roof.
My girls love their earrings and have done since they were 18 months old.
Each to their own. My girls are well groomed, well behaved and well taken care of. That's all that matters to me. A small hole in their ears isn't going to change that.
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Not until they're old enough to choose to do it themselves and look after them. I was ropeable when my XP got my daughter's done last year as he took her to a hairdresser and they used a piercing gun AFTER I'd told him if it was getting done I wanted to get them done a bit later and at a proper piercing place. Sure enough, they got hideously infected.
Personally I intensely dislike the look on younger children, until about 12 or so I think it's unnecessary.
They are not my sort of thing so I wouldn't do it, but I don't see it is that different from alot of things that babies have no choice in - some things I see babies wearing I think are ridiculous and detract from the baby, I don't really see ear piercing as any different - what they wear they have no choice in for a couple of years either - and I actually think that earrings don't really make them look more grown up unlike a lot of clothes - they don't have the same grown-up connotation to me that some makeup does - maybe I have that opinion because in some cultures is normal for children to have jewelry like earrings from babies.
Each to their own. I don't think it looks awful or is cruel. My friend has 3 daughters and they all had their ears pierced when they were a few months old. They didn't seem traumatised by it and they had no problems with infection and so on. They were kind of cute.
There are things people do to children that I have issues with but piercing their ears isn't one of them.
I'm not really a fan of piercings on young babies, mainly because I worry they will get ripped or pulled out by other kids (in play, not as a cruel gesture). I'm also not a fan of ear piercing with a gun so wouldn't do it until my kids are old enough to understand that there will be a needle, and it will hurt. DS2 got one pierced age 6 but my lower limit is 5. Girltwin wants hers done but is happy to wait until then, and my other two boys aren't interested.
There is no way that I would even consider it. In fact I often wish that I didn't even have mine done! I had 2 holes in each ear which I ended up not liking after about 10 years so I took it out. Knowing what I know now about meridians and acupuncture/acupreasure I think it's best for energy flow if there isn't a hole interrupting anything. If anyone is interested in this just google acupuncture points in the ear :)
my mum got mine pierced when I was 9 months old because she got sick of people asking about her "little boy'' even when dressed in the most flowery pink outfit! My holes are uneven and a bit high (but that also means i can wear huge dangling earings :) ). I occassionally get an infeciton from them, but find it's usually from buying a cheap pair of earrings. in general though I like having them pierced.
As a girl, i thinnk i just had small studs in. I don't really remember 'wearing' earrings til I was a teen. I then wanted a 2nd hole and paid for it myself when I was 15. OMG it hurt so bad and always got infected so i let it close up after about a year.
Now i wear a pair of diamond studs my dh bought me every day :)
However, i won't be getting our little girl's ears done til she is probably 13, if she wants it.
my reason ... Lazy mummy. Can't be bothered paying for it, cleaning them, etc etc for the next 13 years when she can do it herself when they are done! and pay for her own earrings too!!!
not for or against it in babies. I think it's personal choice.
I probably won't do it until DD can ask for it to be done when she's in school
Gotta love the "can of worms" threads...
Everyone is going to have their own opinion on this topic, and each to their own. I think we need to be respectful and not use terms that may be deemed offensive though (tacky/cruel etc) - personally, i don't care what anyone thinks of my decisions - if i did, i wouldn't have made the decision, i'd have let everyone else decide for me! But some people may find it a judgement of their parenting and be upset.
After that, I guess it's kinda clear that DD has her ears pierced - and has done since she was a little poppet. The only reason we waited until 12 weeks was because the woman that does the piercing for babies locally was away on holidays before that. She (like a lot of my long term family friends) is of Spanish heritage, so didn't see anything odd in me asking to pierce DD's ears early. Her own DD's were done before they were a month old, and she told me that many families have their DD's ears pierced before they even leave hospital back in Spain. Greek friends said the same
Anyway - it was done - we had zero trouble with infection, zero trouble with touching her earrings etc. her big cousin, who had to wait until she was eight, was DESPERATE to change her earrings at the 6 week mark, didn't really look after them properly, so was plagued by infections for quite some time. DD is now nearing 3, so it's well over 2.5 years since she had her ears pierced. She has never pulled at them, never asked to change them, never had a problem with them. She has been given one alternative pair of earrings, and when shown them and asked if she'd like to wear them, she said "no thanks, maybe another day".
Personally, I chose to do it early to avoid infection after seeing what my niece went through - i probably would have made her wait til her teens to get them done if we'd waited until later, as the chances of injury and infection, to me, seems much higher in the early school years....
Ultimately, you have to make the decision that is right for you and your family. if it's going to cause angst with your DP, then it's not worth it. I know of people who have chosen to sneak around behind their partners back to get their DD's ears pierced, and it's just not a good idea.
Meh, I don't mind either way. I don't think they are super cute on young babies, but they aren't ugly either... parent's choice I guess. And I don't buy into the choice argument, I think we make choices for our kids all the time that impact them far more than holes in their ears. Like their diet and what we expose them to. I won't be doing it, but I don't care if others do.
Not for us either. My girls are both interested in it (I think as much as anything because they've inherited my fondness for all things sparkly!), and I have told them that they're allowed to have it done when they're 'older' (not prepared to put an age on it at this point). I also explained the process and that it hurts when it gets done.
Other than the fact that I personally don't like the look of any kind of jewellery on little babies, I know how much sleeping in earrings drives me up the wall and I would hate to think of that discomfort for little ones. Also agree with the pulling/tearing bit, as well as ending up uneven.
But clothes don't cause pain, or infections, are less 'permanent' than having a hole pierced in your ear, and putting on clothes doesn't really equate to having a hole pierced in your ear...:
I had to wait until I was 12, and by the time I'd reached that age wasn't that keen on having them done anyway, I think I eventually had them done when I was about 14. I think DD will be waiting until at least 10.. And after that if she decides she'd like them done, it can be as a birthday/Christmas present.
I love it on little girls and boys. My DD had hers done at 12 weeks, and i've recently been thinking of getting DS' done. Now that he is older though and a lot more agile and flexible i'm hesitant to wait until his first birthday in July :)
Both my sister and I had ours done when we were about 4 months old. Neither of us has any issues with eveness or infection.
My sister chose to wait until her girls asked. My eldest niece started asking for them at 2 years old, all the time. My sister held out until she was 5. She is now 13 and loves them still. Can often be seen looking at earrings but with her skin sensitivities, she can only wear good quality earrings which my sister can't afford. She loves birthdays and Christmas as my mother and I often get her earrings.
My youngest niece got them at 5 also. She decided after a couple of months that she didn't want them so they closed over. Next birthday she changed her mind and my mother (with my sisters approval) got them done. This time she loved them and can often be seen changing her earrings because she loves bling. She is almost 7 now.
I think it is a personal thing. I think they look cute in girls but I have 2 boys and I do not like earrings in young boys.
I would not go against my DH though. If we have another child, and it is a girl, then this is something that needs to be mutually decided. My DH is very traditional so I would expect that he would defer to me anyway.
I personally don't like it and wouldn't get my girls ears done. THey have been told they have to wait until they are in high school so they can make thir own decisions and be responsible enough to look after them. I would hate to think I did something that would permanently scar my girls and that could be uneven as they got older (as a pp pointed out). Also i Would worry that they might not want it done at all and resent the fact that it had been forced on them without waiting to hear what they wanted.
I think it is something that is for older girls and that kids don't need them and should just be kids. Dp thinks they should wait until they are 18 so maybe your dh is he same. He thinks they should remain his little girls fo as long as possible.
i dont have a DD but i guess if i wanted them done then yes, id have it done young - like BG said - young enough not to touch/tugg at them. but if they asked for them then after 12. i think thats how old i was. i if Vic wanted his done then i'd say 10+ for him. but thats if he asked.
but thats just me and my 2cents.
Everyone's two cents is good. Put them all together and we have the bright shiny dollar that is BB :D:
Me, I'm not comfortable putting holes in my kids without informed consent, unless I judge it's necessary for their welfare. I guess the question, then, is at what age do they have the ability to give informed consent? :dunno: Not under 5, I reckon, anyway.
No I dont like the look of it on babies. I will only consider getting my dd's done when they request it if I feel they really want it and have some understanding about caring for them and what piercing involves.
Im with Teni it is a painful procedure that alters their appearance with risk of infection and I feel it is unnecessary, for me there are other ways to adorn little girls, clothes, hair ties head bands hats etc that arent invasive but thats my choice
that is just my opinion as requested by the OP and I wouldnt have a go at someone who does chose to pierce their childs ears, each to their own
Very true - i'm sure there are many "lifestyle" choices we all make for our children that are potentially a lot more damaging than piercing their ears. ultimately, earrings can be removed and holes, for the most part, close over. if not, it is, in most cases, a small mark. many choices parents make aren't reversible at all...:
tehehe i wonder if anyone considers the psychological damage that may be caused by clothes (and makeup) - Toddlers and Tiaras anyone??:
Not trying to be argumentative, i'm genuinely curious - how does having ears pierced stop a child being a child?:
I totally get how early sexualisation of children through clothing (music videos/popular culture) can impact on a child and force them to grow up too soon, but i don't understand how earrings do this. i had my ears pierced at 11 months and, even though my childhood was crappy for other reasons, i was still a kid!