Would You pierce Your Babies Ears?

[jellybrain]

There was a phone in on Radio 2 at lunchtime asking the above question. A woman had been in a shop and seen a parent holding down a clearly terrified child (6 months or so) who was having her ears pierced, she was quite justifiably horrified. Those in favour argued their babies looked cute. One woman said her daughter had very little hair and people mistook her for a boy (she had ears pierced at 2) er whats wrong with a dress, something pink or just girls clothes if you're that concerned?
As you can probably guess I am against it babies and toddlers can't give their consent. It made me mad to hear parents saying that their dds looked cute or really pretty . Yes babies are cute but, they aren't fashion accessories . Of course there is a safety risk too.
Ok rant done over to you lot now.

[GDG]

Hang on while I grab my popcorn...

[TambaTheDragonSlayer]

Nooooooooooo it is cruel (imo)

[schneebly]

No way - yuk!

[beansprout]

Budge up GDG, just want to get a drink as well....

[bubble99]

I have a sense of Deja Vu?

jellybrain, there was a thread about this recently and it kicked off, to say the least!

[Aero]

No.

[nicnack2]

i would not have a babies ear pirced. My mother refused to let my have my ear done till i was 18 as then i was a adult and if ididnt like it then it was my choice. i did complain bitterly about it but had them dine the day after i was 18. Incidently my mother had hers done when she was 60!

[Beauregard]

No way i think that apart from it being cruel it looks cheap

[tortoise]

No way.

[dyzzidi]

I think it's wrong. It bloody hurts and i remember having to 'turn' them every night and it was agony.

Pain should never willingly be inflicted on children.

I will allow my dd to chose if/when she has her ears pierced and she will have to be of an age where I deem it suitable.

[Thomcat]

No way, never, not in a million years, not for all the tea in China, NO.

Think it's pointless, unnecesscery, parents inflicting their poor taste on an innocent child etc etc. Says tons about the parents imo and would avoid such people like the plauge.

[TinyGang]

Uh oh..tin hats on.

[pooka]

Never never never. And my dd was mistaken fora boy for AGES because she had zilch hair. Frankly if a person can make the mistake when a girl is wearing a pink dress, what are the chances they'll miss the pierced ears?

[dinosaure]

Well, no, but I really can't get up a head of steam over other people doing it. I did get bollocked by Greensleeves (sorry, can't remember her new name) for my laissez-faire attitude last time we had this debate though.

[Cappucino]

I don't think they should have their ears pierced

navel piercing is so much more appropriate for babies because it is more discreet

then you can buy them a bikini for the beach - \link{http://www1.vertbaudet.co.uk/cgi-bin/Vertbaudet.storefront/4474d32d00116f3827650a0b002e05f4/Product/View/3807737\this} one is about right and will fit them from two years old

[poppadum]

I doubt you will find anyone on MN who would do this. Except me! My daughter's ears were pierced when she was one. I wouldn't do it in a shop; I had it done in a hospital with a sterilised "gun". Perhaps it makes some difference that I am Indian. But then again, perhaps not.

If you had to avoid parents who do this like the plague, Thomcat, you would probably have to avoid most Asian parents, I think.

[poppadum]

I doubt you will find anyone on MN who would do this. Except me! My daughter's ears were pierced when she was one. I wouldn't do it in a shop; I had it done in a hospital with a sterilised "gun". Perhaps it makes some difference that I am Indian. But then again, perhaps not.

If you had to avoid parents who do this like the plague, Thomcat, you would probably have to avoid most Asian parents, I think.

[Patttsy]

And you'd have to avoid African parents too:)

I have some close friends who had their daughters ears pierced at 6 weeks, as it is part of their culture, and they wanted to do so.

[Thomcat]

Ahhhhh, I should have added except asian parents. I understand there is a cultural reason for this and many of the children in lotties preschool have their ears pierced and are asian and I certainly don't avoid those parents. Sorry poppadum, I usually clarify that, hope I didn't offend you, doidn't mean to if I did. It's totally different when white trash parents piece kids ears.

[Thomcat]

oh, whopops, sorry, and african then! Ok so i would avoid white trash parents only, that's what i meant.

[NotAnOtter]

I do think it looks nasty sadly only on whites!! We just look cheap - pretty on other babies!!!

[misdee]

ooo i had to biet my tongue at the school gates last week. there is a group of mothers who have babies whho are around the 6month mark, they were discussing where to get their babies ears pierced. 'claires does them' so i hear them say. i just want to pin them down and pierce something on them without their consent(the mothers not the children).

[poppadum]

Sorry for repeated post. No, Thomcat, you didn't offend me at all.[smile ]But I presume it's equally painful for all babies, Indian or not.

The received wisdom in India is that the younger you are, the less it hurts. It's difficult to know if this is true, but I had my own ears pierced when I was about 12, and it hurt terribly, and then went all crooked. I had to have them redone when I was older, but this time I used the 'gun" and it didn't hurt at all. That's why I had my daughter's ears pierced when she was so young. I must admit to a certain ambivalence over the whole thing, not about the way she looks, but about the pain angle.

[jellybrain]

lol cappacino
poppadum - Aware there is a cultural thing sometimes but, where does this come from? Without wanting to be too contraversial is it a tradition which has had its day like footbinding in Chinese culture for example?

[JoolsToo]

PARP