Health & Safety Gone Mad - Ear-rings related

[michglas]

DD2 (10.5) has been deciding for the past few months whether she wants her ears pierced and we told her to have a good long think about it. We didn't think there was any pressure to get it done over the summer holidays as in previous years girls have covered their ears in plasters for PE.

Gone back to school 2 weeks ago and girls with newly pierced ears are being told to remove them for PE in line with Council policy. I rang the school today and they confirmed and said there would be a letter going out about this later this week, asking parents to refrain until summer holidays. They said if i chose to remove her from PE, there was nothing they could do about it but they wouldn't be happy. I rang the Council today to confirm and they said it has been policy for 10 years and obviously the school haven't been conforming. They also said that they had emailed the schools before the end of summer term asking them to let parents know that any ear piercings should be done in the summer holidays.

Given that i made DD2 have a good long think about it, I am not about to tell her that she has to wait another year. If the school had put the newsletter out like they were supposed to then we would have got them done in the summer. So I damn well letting her get them done this weekend and i will remove her from PE in the interim - getting them done with needle opposed to gun, so they should heal quicker.

Am I unreasonable?

[Feenie]

Yes. It's annoying that the school didn't send out a newsletter, but I don't think you should withdraw her from PE for cosmetic reasons. Why can't you just wait another year?

[GloriaVanderbilt]

I think it's ridiculous to make children take out studs. Parents should be able to sign a disclaimer and kids can wear really small earrings that are unlikely to get caught on anything.

Taking them out and putting them in every single time is just asking for trouble.

[OddBoots]

Could you at least get her to wait until Christmas time? If you make your case to the teacher now you could find out if there is any PE in the week before Christmas (unlikely in my experience) so you could get it done the week before they break up. That would give 3 weeks to see how they heal then take it from there?

(Disclaimer: I always hatted PE more in winter time so at that age would have preferred that time off so this may be influencing me).

[thisisyesterday]

will they not let her put tape over them?

[mrz]

I could understand you being angry if she had waited until the last weekend before returning to school to get her ears pierced and returned to be told this but to go and get her ears pierced knowing the consequences seems a bit odd.

If you had seen a child with a torn ear lobe due to earrings you wouldn't say H&S gone mad.

The school should have been following the rules and should have informed parents before the holidays but they didn't and that can't be changed... your daughter hasn't had her ears pierced

[Feenie]

Taking them out and putting them in every single time is just asking for trouble.

Why?

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

feenie the guidelines are that new earings should not be removed at all for the first 6 weeks after being pierced. For the following 6ish weeks they should only be removed to replace immediately with new earings. Whether that is necessary or not is of course another question.

gloria at our school it is not just the 'risk' to a child wearing the earring but the children running around barefoot at risk of standing on it and subsequent nasty infection which aparebrlt has happened in the past.

[mrz]

Not taking them out and losing an ear lobe is more trouble

[BlowHole]

She'll be fat through lack of exercise, but at least she'll have pierced ears

[michglas]

They won't allow plasters or tape over the ear for PE, the ear-rings have to be taken out. One of the girls who had her ears pierced 4 weeks ago, got told to take them out and her ear bled and now it is infected.

Would you prepared to make your DD wait, if you had promised that once she had really considered it then she could have them done (because you thought the school would allow plasters over the ears for PE)?

[michglas]

And actually blowhole - she's an active skinny little thing who is constantly on her bike and scooter. Oops maybe I should make her remove them for those as well.

[mrz]

Yes I would

[Malcontentinthemiddle]

YABU.

And if this is 'health and safety gone mad', then h&s has been mad since I was at primary school in the 80s, when exactly the same rule applied.

I would only ever let mine get pierced in the holidays (and not at 10.5 anyway, but that's different). Why can't you just wait until next summer? Primary school playgrounds are full of rough-and-tumble, I don't see why you think it's urgent that she gets them done now when presumably she'll be at a different school next year.

[Feenie]

Yes, I would too.

[Malcontentinthemiddle]

Maybe PE should just be for fat kids then, and the skinny little things could stay inside and compare jewelry?

I would definitely be prepared to make her wait - piece of piss: 'ah, you won't be allowed to wear them at school, that's a bummer, let's get them done on the day you break up from year 6 as a celebration or something'.

If she was that bothered, I also doubt she'd've taken this long to be sure, actually.

[rainbowinthesky]

Yes, I would. Personally I think you are going to be storing yourself a whole lot of trouble up for the future if you insist on getting her ears done and getting her to sit out of PE. Good luck with her in secondary!

[AmyStake]

I got my ear ripped at school during swimming when I younger thanks to my stud. It does happen. I have the scar to prove it :(

[AmyStake]

when I was younger

[michglas]

so why is playtime any different from organised PE. should all girls be made to remove there earings at playtime or stay indoors and read... this rule has little to do with H&S and more to do with the compensation culture we live in today. we are bringing our children up to fear everything and not to question anything they are told. Oh and you really believe that missing 30 mins of organised PE a week is going to harm her. Get over yourselves. I tell you what to make up for her missing 30 mins of PE I will personally play with her for 90mins on the kinnect.

Im going to take my child to the tattoo shop that me and DH got our last tattoos done and get her ears pierced as she has wanted, she has made up her mind that she wants them done. then im going to keep her off PE for the 4-6 weeks it takes to heal.

cold beer in had waiting for the flames and trolls

[ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs]

I am not a troll, and I know this is not AIBU, but I do think you are BU.
The school is at fault for not adhering to the rules in the past, but now they have them in place, you must take notice.
I am getting the feeling from your posts that you are the sort of parent I avoid.

[Feenie]

You could always post this on Bounty instead, maybe the replies there will be more supportive?

[Malcontentinthemiddle]

I think you're being stupid, irresponsible, very unreasonable and setting your child a bad example.

If you had an issue with the compensation culture because the school weren't doing trips, that would be one thing. But you just want to get her pierced a year earlier than you need.

[mrz]

michglas I agree with you ... she shouldn't be wearing earrings at all in school

[Seona1973]

dd's school doesnt allow earrings in for PE either. We are asked to send them in without them on PE days so that there arent any earrings left lying around. DD hasnt asked for hers to be done yet so havent had an issue with it so far