3.5 year old piercing

My point was that for DD it was perfectly normal for her to have her ears pierced, it also wasn't a big deal if someone didn't have their ears pierced because it wasn't something anyone was judged for - it was a purely unremarkable fact that her ears were pierced in the same way that her eyes were blue (whilst other people's were green/brown) and her hair was blonde (whilst others had brown/black/red hair) .. Non of those things were something anyone judged anyone positively or negatively over, they were just her physical appearance.

Which was a direct contrast to the UK where DD was judged for having her ears pierced, there were constant questions and fuss made about the fact because in the UK the default is not to pierce a child's ears when they are young. DD didn't understand the fuss the other girls were making about getting their ears pierced because it was such an unremarkable thing for her, there was no novelty value to it in the same way as thee was for her classmates - she loves wearing earrings but they weren't the be all and end all to her appearance that some of the other girls treated them as.

But there is no moral failure for doing so, it should not be something people are judged for or branded tacky or chavvy for ... You might not like it but that doesn't make it wrong and it doesn't make it ok for people to make judgements of a child based on their appearance, including whether they have pierced ears or not.

That's its grim and I've have told her as much. Another Claire's baby. It's never done for the child's benefit, she should take the criticism she rightly deserves.

Exactly!

3.5 is way too young. I'd think the parents are idiots.

To you

@MinnieTruck Yeah, they’re not reputable then.

@melj1213 The fact that your daughter thinks it’s normal is hardly anything to be proud of. Babies are perfect how they are, to make holes in their ears to decorate them, within a few days of birth and possibly introducing infection, is disgusting.

Not true. Many legit, reputable tattoo parlours that do piercings will pierce a baby’s ears from 3 months old. I’m in South London

DD was born in Spain, hers were done before we even left the hospital ... Perfectly normal and DD has never had any issues with her earrings - they were always an appropriate size for her, no massive gold hoops on a toddler, and there were never any issues with them getting caught/causing injury etc - and as every other little girl in her class had them too it was nothing special or out of the ordinary so nobody was bothered about them except if someone got some fancy earrings as a gift for a birthday/communion etc and was showing them off to everyone.

It was only when we moved back to the UK at the end of primary that her having her ears pierced was a big deal - so many girls in her class commented on it as they didn't have theirs done, wanted them doing and were jealous of DD having hers done etc whereas for her it wasn't a big deal and she didn't understand why it was being hyped up so much.

@HRTQueen 3 year olds tend to look ‘cute’ without needing the earrings to achieve it. I also wouldn’t want to teach my kids that looking cute is important.

Why the 'ugh'? In MN days of yore that would have been met with an unbothered shrug. Kids have always said such things. But it's 2023 and you're clearly worried that your 4 year old is a woke warrior.

its culture in some white communities too

I'd think 'oh this will bring out all the 'my child won't be allowed have her ears pierced until she's 16' MN types.

And no I wouldn’t judge

I had my ears pierced at 3 I remember it clearly and choosing the earrings

if I had a dd I would probably get her pierced is she wanted around 4/5

i think it looks cute

I didn't feel it at all!

Why do Spanish families think it is necessary? Do any say no?

I think it is awful. Until a child can consent it shouldn’t be done. We wouldn’t force an adult to have them done so why make a baby have them

This.

It's for the parents vanity and not in the child's best interests. Pretty shitty really.

If you pierced the ears of your pet you'd be done for animal cruelty, I think that a child needs to be old enough to make an educated decision for themselves. To my mind Under 5's are definitely too young.

I wouldn’t say a word, but it I’d think the parent was trash. Are you planning to share with your friend that she’s not imagining the judgemental looks?

We live in a society where pre teens going on hormone blockers and children being multilated by in the name of progressiveness. But a 3.5 year old getting ears pierced is worthy of debate.

The world has well and truly gone mad.

Do you not realise that more than one thing can be wrong at any time?

I’d judge if you’d said your kid had a gun piercing more than a proper needlepiercer. But I wouldn’t particularly notice.

I walked past Claire’s yesterday. They were giving out sparkly blue and gold crowns that proclaimed “I got pierced at Claire’s today”. No words for that one really.

Ghastly and unnecessary...

We live in a society where pre teens going on hormone blockers and children being multilated by in the name of progressiveness. But a 3.5 year old getting ears pierced is worthy of debate.

The world has well and truly gone mad.

Personally I waited until my children asked. My daughter was 10 so I agreed. I would never have insisted she get her ears pierced or got them done without her agreement.