4 year old getting pierced ears at Superdrug

I don't agree with piercing children's ears and I would never restrain my child for a piercing as its bad enough for medical reasons however there is no laws to protect children from having their ears pierced at any age and its a parents choice. Maybe the law will change in the future as there are plenty of petitions online to sign for this. The problem I have with people on this thread is people comparing a child having their ears pierced with child abuse, sexual abuse and rape. This is massively insulting to everyone who has suffered years and years of abuse.

@IClaudine Thanks for posting that article.

@Dollenganger333 @Differentstarts
Apparently South Yorkshire Police understand why this sort of scenario might be concerning. Investigation launched after girl filmed being pinned down to have ears pierced | Metro News

So you're okay with holding down a screaming child who can't consent to permanent body modification? Because small children can't really consent - they don't have capacity.

Just because it's done in hospital in some places doesn't make it right, fool.

Thanks for your time in responding, but can you explain why the action described in the OP, pinning a person down and piercing their body (presumably against their will), doesn't constitute assault and/or ABH? My understanding is that if I pinned a person down against their will, that'd likely be considered an assault, and if I made a hole elsewhere in someone's body against their will, that'd probably be ABH. It seems strange to me that the combination of pinning a person down against their will and also making holes in their earlobes means neither of these apply.

@CommentNow that's definitely a better way! Still, things could get caught on those though?

You don't seem to have answered my question, and I think you misunderstand what I'm getting at. I am not passing a judgement on what happened, or didn't happen. I'd like to understand whether the law allows a person to be pinned down against their will whilst their body, or specifically an earlobe, is pierced. From my layperson's view, this seems to meet criteria for assault and/or ABH. I hope someone knowledgeable can shed some light on whether pinning someone down to pierce their ears apparently against their will is fine and dandy legally whilst pinning someone down without piercing their ears would likely be considered an assault, and if so, why the law is as it is.

Me too!

I don't really understand the gun issue. But it's a long time since I got mine pierced with a gun in the late 70s when I was 11. I remember it stinging but never had any problems and they've always been fine.

Im not getying into a row, each parent has the right to mke the choice they feel is right for their kids.

But just so that you (and others) know, the modern way from a proper piercer is a flat back, like a lip labret.

Besides the initial pain (a good enough reason in itself, and the fact it looks tacky AF) there's other less serious reasons I wouldn't do it to my kid but maybe I'm just overly risk averse. Has anyone here ever had the back of an earring pinned into their neck by accident? Common culprits can be falling on it, siblings whacking you round the ear, etc. anyway, it fucking hurts and I reckon that'd be quite a nasty pain on a little one. Likewise for getting something caught on it and pulling it. Toddlers aren't known for being careful. My kid managed to injure herself on a breadstick last week.

Those adults doing that to the poor little girl on the video should be done for child abuse.

Oh that is really upsetting.
How can that be legal?

I got mine pierced for the first time just before I was 21, it was in a local shop with a gun. It was ok, not great, I stopped wearing earrings when my children were babies as they would pull on them, and the holes closed up, but I could still push goo out of one of them.

I always said to my girls that they would have to wait until they were 18 and could sign their own paperwork, but when DD1 was 15 she asked if she could have it done. We talked about it, and agreed that she could after her GCSEs, as that would give her ears a long time to heal before she had to removed them for school, and also 6 months to change her mind.

We researched it and I took her to the local tattoo shop and the qualified piercer did her ears and repierced mine. It worked out cheaper than Claires as we didn't have to buy fancy cleaning packs, just clean cotton wool, boiled water and time.

It was a whole better experience than the first time and I am really glad we waited. It was hard when they were younger as in Primary school it seemed that all the girls were getting their ears pierced, and of course they didn't like being the odd one out.

Thanks for this input. I was accused on here of being a pearl clutcher; I don’t know what a pearl clutcher looks like in life but l am a bi-sexual 40 something female with 3 ear piercings, a pierced nose and due to have my nipples pierced shortly (needle of course). I don’t think l subscribe to the definition in the pearl clutching handbook. 🤣 The big difference is that l am an adult making my own choices about my body!

Back to the issue in question, surely if a gun is used the residue from the hole has to go somewhere which can’t be hygienic.

And for those saying they had piercings as a child without a problem, there is another issue; what about in her teens if she decides she didn’t want pierced ears?

People calling it ‘pearl-clutching’ and a UK thing ti dislike the piercing gun, not the case at all. The APP has been spreading the word of why guns are not good for years now, they’re an USA-based organisation. There’s a UK branch of the organisation too, and professional piercers worldwide who try to encourage people to make good choices and get their piercings done safely.
Sure, you may have had your ears done at Claire’s in the 90s and they look great and healed fine, good for you. I had mine pierced at Claire’s aged 6 and they healed okay but they’re both off centre. You might think differently about if the risk is worth it if you’ve ever had to try and remove a disgusting cheap mystery metal back from a crying child’s ear, and had to send them to go and get checked at the hospital as it looks infected. This is something I have, as a piercer, had to do. It sucks.
If you have the knowledge which is easily accessible it’s just irresponsible using outdated techniques because you know a real piercer won’t go near a young child but the 18 year-old shop assistance at Claire’s will. Does my head in.

If you read the thread you'll see that many of us are objecting to knowingly and will fully subjecting a child to pain. So they can wear a fucking earring. And especially in very young kids they get no benefit whatsoever

Other than that (and the awful practices of FGM) we've not commented on other cultural practices? So massive generalisation there.

Although comparisons to use of nursery are very bloody weird. This harms a child how?!!

No worries at all, I didn't help by adding the dropping babies at nursery bit, I didn't mean that but couldn't edit it out!

I initially assumed you were but after your second update...

Maybe I just didn´t pick up on it. Apologies on my part as well.

I think it depends on the child.

I wouldn't want my child to get them done if they were screaming or upset about it. My daughter got hers done when she was 5, at the beginning of the school holiday between the end of reception and the start of year 1. She'd been asking for ages (since the start of reception) and I told her that it would hurt and there would be aftercare for a few weeks after. She was very sensible and understood all this and I told her she could change her mind. But she didn't. She had them pierced and didn't cry. She did say after that it hurt but not enough to put her off having the other one done.

Apologies, I definitely need to work on my sarcasm, yes I was trying ( and obviously failing) to be sarcastic!

You sound completely unhinged.

Ear piercing ranks up there with other forms of child abuse like beating, starvation and rape that you see it in the media all the time with children ending up losing their lives. I was honestly expecting this to be sarcasm!!

And yes, smoking is definitely not as damaging as ear piercing... Lung diease and cancer is clearly nothing compared to a pierced ear. (<= now that was actual sarcasm)...

It sickens me that parents do this to young children and now I am appalled to learn that Superdrug carry out the procedure.

How can any parent willingly inflict pain and suffering on their children for fashions sake. I know it is common in some cultures but I do not get it. It should be illegal. I feel sick thinking about it.

Well done for having a go. Would be interesting to see what you response you get from Superdrug.

@CommentNow hopefully people on the thread will see from what you've said (and others) that there are many many more damaging things done to children and perhaps, just perhaps ear piercing doesn't rank anywhere as highly as other things that are rightly classified as actual crimes

Quite right! And we shouldn't at all be swayed by the "straw man debate" that there are other actual deeply painful and damaging examples of child assault that will affect people's lives everyday. I'm sure many people will agree with you that ear piercing is just as bad

I'm sorry for what you've been through and I'm sorry that anyone thinks that they can lump rape and ear piercing in together.

Hysterical nonsense on their part. I'm so appalled about what that poster said that at first I thought it was satire.

@SeeBeMe can you take a moment to reflect on your post please. For the murdered children and survivors out there whose pain and suffering you are minimising as a point if comparison to win an argument.