Daughter (13) has pierced own ears

It’s a rite of passage I think. I wouldn’t be that bothered.

Meh, couldn't get worked up about this, as long as she's keeping them clean.
I pierced mine myself when I was the same age by just pushing an earring though my ear.

I don't think anyone's suggesting it's safe or sensible to pierce your own ears with a sewing needle in your teens. It's not. It is, however, very normal.

It's something that's been happening for about a hundred years, will likely keep on happening, and rarely results in anything more serious than a gunky earlobe that needs dousing in TCP. Yeah, in an ideal world it wouldn't happen, but an ear piercing is a tiny and largely inconsequential injury and while it's certainly proportionate to point out to the teenager that they've been a complete idiot, it's not an indication that the child is some kind of delinquent horror and is not likely to cause them any real problems.

Mine is the clit hood.
But you can have other parts done.

Numb it first with ice.

Where down below? I've never heard of it!

It's just gristle mainly, once you get through the outer bit it doesn't hurt.

Omg. How did she get the guts to do that to herself??? I once got a piercing kit online simply to reopen a slightly healed over second piercing and it took me half an hour to get the guts to do it and it was only going through a layer of skin about a mm thick. Her going through an entire ear lobe with a needle makes me feel ill. Anyway, fair play to you, OP, for listening to the Mumsnet advice about it not being the end of the world.

Of all the potentially dangerous things teens can do this is very low on the list to get het up about. I got to the point where if they weren't doing drugs then I was hard pushed to get angry. The least teens have to push back against the better.

Ask MNHQ if you think posters are AI - personally I've been on here since AI was but a twinkle in Sam Altman's eye. If you didn't pierce your ears or have any friends who did then that's just your experience. Loads of us did.
Nowadays less prevalent than self piercing was in the 90s but much worse- these days kids are getting tattoo machines from Temu and doing tattoos on themselves and each other. The urge to fuck with what nature gave you and test your boundaries is pretty normal for teenagers.

No one has said it was safe, only that it was very common and most likely fine.

My DD was going through some MH struggles and was a bit off the rails in her teens, and pierced herself LOADS. Loads of ears (all the cartilagey bits too) nose, belly button, septum, “smiley”… only one piercing ever got infected!

I’m glad you realised you overreacted, OP… your DD hasn’t hurt anyone, just succumbed to some impulsive teenage behaviour.

Nobody said it was safe, but it’s clearly fairly normal teen nonsense, and most of them come out unscathed!

Is this thread for real? Hundreds of posters poised to leap in and insist that piercing your own ears as a child is completely safe and normal? Or is it some AI exercise?

That's what I did. Can't remember cleaning the earring, I possibly used some TCP.

I pierced my own ears at the same age, I didn’t even use a needle I just pushed the earrings in.
No lasting damage and of course I figured out myself with age and wisdom that it was a really stupid thing to do without punishment.
My parents expressed the ridiculousness of my actions and explained the dangers but no harsh punishment was given or needed.

Funnily enough I had a terrible time with my professionally done ones getting infected,the seconds that I did were absolutely fine!

Only the mind of a teen could come up with that.🤣🤣

I dunno, my daughter has 3 in each ear, a nose ring, and a belly button ring that were done professionally, and is saving for an eyebrow piercing.

Didnt stop her doing the other side of her nose herself twice 🤷‍♀️

Teenagers are experimental and impulsive and sometimes they want to do little rebellious things by themselves. It’s exciting for them.

Yeah, because you have what is still a little girl.

Give it 3-4 years.

I did 2 in each lobe at age 10 when my mum said no piercings. I don't remember cleaning the needle though. My mum went crazy and took them out. I think it's fair enough you've told her off.
Why didn't she ask you if she could get it done professionally?

Two of my daughters have done this, although slightly older. I was horrified on both occasions. How painful that must be! Once I calmed down they had both made a good job of it, sterile, in the right place etc I know it’s not ideal but things could be worse.

My daughter did the same over Zoom
with her best friend during Covid, with the help of an ice cube apparently! Aged about 15 I think. Tbh I was pretty blasé about it- there are worse teen behaviours. It will heal if you don’t want her to have it. Make sure she keeps it clean!

When I did mine I was partly wanting more earrings but also just wanted to do it. I wanted to see if it was possible and once I did one, I wanted to do more. It was a self testing thing. Asking my mum to take me to a piercing place wouldn't have been the point. Infection in ears is not that common and if it did get infected so what? Remove the earrings and keep it clean. She's starting to separate from you and wants some things for herself - it's not secretive, it's independent thinking.

Ah GenX were ahead of the curve when it comes to this caper. I never had the balls to do it myself but plenty did.

Not to mention the fact that no one could do up their jeans for at least a year after the optional belly button piercing😂