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Original poster

Ear piercing

37 replies

CaitlinEJ · 26/05/2019 21:39

Hi, how old do you think a child should be when they get their ears pierced, my family are giving me conflicting advice, my parents are very against ear piercing before becoming an adult but the in-laws pierced their daughters ears as baby’s. I don’t know what’s right

OP posts:
Bluemascara4 · 26/05/2019 21:41

How old is your daughter ?

I wasn't allowed mine done until I was 11 ( years!)

Namaste6 · 26/05/2019 21:42

Hi OP
Both those ages seem to be extreme. For me, if I had a DD ( I have a DS) I would have insisted she waited until she was 13/14. That seems like the appropriate age to me.

Namaste6 · 26/05/2019 21:43

Sorry I wanted to add that piercing a baby's ears - no no no no no. Just no.

Interested in this thread?

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Beauty General health
m0therofdragons · 26/05/2019 21:47

I personally believe it should be the individual's choice and not the parents and I really wanted dd to be more responsible re her own hygiene. She needed to remember to brush her hair and shower herself before I'd consider it. She was 11 and it's just before she goes to secondary school. I'm happy and she's happy. Imo younger dc are too lively and adventurous for pierced ears to be safe.

Dd3 is in a friendship group of 4. 2 have pierced ears but the other one doesn't and the mum and I are on the same page so no peer pressure.

reluctantbrit · 26/05/2019 21:51

DD first started talking about it when she was 8-ish.

I had my ears pierced when I was 11 and I felt that she needed to be abel to take care of all of it on her own, keeping it clean and not loosing the earrings (or at least not more than average, I still loose the odd or the odd back).

In the end she got it at the end of Y5, it could only be Summer holiday anyway as the school is very strict with regards of taking it out during PE, same with her old gymnastic troop.

Go with what your DD likes, what she is abel to do and what YOU think is right.

Original poster
CaitlinEJ · 26/05/2019 21:52

m0therofdragons I’m against doing it as a baby because it’s a safety issue, I am definitely waiting until my girls are 9/10 but the in-laws aren’t happy I haven’t done it when they are young and won’t remember but I believe it’s their choice, my dd1 is 2 and when I went to a friends from nursery’s party last week a lot of them had their ears pierced and now she keeps asking me if she can have hers done, it is exhausting constantly telling her no when her friends have it, especially since I have a 2 week old baby so I’m a bit sleep deprived and I will admit at times I have snapped when I shouldn’t when she asks.

OP posts:
m0therofdragons · 26/05/2019 21:55

It's tricky but I've had a chat with my dc. In their mum and I love them and I have to make choices re how to parent them. Part of that means I will have rules that differ from their friends and that's fine because we all parent how we feel is right for our dc. My rules are my rules for a reason - to protect them and to teach them to be nice people.

nevernotstruggling · 26/05/2019 21:57

Dd1 8, dd2 6 because she begged. Had no issues with either. I know their dad was annoyed with me. Me

m0therofdragons · 26/05/2019 21:58

@CaitlinEJ for in-laws I'd say "it's interesting how different people parent differently isn't it. I'm happy with what I've decided for dd." If they push further "hmmm no I'm happy with how I parent dd and as her mum I'll go with what feels right for me."

Good luck

Pipandmum · 26/05/2019 22:05

Kids can’t wear earrings in primary school here so there’s a massive queue last day of school in Y6 as all the girls go get there ear pierced and have the six weeks for healing and then can wear studs in secondary.
And of course the kids are old enough to decide if they don’t want them pierced.

Proseccoagain · 26/05/2019 22:10

DD was 13. I didn't get mine done until I was 31.

AuchAyeTheNo · 26/05/2019 22:13

DD is 8 and just had it done. I don’t agree with it being done as a baby and waited until she asked and understood the care and cleaning involved.

Drogosnextwife · 26/05/2019 22:15

I think I was about 10. My parents wouldn't let me before that even although I was desperate and as a teenagers ended up going a bit mad with the pearcings, then moved on to tattoos. Still love them. Hardly wear any earrings now right enough, that's not because I don't want to though.
I would say once they are old enough to realise that it will hurt.
DS asked to get his done when he was about 8, only too a pinch on the ear to put him right off 😂.

bakebakebake · 26/05/2019 22:17

DD turned 5 last July. She had them pierced the first week of the 6wk holidays to give them plenty of time to heal.

She asked me repeatedly and i warned her that it would hurt. She loves them now.

simplekindoflife · 26/05/2019 22:19

I'd say when they're old enough to ask, understand the pain involved and responsible enough to be careful with them.

My dd has recently turned 7 and is asking about it constantly. My DH wants to wait a few more years but my dd is putting forward a very convincing case. My bet is she'll win him round and she'll be booked in by the summer holidays!

bluebluezoo · 26/05/2019 22:21

Both those ages seem to be extreme. For me, if I had a DD ( I have a DS) I would have insisted she waited until she was 13/14. That seems like the appropriate age to me

What if your ds wanted his ears pierced? Or one ear, as seems more common for boys? Piercing isn’t exclusively a female thing.

Mine got theirs done when they were able to research a proper piercing studio and know the difference between gun and needle piercing.

The studio they picked won’t pierce under 16’s without an adult, and under 14’s can only be done by the lead piercer.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 26/05/2019 22:52

Not until they're old enough to actively choose to have piercings (it's a form of consent) and are old enough to care for them themselves

Whatever you do, don't go to Claire's, or your local hairdresser, or anywhere else that uses a gun style arrangement. They're impossible to fully sterilise and cause unnecessary additional trauma to the flesh. Opt for a good local tattoo studio or piercing shop; the difference in standards is like night and day

Wolfiefan · 26/05/2019 22:57

Avocados speaks sense.
Never mind what in laws say. Or how your child nags. What do you feel is right?

TillyTheTiger · 26/05/2019 23:02

Summer holidays between primary and secondary school seems sensible to me. If your DD is only 2 you need to be very clear on where your line is on this- it might be an argument you have to have over and over again for years!

happymummy12345 · 26/05/2019 23:07

I had mine done as soon as o was old enough (months old). I would do the same as I think the younger the better.

Nanalisa60 · 26/05/2019 23:10

I had my ears pieced when I was three weeks old!! Very common in east London in the 1960’s because I had them done when I was so little my holes are very low on the lobe. So I would say wait until the lobes are bigger maybe the last year of primary school. I’m just back from Cordobra and Granada in Spain and all the baby girls still had ears pierced!!

Twotome · 26/05/2019 23:16

This comes up every couple of months - it’s so tedious.

You have said you want to wait until 9/10, so that’s what you should do.

Some will say baby, some will say 16. It’s really irrelevant when you have already decided.

loopyloo12 · 26/05/2019 23:19

I got my daughters done as a baby x

lisw5 · 26/05/2019 23:30

I believe children are old enough when they ask for it. My eldest asked when she was 7 if she could and I said yes but she keeps changing her mind. I will take her when she is ready.
Piercing babies is utterly a form of child abuse!!! They have no idea what is happening and obviously aren't willing participants.
Whatever you decide to do, please please please take your child to a proper piercing studio. Don't go to some shoddy shop like Claire's or a hairdressers in the high street who use piercing guns.
Piercing guns are not safe. They are unhygienic. A piercing studio uses needles which are sharp to go directly into and through the skin. A piercing gun uses shear force to literally shove a blunt object through skin. It is not cleaned sufficiently therefore unhygienic and no cleaned in-between piercings. They will go from one ear to the other without cleaning in between and use the same equipment on different individuals. A piercing studio uses a new needle on each individual ear on each individual person. Much more hygienic and therefore safer.
And places like Claire's will try to sell you crap add on items like wonder products which make ears heal faster. (What a load of sshhhh) The only thing you need to clean freshly pierced ears is salt water. Cooled fresh boiled water with a pinch of salt.
Speaking from experience of having numerous piercings, don't follow the crowd at the end of term. Do it right. Please do your research before taking your child anywhere.

Franklymydearidontgiveaham · 26/05/2019 23:59

I think sometimes culture plays a role in deciding the age so for me there is no right or wrong age so long as it's done safely.