Ear Piercing - What age is ok?

[WannabeNigella]

My friend is letting her DD have her ears pierced for her 5th birthday. I know it is none of my business but I wanted to plead with her not to.

My DD is just 3 and there is no way she will be having ears pierced till at least 12 or 13 the way I feel about it at the moment, preferably 16!

AIBU? What is an acceptable age? I just think that it looks so chavvy when they are young and it's so unnecessary too.

Iwantanotherbaby

Couldnt agree more having see the damage done to my DD's ear lobe. Not to mention the 6 hrs she sat in casualty screaming, and then a 12hr stay in hospital with an operation.

If it all goes well fine. But believe me when something goes wrong it is bloody awful.

I had said that my DS or DD could get their ears pierced at the start of the school holidays before they start secondary school, however with the massive uprise of mini school proms for when the kids leave Yr6 now i have decided if they want them done they can have it done a year earlier, so the summer before they start Yr6 (Mine will be 10.5 by then)

Tbh though, I have had most things pierced already, still wear eyebrow bar and will be getting lip done soon, also going to start getting my ears done again (new piercings and strechers), have a tattoo on my face as well as various others....dont think i can be too preachy on the subject really.

And no, not a chav...completely different style thanks, we are into the VW scene, slightly hippy/surfer in style i spose. We accept everyone :) (so long as you're in the right car haha!)

monkeyslut because it would have been just as quick for you to link to the actual page talking about the dangers of piercing guns instead of being patronising. It is like saying "I have got usefull information but I will not tell you what it is".

Baby - I've got to ask, what's the tattoo on your face of?

A butterfly wing in black on my left temple, bout an inch n half tall, half inch ish wide. I love it, and yes it was well thought out, could be covered easily with make up/ hair if really needed to. Not that i will Im looking at dreads next, much to my fathers horror!

Only downside is my two year old DD draws a flower on her face now

these threads make me laugh it is funny the way people recoil with horror when they see a baby with pierced ears in the same way where I come from people look at u strangely if u dont pierce ur ears. my dd's ears were pierced at 4 months in claires and she was not traumatized is a confident little girl, did not suffer from disfigurment or life threatning infection or any of the other things written about in this thread. The fact that people die in car crashes everday does not stop people driving or the number of broken limbs I see in A&e each day does not stop people buying trampolines. I'll say pierce ur ears or not dosen't matter. i had mine done at 2 days old my mum says and no harm done to me

Aged 1 is good. too young to remember the pain and sue you for abuse.

BTW had eldest done at aged 3, youngest aged one. They still speak to me and don't seem too traumatised considering.
They're now 22 and 20 and still seem to love me.
Eldest went on to have further 5 in each ear not to mention the belly bar at 12 and the lip piercing at 18 (twice; one Madonna and one above lip line) and she's let them close up cos she's a grown up now with a degree and all that!

I think it is unreasonable to go into Claires in the first place. Let alone maiming a child whilst you are in there for good measure. Just my opinion though. Appreciate it's personal taste but.. yuck.

There is no way any of my dd's would be getting a belly bar at 12. And thats from a mother who has 2 tattoos. Not a chance.

answering OP only- not until 16 at the earliest.

In Spain they pierce girls the first day they are born..... (nothing wrong with it).

to OP - in our house, the rule is 14 years old. And not a moment earlier. Well done to duchesse for having 16 as the rule.

BTW the other rule is that it should be performed at Harrods with full ceremonial recognition

My DD and her best friend hd theirs done today!! She is nearly 10 - an age I arbitrarily picked out of the air when she first asked me a few years ago!
They had them done in Claire's, no tears, happy as Larry

my parents made me wait till 13 and i totally MANGELED my ears from age 11 with clip ons that actually bruised and cut off the blood in my earlobe.
i can remember the pain, but i was so so determined to have earings

because of that i'd let my daughter have it done between primary and secondary school.

"Both my girls had their ears done before their first birthdays.I think it looks really cute on infants. My 15 year old is now has her lip, nose, industrial and 1/2 dozen piercingst in each ear plus shes gauging 1 set ( not what I want to hear) My 6 year old is pushing for a second set of earrings at the moment but I plan on holding her off for another year or so. Her siblings are all heavily pierced"

oh my good God

I had my ears pierced for my first holy communion back then that was 7 years old. I have told my dd that she will have to wait until then (approx. 8 and a half). DH thinks earrings, necklaces and bangles on kids is freaky ? thinks it sexualises them. He is against her ever having her ears pierced, mind you he has also told her that she can't date a boy until she is 30. Personally I don?t like them on babies.

I agree with debivamp's partner. It just sexualises them.

And if my daughter came to me at 12 asking for a belly bar it'd be a resounding bloody no! When she's 18 she can have anything she wants done, but up until then it's ears and that's it.

gorionine I merely used LMGTFY as a way of showing up the different articles on the subject matter so that people can see it is a problem and for them to be able to read the advice from the different sources available.

FWIW I usually do link to one article when piercing threads come up, but this time I wanted to make sure I get the message across about the use of guns. For people to be informed.

It was not meant to patronise.

suburbophobe actually I think there is a lot wrong with driving a needle through the ears of a newborn baby just out of the womb. but I'm just odd like that...

Depends on where you live and what's the "norm" I guess. When we moved to Australia I was surprised to see lots of 6/7 year olds attending very posh schools with their ears pierced as it is not seen as "common" here, so when DD asked just before her 7th birthday when her best friend had it done, I told her it hurt like hell but if she wanted it for Christmas, fine.

I find the opinion that pierced ears sexualises a child totally bizarre - the clothes that so many UK High Street shops sell so people presumably buy does that in my opinion - but we are all entitled to our opinions so I would say leave your friend to make whatever decision she feels right for her child and you can do the same for yours.

It's funny how people who are against ear piercing/tattoos and the like always have such a strong opinion about the people who do like those things.
Yet the people with the piercings/tattoos and so on couldn't give a fart about those who haven't got them and don't judge them at all.

Funny that innit

My DD started begging for pierced ears about approx age 2. I told her she could have them done at age 13 and she has been begging for the past 10 yrs. She is just about to turn 12 and will have them done at the start of next Summer holidays when she turns 13.

Her school have a rule that ear piercing can only be done at the start of the Summer holidays, so it won't interfere with PE. The child will be in detention otherwise. I keep thinking she might change her mind, as she is very sporty and pierced ears will just be annoying, as she will have to keep taking her earrings out and will probably lose them.

Thanks for the info about the needle rather than the gun - will remember that