To not understand why you'd get your baby's ears pierced?

[Slh122]

On an fb group I'm on there's a post about someone wanting to get her 4 month old's ears pierced. Apparently me asking why she would want to put her baby through pain and at risk of infection makes a 'judgemental bitch'.
AIBU to really not understand piercing a baby's ears?

IMO anyone who has their baby's ears pierced is cruel/ignorant/a twat.

For those saying it's cultural - FGM is cultural, doesn't make it right.

dd was 4 years old when she had hers done, she asked and i le her.

what is it about ear piercing that gets people on here so upset when there are so many things in the UK which hurt children more

Those of us who are against hurting children through piercing their ears tend to be against hurting children full stop. We don't jump up and down about inflicting pain in that way and then ignore their dental hygiene - what an odd thing to say. I'd also argue that dental and oral health has come a long way in the last 30/40 years compared to when I was a child in the 70s, but as we've become more multicultural pierced ears on babies is definitely more prevalent. Personally, I blame Claires .

Holly - I totally agree, just because it's cultural (or done on religious grounds) doesn't make it right.

When I was recently in the Netherlands I saw a little girl around 2 sporting those studs with dangly bits just waiting to be ripped out

"However ear piercing even on babies is legal and socially acceptable so you should keep your beak out."

Pyjamaramadrama, let's repeat your sentence with one minor change:

"However smacking even on babies is legal and socially acceptable so you should keep your beak out."

So just because something is legal, we shouldn't care about it!?

Holly, did you actually just compare ear piercing with FGM??

Smacking is not socially acceptable

it is to a lot of people.

Sorry but smacking is not the same as ear piercing at all. Let's not get hysterical.

It's a comparable act. Now, I am in no way suggesting that ear piercing is anywhere near as bad as FGM, but they are both acts which hurt and physically mutilate a child who cannot consent.

I don't have a problem with children who want their ears pierced getting it done.

its not a comparable act. Its just not.

Really Holly? You would let a child physically mutilate themselves if they want to?

What other types of mutilation would you allow them? Tattoos, facial scarring, a bit of genital mutilation?

noone gives a shit what age their ears were done, or whether they were done at all usually. Its not a form of oppression, it doesnt affect anyones life.

It is however much more common amongst foreigners and lower classes, and theres a massive amount of snobbery dressed as concerned

not hysterical here, sam, but there are similarities between the two. A lot of people think that smacking is a totally acceptable method of disciplining your child. A lot of people think that piercing your baby's ears is also acceptable. Both are legal, both cause pain to the child, both happen without the child's consent and both would be illegal (assault in both cases, I think?) if performed on an unconsenting adult.

Ear-piercing is, of course, not the same as FGM, but, in the case of citing 'culture' as a reason for it to be performed, they are coming from the same direction, that 'culture' trumps consent and bodily autonomy. Obviously, when you look at the long-terms effects they are incomparable, but in both cases I believe 'culture' should not come before consent and bodily autonomy.

I think it looks cheap and is downright dangerous for small children to have to be careful they don't rip the earrings out of their ears. There are enough things to worry about re. hurting themselves without purposefully adding things into the mix!!

I have read that some Mothers come under family pressure to have their babies ears pierced due to cultural traditions. So it does make me wonder if sometimes it's almost out of the Mother's hands. When it's done as a fashion thing however I think it's grim.

It's a personal choice. Some people pierce their baby's ears, some people don't. If the child doesn't like it, they can always take the earrings out and not wear them. Why everyone gets so irrationally hysterical riled about this is beyond me.

Noodles, because it's not a personal choice for the baby, only the adult.

It's mulitation by force of a baby and quite unacceptable. Is it only ears that can be pierced or can other body parts be pierced. It's vile and should be outlawed.

RivertAm - well you are correct, but where do you draw the line? "Culture" can be blamed for many things from brainwashing to a restricting our personal freedoms

Babies being deprived of their parents from 6 weeks old (in the US) or 6 months in the UK, being forced to take milk out of plastic bottles rather than their mother's breast, being left to cry themselves to sleep, put into prisons for their own safety, cough, sorry, put into schools and nurseries for their own good of course ;). Being forced to listen endless drivel and lies that happen to confirm with their parents religion. Being dragged along to football or ballet classes because it is their parents' dream. Being forced to sit in a car for hours on end every day so the big brother can "go to the best school". Being fed pronographic images and consumerist messages by being sat infront of MTV from an early age. And many worse things that I haven't mentioned

We fuck up our kids in so many ways and "culture" is to blame. A hole in the ear is the least of our worries

This always end up being a bun fight OP

Like I say on all these topics, it is not okay to put a hole into your child and shove jewellery through it just because you think it looks cute.

Your baby is beautiful enough, and anything that causes pain and can possibly leads to complications purely for unneeded cosmetic reasons* is wrong and should be left until they have the decision themselves.

I took my 4mo for immunisations today. I hated holding him still whilst someone hurt him, the nurse said it's the worst part of her job to hurt babies. We both explained to my 3yo who was there why it was important to stop him getting ill and hurting more.

Ear piercing has no medical benefit and can cause further suffering in the event of infection or the earrings catching on something. I don't understand how anyone could bring themselves to hold their baby still to have totally unnecessary pain inflicted on them. I really don't think there is any reasonable justification for it.

That's the thing that gets me, I see women on my facebook complaining about how they cant bear to take their babies to their injections because it upsets them - yet the same people get their babies ears pierced.

Whereas there is reasonable justification for formula feeding, nursery, cars and whatever else was cited as the signs of the apocalypse above.

OK, but let's think about this for a minute.

A child can never give consent. We have laws stating so.

So either ear piercing is such a huge deal that only adults can be allowed to give consent, or it is such a non-deal that even children can give consent and therefore it doesn't matter the age. It can't be both. A child's consent is an illusion, and they will only make a choice within the parameters you provide, which is why there are laws to protect them.

If you think otherwise, how many children do you know choose their religion? How many have really thought about it? It's just accepted from them as truth without question or thought. They didn't choose it, no matter how much they proclaim they love whatever deity they're brought up to love. Children just don't have the mental capacity to make an informed choice. (not a religious debate, just showing a parallel).

Therefore a mother letting a 10 year old get her ears pierced is as bad as a mother piercing her baby's ears. Which really isn't bad at all. It's just a parental choice, nothing more, nothing less.

Also, it's not body mutilation, body mutilation can't be reversed. Earrings can be taken out. More importantly, mutilation is serious damage inflicted. Earrings are not. Let's stop diluting the word to evoke an emotional response.

what a bizarre list of 'cultural' practices, mijas. I don't even know where to begin with that.