For those who pierce their baby's ears...

[Username7654321]

Would you see it as okay to pierce their nose? Eyebrow? Tongue? Why is it okay to stab a needle through the ear lobe, when presumably most people would be horrified by any other piercing on a baby?!

The biggest difference I would say in earlobes vs almost any other piercing is healing time and complications etc.

I have had many piercings over the years at various ages. My tongue was the fastest to heal but the complications with tongue could involve swelling as with all piercings but extreme swelling in the mouth could cause not only trouble eating but also breathing in rare cases. A baby can’t tell you exactly what is going on (especially as they are too young to understand) so piercing a baby’s tongue would be much more dangerous than earlobes. Other piercings such as nose and upper ear are cartilage piercings which take much longer to heal and can at any time up to around a year after piercing become sore and inflamed again. Surface piercings such as eyebrow and navel tend to get infected easier that earlobes and also can grow out and be rejected all by themselves particularly with weight change or pregnancy. So it would stand to reason that the constant change in growth of a child could also cause a piercing such as a navel piercing to grow out.

I have had 15 piercings of which I still have 8 (I toned it down a bit as I got older for job hunting etc) but neither of my children (9 and 5) will be having any piercing in any location until A: they ask for it. B: have a long conversation until they understand that it will hurt (even if it is only for a little bit) and that they will need to keep it clean and not play with it o prevent infection etc. C: I will be taking them to a piercer that I am comfortable with and if I still don’t think they understand i’ll get the piercer to demonstrate on me first.

Body modifications can be a wonderful way of feeling happier with your body and expressing yourself and some people just plain like them. However you are putting a foreign object forcibly into your body so there are ALWAYS risks however small in most cases. I guess at the end of the day it’s down to each individual parent but I wouldn’t modify my child in any way without them asking.

Ear piercing is not painless. Anyone having had it done will tell that the actual moment of piercing doesn't hurt but afterwards it can be a nightmare. I consider a child of under the age of legal responsibility having a piercing is abuse just the same as an assault. No one would accept a child being punctured over its body so why is ear piercing.

No one would accept piercing an adults ear without their consent, in fact there'd probably be an assault charge. Yet it's acceptable to do it to a baby without their consent.

It's a weird world we live in.

I haven't read the whole 18 pages so apologies if this has already been covered, but in many European countries such as Spain and Italy, baby girls have their ears pierced for easy gender identification. In these languages, you can't simply say "what a lovely baby" (gender neutral). The nouns and adjectives relating to male and female babies are different. As young babies look very similar, the presence or a sense of earrings allow friendly strangers to admire your baby without risk of offence. Otherwise, we are back to dressing babies in pink or blue...

*absence

The baby doesn't have any say in it.

And I'm amazed any reputable jeweller/ear piercer will work on a baby.

No one would accept piercing an adults ear without their consent, in fact there'd probably be an assault charge. Yet it's acceptable to do it to a baby without their consent

It's a weird world we live in.

Indeed!

If you're against FGM and ear piercings are you also against cutting a boys foreskin off?

Hell yes. I don't understand the need for any kind of unnecessary permanent bodily modification like this in this country.

Parents are supposed to make decisions in the best interests of their children until they are capable of doing so for themselves. Hence why vaccinations, bed times, getting dressed and brushing their teeth are usually enforced despite their protestations - it's protecting them, warming them, keeping them healthy, teaching them discipline and good habits and so on.

Piercing a baby's ears, here in Britain, does nothing positive for a baby. I can't see how it's in their best interests at all.

If you're against FGM and ear piercings are you also against cutting a boys foreskin off?

OF COURSE!!!

theconstantinoplegardener

If it's simply a matter of proving their baby is a girl then I'd much rather see girls in pink, and boys in blue (although I see this as insane also) than punching holes through their skin! Atleast it's the lesser of two evils.

I would love to see the reaction of someone who pierces their baby's ears for their own gratification if someone grabbed them and pierced their ears without consent! It's disgusting that anyone would want to harm a defenceless baby

All the men in my family were circumcised as babies. DH is giggling at the absurdity of these posts because he would have been more upset if his mum hadn’t done it.
I can’t be asked to give people who are so judgemental with reasons but it’s normal for some people obviously different cultures and I’m more worried about the mindset of people who expend so much energy on something that doesn’t concern them.
Again obviously FGM etc is wrong and is a separate matter just to be clear.

Otherwise we are back to dressing babies in pink or blue
Are you being serious when you write something like this? Wearing pink or blue does not affect the baby physically in any way, it does not break the skin, so of course that should be the first choice in that situation.

funkky

Many things don't concern us, but are still wrong. Should we just turn a blind eye if its not our business?!

And why on earth would you DH be annoyed if his penis had been left in its natural, unbutchered form?!

Otherwise, we are back to dressing babies in pink or blue...

Surely that's the lesser of the two evils? I mean punching holes in a babies ear, causing them upset and pain, just so people know their sex is a bit extreme, don't you think?

Also my ears were pierced as a baby. You are considered unfairly putting your child through pain if you do it later rather than early on when ear lobes are softer etc. I’m happy my mum did it when I was a baby, I come from millions of people who don’t think twice about the fact there ears were pierced as babies.
Maybe the issue is for you parents to focus on arming their kids with skills for the real world to become better individuals rather than raising kids With ‘woe is me attitude’ because of all the important things in the world their ears got pierced!

I am pretty disgusted that anyone would think it is okay to cause pain to a child for no reason. It looks dreadful and it makes me feel upset at the thought of doing that to my own DD who is nearly 2. Why oh why would anyone think that it was okay??? Disgraceful.

Just as ignorant as some other thread I saw where a certain group of people think someone westerners are mad and disgusting for even drinking a drop of alcohol taking a risk with damaging their bodies or now refusing to appropriate kids with the gender they were born with leaving them with CHOICE. it’s wrong to you but right to others respect that.
If it were harmful it would have been put a stop to.

So why stop there then if they need arming for the real world? Why not hit them in readiness for the inevitable falls and bumps they will have in their early years? You can dress it up how u like but it's still putting a hole through a baby's skin for absolutely no reason, other than to 'fit in'

This thread is turning into a circus, with more nonsense than I have ever read. It's a shame it's about a serious problem.

I’m more worried about the mindset of people who expend so much energy on something that doesn’t concern them.

Seriously? Car seats, child abuse, corporal punishments don't concern any of us either if you look at it that way.

If your DH had been upset to miss his circumcision as a baby, he could easily have it done tomorrow. I am not sure they could be reversed however (and they are not done purely for discus sable aesthetic reasons to start with).

I come from millions of people who don’t think twice about the fact there ears were pierced as babies. brilliant, despite modern medical studies proving that babies feel MORE pain than adults, contrary to popular and traditional beliefs. If has been done before, so it's ok to hurt your child for no benefits whatsoever.

In these languages, you can't simply say "what a lovely baby" (gender neutral). The nouns and adjectives relating to male and female babies are different. As young babies look very similar, the presence or a sense of earrings allow friendly strangers to admire your baby without risk of offence.
this one takes the absolute biscuit, it's utter nonsense. Yes, you can say what a lovely baby in Spanish, Italian, or even French. You don't use gender neutral in English either, do you really refer to a strangers baby as "it"?

See this is why it was a mistake to give up the Empire Coddi - all those stupid savages who just won't listen to the voice of reason. What can you do eh?

Barbarianmom... really?! What a moron You and your poor kid(s) have a bigger issue if you address people like that. Bigger issues than kids with pierced ears would ever have.

I haven’t RTFT but my DM got mine pierced when I was a baby on holiday in Spain.

As I grew, the holes have shifted position so one is high up and forward on my lobe and one very low and quite far back.

Can’t remember the last time I wore earrings and definitely not dangly!

So, from a purely practical point of view, I’ll make DCs wait till they’re nearly finished growing & old enough to get it done themselves.

Personally I think children wearing earrings is tacky. So lower class.

#classwars again

I'd much rather see girls in pink, and boys in blue

My mum dressed me in pink with a pink pram and people STILL thought I was a boy.

Honestly, do people have nothing better to be up in arms about? Such a non-issue. No-one that has had it done gives 2 shits.

Why not start a thread on washing up bowls/annoying MIL/DH was 15 mins late home shall I LTB?

So many people feeling sorry for the "poor babies" yet not one of these grown up "poor babies" actually cares now, in fact most of us are glad we got it done because it saved us the effort of having to do it as adults.

It's only the perpetually offended that seem to care.