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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

645 replies

Username7654321 · 29/11/2017 16:47

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?!

OP posts:
JacquesHammer · 02/12/2017 10:34

What makes a 7,10 yr old okay to make that kind of choice

Is that a serious question? Have people given up thinking??

RavingRoo · 02/12/2017 11:41

Due to cultural reasons I had my ear lobes, top of ears, and my nose pierced when I was 6 weeks old, like most girls in my family. Some girls in my family have had their septum pierced too at a similar age. Boys get their ears and noses pierced.

Rebeccaslicker · 02/12/2017 11:46

Funkky - YOU said your husband was laughing whilst reading these posts. I find that incredibly rude. But I also feel sorry for him for being so brainwashed as to think that his parents making a decision on his behalf that has permanently changed the most personal part of his body is a great thing.

As for thinking that a 7 year old is the same as a baby in terms of cognitive ability and decision making.... no words.

funkky · 02/12/2017 14:42

Never said a 7 yr old has the same cognitive ability as a baby. Stop twisting words to make a point. At this point, I’ll leave you to it. I’m sure there ll be many more of these threads around for you to vent your anger on as you have nothing better to do.

Dianag111 · 02/12/2017 14:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

oblada · 02/12/2017 14:54

are you still wasting time on this? I mean come on its NOT going to be illegal, people who do it will continue to do so and people who want to use this as an excuse to express some repressed anger at the world will continue to act offended by it. Kids will continue to get their ears pierced and to not be traumatised by it... Brushing hair has caused a lot more tears in my house than ear piercing did (there was no tear for ear piercing) and having said that I keep the pain associated with hair brushing to a minimum as I can't be bothered with sophisticated hair styles (and would rather my girls had short hair but I respect their choice not to)...should I go and judge mothers who inflict unnecessary pain to their girls so that they can have complicated hair style on a daily basis? Or those who insist on their girls wearing pretty but impractical clothes? I don't agree with them but hey I have better things to think about in the long run! We all make the decisions we think are best for our children!

DeleteOrDecay · 02/12/2017 17:20

I didn't realise having a different opinion on something = being offended.

Odd thread.

Aweektilltheseason · 02/12/2017 22:59

The difference with hair brushing is it has to be done like brushing teeth. Ears do not have to be done no piercing anywhere has to be done. I like to think humans are quite clever and won't blind ly hack away at tiny babies just because... Mum did it to me or dad did!! Wake up people your the drivers in your lives!maybe it's cultural to duck liver pool babies in the Mersey and make their first drink Guinness!

Aweektilltheseason · 02/12/2017 23:02

Putting children in so called pretty clothes over and above plain leggings doesn't mean those dc can't have any less fun in then. Clothes are so cheap now you can get gorgeous stuff second hand for pennies. I wouldn't assume dc in lovely clothes are not allowed to have fun!! Putting nice clothes on a child does not equate to deciding it absolutely needs it ears piercing. Are people really such sheep!branding one generation to the next!??

Originalfoogirl · 02/12/2017 23:03

ProfessorLatyon1. Fair play, you explained it from a cultural point of view and want people to understand. Presumably you understand the cultural point of view here where it is controversial and not always considered perfectly acceptable.

mirime · 02/12/2017 23:18

Had my ears pierced for my third birthday. I wanted it done and remember it being done and it didn't hurt - it was done properly, not with one of those guns. Never regretted it.

Interestingly my DF did, as by the time I was 16 and wanted my ears done a second time he'd decided all piercings were barbaric and I had to wait until I was 18!

BlondeB83 · 03/12/2017 00:55

The child should be allowed to choose. Babies cannot do that.

mathanxiety · 03/12/2017 00:59

Hair doesn't have to be brushed. I haven't brushed my own hair for years. It's curly and impossible to get a brush through it without creating a look like this assets.rbl.ms/14977041/980x.png. Two of my DDs also have curls and one has very wavy hair, with the other straightish. When I discovered the Curly Girl method I got rid of all of our hairbrushes. The curly girls never needed to have their hair brushed.

GirlDownUnder · 03/12/2017 01:17

What is the Curly Girl Method Math tres intrigued

QueenUnicorn · 03/12/2017 01:20

Oh yes, hair brushing. Totally the same as creating holes through flesh for jewelry. :/

mathanxiety · 03/12/2017 08:41

It was the equivalent. It hurt the DDs and it was unnecessary. I chose to do it because I thought their hair looked more acceptable tamed.

CG method is a way to take care of curly hair without using shampoo. You use conditioner to wash it, gently, followed by gently scrunching and application of gel as it dries naturally. You do not brush it or comb it, and in general do not handle it much. Basically you care for your hair as if you were caring for a cashmere sweater.

reallytootiredtocare · 03/12/2017 09:18

Starting by piercing ears might not be as permanent as many people here assume, unless a fistula is created, most likely the hole will close.
In relation with pain, if it is done by a professional ( such as in a pharmacy) and not in a Clare’s back room, it shouldn’t hurt or cause any infections, and finally to say my piece, earrings for kids are not pointy or easy to take out for kids ( kids ones are different to adult ones, not just in size but they have a sort of nut/bolt system that tightens in so can’t fall and needs to be ‘unscrew’ by an adult) I would agree that in the UK kids earrings look tacky and poor quality and people who pierce their babies there, they probably do them without all the warranties they could....
I am also gobsmacked at the entitlement of people saying babies are not ask to give their opinion and it is only vanity of the parents but some of those same people do pierce their kids ears when they are 8 / 10 yo because of .... what is your reason then??? Surely you will make them wait till they are adults to decide. Not just a child or a teenager having a tantrum right??? Or is vanity then more important???
If people were less judgemental and actually mind their business more often, life will be that Tiny be happier for all including themselves....

JacquesHammer · 03/12/2017 10:00

Surely you will make them wait till they are adults to decide. Not just a child or a teenager having a tantrum right???

Can only adults make reasonable decisions? My 11 year old wanted her ears done. She researched thoroughly, watched countless videos of the process and discussed the healing process with me.

She didn't have a tantrum, she made a sentient request which I considered and agreed to. The difference being it was HER request because of how she wanted to look, not how I wanted her to look.

I have countless piercings. All done by piercers. Of course a needle through flesh hurts 😂

JacquesHammer · 03/12/2017 10:02

earrings for kids are not pointy

No indeed. Hence those not pointy earrings cause blunt force trauma when propelled through the ear via a gun.

mathanxiety · 03/12/2017 23:27

Jacques, would you have agreed to a nice big visible tattoo for your 11 yo if she had researched it thoroughly, found a hygienic place to do it, and didn't throw a tantrum about it? How about shaving all her hair off? An eyebrow piercing?

DioneTheDiabolist · 04/12/2017 02:31

DNIece got her ears pierced on Friday at Claire's. It cost £38.00.

£38.00.Shock

RandomNumpty · 04/12/2017 02:50

You should be more concerned that she got them pierced at Claire's than that it cost £38.

JacquesHammer · 10/12/2017 00:05

@mathanxiety

Jacques, would you have agreed to a nice big visible tattoo for your 11 yo if she had researched it thoroughly, found a hygienic place to do it, and didn't throw a tantrum about it?

Having researched it thoroughly she knows tattooing isn't legal until 18. Not really a comparison.

How about shaving all her hair off?

Yes. I'd talk to her about the likelihood of reactions. And some would be negative. If she still wanted to do it then no issue.

An eyebrow piercing?

Not permitted at school so again moot point. She knows she needs to abide by the school rules.

As far as I am concerned she is old enough to be learning to make decisions for herself. I will guide her, support her, help her through her choices but for safe choices as part of her body autonomy then sure. She gets to choose.

mathanxiety · 10/12/2017 07:26

The parent can give permission for a tattoo for someone younger than 18.

What if the eyebrow piercing was permitted in school? You can have any number of piercings anywhere you want them at my DCs' school. Imagine for a moment that you live in the catchment area.

JacquesHammer · 10/12/2017 08:16

The parent can give permission for a tattoo for someone younger than 18

Not in the UK. It is illegal to tattoo under 18 with or without parental consent. So again. No issue and poor comparison.

what if the eyebrow was permitted

We'll find out next year. Piercings permitted at her secondary school. We'll have a discussion around facial piercings and safety during riding and then if she wants it, sure.

Piercings in places like eyebrows are actually great starter piercings - easy to heal and easy to heal over if you don't like them.

I had countless ear piercings and a nose piercing in teens. Mainly because my parents were of the "you're sensible, sure" school of parenting which I very much aim to emulate.