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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

This Morning - Kids having ears pierced is child abuse ?

275 replies

daffodillament · 08/05/2018 11:52

What utter nonsense. Just tuned in as heard them mention this subject stemmed from Mumsnet ! Now the woman is saying Kids ear piercing is basicly the same as FGM !! I mean WTF ? Get a grip. No it not !

OP posts:
mustbemad17 · 08/05/2018 16:40

Regarding the whole dog versus baby issues & the comparison with tattoos & chips...tattoos are vile, no two ways about it. No dog should be tattooed. But microchips are essential in this day & age. That's a little like comparing a child having a jab & having their ears pierced...one is to benefit the child, the other is because some pushy parent decides their little princess should have earrings (talking babies having ears done not consenting children!!)

mustbemad17 · 08/05/2018 16:43

Drainedandconfused surely they are seperate issues??? An adult deciding to have cosmetic surgery, piercings, tattoos, even shaving their legs, is usually their choice. Forcing a baby to have their ears pierced is worlds apart from the informed choices a grown woman makes, regardless of who judges or has opinions on those processes

Sirzy · 08/05/2018 16:46

People can do whatever they want to their own bodies as long as they can give informed consent. If they can’t give informed consent then nothing should be done for purely cosmetic reasons irrespective of culture, nagging or looking pretty.

Soubriquet · 08/05/2018 16:49

No dog should be tattooed.

Actually some dogs are tattooed by law such as legal pit bulls

Greyhounds are often tattooed too. Helps identify their trainer if they are dumped. Course some callous trainers will hack their ears off to stop them being identified

IIIustriousIyIllogical · 08/05/2018 16:51

Some lunatic on here the other day was stating that it was child abuse to put pictures of your kids on Social Media, so nothing surprises me anymore....

mzcracker · 08/05/2018 16:54

I’ve noticed that a lot of women on here have problems with any sort of cosmetic enhancement whether it’s shaving legs, dying grey hair or Botox, what’s the problem?

I have no problem whatsoever with adult women doing whatever they want to their bodies. We're talking about babies not adults. I wouldn't like a baby having Botox either of it wasn't necessary. And when babies start shaving then your argument will be valid.

omBreROSE · 08/05/2018 16:55

Ive seen the word chavvy making a comeback on MN recently.
Hmm

mustbemad17 · 08/05/2018 16:56

soubriquet there is no information you cannot get from a chip that you can from a tattoo tho. So to put a dog through the painful process of tattooing simply because is, imo, cruel. Greyhounds & pits get such a rough time of it anyway it upsets me they have to be pushed through even more hoops for human convenience

TeasndToast · 08/05/2018 16:56

If I came on AIBU to ask if I was BU for wanting to pierce my baby’s belly button / septum / lip / tounge etc I can imagine the horror.

How is it any different because it’s the ear? It’s no different it’s just accepted because it’s so common in our culture.

omBreROSE · 08/05/2018 16:58

It isn’t the big deal as some posters are claiming.
My daughter got hers at 7. I kept them clean - l still monitor them at nine.
I think over 7/8 is fine. They will understand it may hurt. They will normally have asked to have it done.
It should be banned for babies.

Soubriquet · 08/05/2018 17:00

It's a legal requirement though and I think they are sedated anyway so not too traumatic for the dog

Idontdowindows · 08/05/2018 17:00

I had my ears pierced at my own request when I was about 11.

I so wish my parents had said to wait until I was 21 (21 was the age of majority at the time) because by the time I was 18 I was really pissed off with my pierced ears and even though I have never worn earrings for nigh on 50 years now, the holes have never closed. I hate the way it looks and it's not as if the lobes can be reconstructed.

So I'm a firm proponent of body modification decisions being made by adults, and not children.

IIIustriousIyIllogical · 08/05/2018 17:01

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Drainedandconfused · 08/05/2018 17:03

Oh of course I agree it’s entirely different and ear piercing is something that shouldn’t be done to babies full stop but as soon as the child is reasonably responsible I can’t see the problem, my DD was 5 going on 15 when she had her ears pierced and she used to clean the piercings each night with lotion and cotton wool.
The other issue is something I noticed whilst reading MN over the weekend. I’m not being goady, it’s a genuine question, is it a feminist issue? Can a woman shave her legs, dye her hair, have Botox, wear cosmetics and still be a feminist or is it seen as something that women do to please men.
I do all of the above (no Botox yet though but I would when needed) for myself not my partner or any other man.

Drainedandconfused · 08/05/2018 17:04

My rescue greyhound had tattooed ears from his racing days.

mustbemad17 · 08/05/2018 17:06

Sadly not always soubriquet, sedating costs money. With pits i think it is done properly as a legal standard, but some greyhound trainers do it themselves (boik). Still a law i would like to see abolished tho, completely unnecessary imo

mzcracker · 08/05/2018 17:08

I think at the age of 5 and above you can sit and explain what's going to happen and a child will have some measure of understanding, I still don't think it's ideal. Below that age I just don't agree it should be done at all and some places refuse.

MrsFezziwig · 08/05/2018 17:10

Don't think anyone on here is equating baby ear piercing to FGM, but a significant number of people seem to think that because it's not as bad as FGM then it's ok. So does that mean that unless you were raped and tortured you can't join the #MeToo campaign, or it's not ok to smack your kids (which I'm not in favour of, by the way) but it is ok to stick needles through their ears without their agreement?

IronMansIronButt · 08/05/2018 17:18

It isn’t the big deal as some posters are claiming

Says you. And we should care what you think because.....?

ALongHardWinter · 08/05/2018 17:52

It's nothing like FGM. And what if said child has been nagging for 3 years to have it done? Also,if it was the same as FGM,could you imagine a child nagging for years to have it done? I think not.

omBreROSE · 08/05/2018 17:53

Iron
As far as l know, MN is a chat forum.
So unfortunately for you, my opinion is as valid as the next person! Grin

Sirzy · 08/05/2018 17:54

Just because a child nags doesn’t mean they can have whatever they want.

IronMansIronButt · 08/05/2018 17:55

So unfortunately for you, my opinion is as valid as the next person!

Well the next persons opinion is probably just as invalid as yours, but the issue was that you framed it as a fact as if other people had got it wrong.
Speak properly.

IronMansIronButt · 08/05/2018 17:56

It's nothing like FGM. And what if said child has been nagging for 3 years to have it done? Also,if it was the same as FGM,could you imagine a child nagging for years to have it done? I think not.

Someone doesn't understand what a spectrum is, clearly. Hmm

MrsSnootyPants2018 · 08/05/2018 18:01

I don't think it's child abuse. That's quite an exaggeration, but it does look incredibly chavvy and cheap

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