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Original poster

Child ear piercing.

155 replies

MrsPreston11 · 31/05/2018 16:47

7 and 5. It's out of the questions this year as DH is NOT on board.

Much to the chagrin of the older one, and therefore the younger one too......

What's the standard age now? Not many in either of mine's classes with them pierced.

What ages have worked for your kids? And where did you get them done?

OP posts:
LolaLouise · 02/06/2018 00:47

Min had hers done at 10 at the start of the summer with little studs after asking for the best part of 2 years. Her school then brought in a stupid rule they had to be taken out for pe, her pe lesson was first thing, by the time she got home for me to be able to put them in after being in after school club etc it hurt too much to get them in again. Best part of £60 wasted over a stupid rule that neednt be in place. Told her she can have them re-pierced when she starts secondary school now.

LolaLouise · 02/06/2018 00:50

@Morphene my two boys both had their ears pierces at the same time as my daughter. Only one side not both, but they asked so had it done too. Fairly certain neither cared about the male gaze either, though i could be proven wrong in a few years i guess.

steff13 · 02/06/2018 00:53

We're going to let our daughter have them when she's 10. We'll take her to a piercer at a tattoo shop.

Morphene · 02/06/2018 01:29

toomany and jaques so you will be letting them get tattoos at 5 yo too will you?

Or does your support for their decisions only go so far?

Sometimes people spontaneously decide that ear piercings are beautiful all on their own...I mean it must have happened at least once in the history of the human race....but the overwhelming majority do it because of societal norms and the association with it being attractive.

Morphene · 02/06/2018 01:30

lola why only one ear for the boys and two for the girls? Bit sexist no? Just keep supporting and perpetuating those gender stereotypes...I'm sure that will be the fastest way to achieve gender equality won't it....Hmm

Morphene · 02/06/2018 01:39

sezzi ahh yes...and do you think if you were brought up around people who didn't do ear piercing at all you would have woken up one day and thought....you know what would really make me feel better about myself on a daily basis? Sticking a needle through my ear lobe so I can dangle metal through it!

Actually I might mention this all to my DD (7 yo). She doesn't know any children with piercings and doesn't seem to have noticed them on the few adults she has encountered with them. I wonder what she will make of the idea of making a hole in her ear with a needle....or hanging metal off it.

I'd guess it will be somewhere in between 'why would you want to do that?' and 'I never want to do that'.

But we shall see.....

happymummy12345 · 02/06/2018 01:42

You'll get told it's cruel and even child abuse op. That's a load of shit.
My mum got mine done was a tiny baby, as soon as I was old enough. Same with my sister.
If dh and I have a daughter, it's agreed she will have them done as soon as she is old enough. I think the younger the better because then they grow up with it and it's all they know.
I'd give anything to get my ds's ear done, but dh refuses.

Morphene · 02/06/2018 01:50

I think the younger the better because then they grow up with it and it's all they know.

yes, because why give people control over their own bodies? I mean a baby's body is the property of its parents to be marked out as they see fit...and the earlier you do it the less screaming you have to put up with!

JacquesHammer · 02/06/2018 07:38

toomany and jaques so you will be letting them get tattoos at 5 yo too will you

Tattooing under 18 is illegal. Ear piercing is not.

My DD didn’t get her ears pierced at 5.

Notwithstanding the above, do you really not understand the different between piercing and tattoing, because the two aren’t really comparable.

MollyHuaCha · 02/06/2018 07:46
FindoGask · 02/06/2018 07:48

Eldest had hers done at 8, and that seemed about right for her. Youngest is 8 this summer and desperately wants to do the same. So long as they're old enough to understand about the pain and how to look after their piercings, I don't see the problem.

Ipdipme · 02/06/2018 07:52

I had mine done at 2. Then second holes as an adult.

DD asked for her 8th birthday and I let her.

Everywhereilookaround · 02/06/2018 07:52

Ouch ouch ouch!

It was forced on me as a young child, I will never forget the screaming pain. They pinned me down to do the second ear. Wicked people.

My friend did it to her tiny babies, I think that's so cruel, they cried desperately. but not my business to comment, it's not illegal, it's a moral judgement. It was sad though seeing their skin behind the ears scratched raw everyone a top was pulled over their head to get dressed/undressed.

Buy them some clip ons.

Interesting thread and question OP, made me think.

Teateaandmoretea · 02/06/2018 08:01

I find it really hard to get wound up about this tbh. Anytime once they are old enough to understand they will have to care for them. Dd1 doesn't want hers done anyway (she's 9) but I'd let her now if she wanted them done. Dd2 is too young imo but others do.

MadMaryBoddington · 02/06/2018 08:17

I can’t get worked up about it. Dd is getting hers done for her 8th birthday this summer. She has wanted it doing since she saw her cousin’s little cat face earrings last year. Nothing to do with being attractive to men Hmm. I made her wait to make sure it was something she really wanted, and not just a whim.

She will be the first in her class to have them done - it will set the cat among the pigeons as some of the other parents are very against it! There will no doubt be some pearl clutching. Grin

user1471539385 · 02/06/2018 08:38

@romeobunny don’t be too quick to judge. My DD was also born in Spain, and before she was born we discussed the pros and cons with our family paediatrician. We decided to get her ears pierced in the maternity ward, as per the cultural norm, because at this age the healing is almost immediate and her ears were pierced in a hospital, by a nurse. She had them done at the same time as the newborn heel prick, and cried far more about her heel!

Her earrings could be removed well before she started nursery or school, so the risk of accidents was removed.

She is now 12, and has said on several occasions that she is glad we got them done when she was do little, as she has no memory of it, has never had an infection and doesn’t have any of the issues with removing for PE etc that her friends all had when having theirs done just before leaving primary school.

Every family has their own reason for making their decision regarding ear piercing. Don’t be too quick to judge.

JJS888 · 02/06/2018 11:01

Wait until the dicks have had a gin. Child abuse accusations will fly around. It's fine at any age. Who actually cares about this? Clothed, fed and loved children growing up in the West with free education and healthcare. Those dudes have seriously lost the plot.

MiggeldyHiggins · 02/06/2018 11:09

Some of us happen to think piercing holes in children flesh with sharp metal is not really ok. Pretty sure you'd think the same if I stuck a nail into your kids hand, wouldn't you?

JacquesHammer · 02/06/2018 11:12

Pretty sure you'd think the same if I stuck a nail into your kids hand, wouldn't you?

I love the hyperbole on these threads. It’s so beautifully entertaining.

JJS888 · 02/06/2018 11:17

Grin brilliant

metalmum15 · 02/06/2018 11:17

What a sad state of affairs when people think women can only wear earrings so they're attractive to the opposite sex.

BingTheButterflySlayer · 02/06/2018 11:17

My 6 year old is utterly oblivious to the fact some of the kids in her class have earring studs in as of yet! She's still at the stage where she thinks she's the bee's knees when she's got nail varnish on! If she starts asking for it to be done we'll discuss it then - but I'd like her to be 10+ ideally - especially considering lots of jewellery can set off allergic reactions in our family so I'd rather she was older and more sensible about it all (allegedly). I don't believe in getting it done for the sake of having it done - if the kids WANT it done I'll discuss it with them but I don't do dragging them down to Claires or wherever (since Claires went kaput) for the sake of "getting it over and done with" or whatever.

BrutusMcDogface · 02/06/2018 11:17

I had mine done at 5 and can still remember the trauma! Plus they got infected and then closed up, went to get them redone and they did a different place so my ears are a bit of a mess, and I don't wear earrings anyway because they aggravate my ears!

My 8yo dd is desperate to have hers done but I've said she has to wait til the end of year 6; seems like a good time to me!

Hoppinggreen · 02/06/2018 11:20

I told dd the earliest she could have them done was when she left Primary school. She’s coming to the end of Y 8 now and still hasn’t ( her choice)

Hoppinggreen · 02/06/2018 11:22

What really blows my mind is the “earlier the better so they won’t remember the pain “ School of thought
It’s not actually compulsory ( or even necessary)