to think piercing of childrens ears should be banned

[lucyellensmum]

why why why would anyone want to do this to a three year old????? I went to a childrens party at the weekend, there was a lovely little girl there with the most awful blingy "diamond" earings pulling her ears down - ear piercing hurts, it is tantamount to child abuse IMO.

has a child been injured or worse from getting an ear pierced

I took my niece to get her ears pierced. She was about a fortnight under four at the time. Her other aunt had been talking to her for weeks about taking her to get her ears made 'pretty' and was planning to take her to a shoddy local 'jewellers' to have it done. My niece was by this point determined that she wanted it doing, so in the name of avoiding infection I asked her mum if she'd like me to take her to get it done with gold at a decent outlet. Her mum agreed, so thus the ears were pierced with gold studs, the aftercare explained and appropriate gubbins procured so that the ears could be kept clean. My niece is seven and a half and has never had an infection in either ear.

However, as a personal choice I would rather not have taken her, I just wanted to be a good aunt and try to avoid the icky green ears.

My own daughter can ask for her ears to be pierced all she likes, but I shall inevitably suffer from selective hearing until she is about ten.

Agnes

cylonbabe-clothes arent permanent,how can you compare clothe to piercings?

i dont think abuse is too strong a word when you are talking about holding a screaming toddler down to willingly do something that will cause them pain,without considering their rights atall.

My dd is nearly 4 and is determined about doing a lot of things but that doesnt mean they should be done. She is desparate to be left on her own like her bog brother is sometimes. Now she will be one day when she's older so why not leave her now? She knows the dangers but understands and is prepared for it. I doubt she'd cry at all.

It would be a shame to ban ear piercing, I see it as part of our culture.

Having said that, I think a child should be old enough to make an informed decision about whether or not to have their ears pierced - aged six at the earliest.

Problems resulting from ear piercing gone wrong:
Scarring and lumps, more likely in some skin types then others
Infection - less chances of infection in a pierced ear lobe which are fleshy and heal relatively well, compared with piercing further up the ear where there is cartiledge which doesn't heal so quickly. Belly button piercing is notorious for infections.

I think that the parents should take the responsibility of cleaning pierced ears, and providing good quality earrings, either silver or gold.

dont personally like it but woul;d noit ban it there are many many other things i would prioritise 1st

I had to wait until I was 12 before I could have mine done. I think it just looks awful on babies. Little children are lovely enough without having to have pierced ears.
There is a little boy in DS1s nursery class with a pierced ear, and his little brother too (who is 18 months-ish). It's just wrong on little children.

An interesting debate.....

Re nickel infections. There is almost no nickel used in jewellery (gold and silver) these days as high levels of use have been banned and other base metals now have to be used to compensate. Only certain types of gold with certain types of alloy in them or surgical steel can be used for piercings and a jewellers will know what these are. That's why there are always special sets of studs used to pierce ears.

For what it's worth, I had my ears pierced at 4. I've never had a problem with them. It's part of a cultural element in my family due to our origins. My daughter was 9 months old when I had hers pierced. I took the decision to have them done now as I know she will ask me when she gets older. I have cleaned them, and she only wears studs. She has never had an infection and has never played with them. she will not remember if it hurt or not.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But in my humble one..beating, neglect and molestation are tantamount to child abuse...not taking the decision to let your child have their ears pierced.

i used to be a branch manager for Claires and although ear piercing was part of the job, i detested piercing baby and toddlers ears - all the staff did. However if we were to be paid it had to be done so i used to remind my staff that if the parents came to us then at least we knew the child was getting thier ears pierced with the appropriate care and aftercare (6 week check up offered to all - not many parents took up that offer btw). Most problems i encountered wetre caused by lack of aftercare, an inappopriate cleanse being used, hair wrapped around the earring causing an infection, or parents trying to change the earrings too early.

I had full training by a specialist from a piercing company and ensured the staff recieved the same, to make sure they were fully competent i even used to let them practice on me (rather than the cardboard ear provided )

About the quality of the earrings - well, i would go through this in great detail with the customers and always recommend solid gold for children and sensitive skin, although it was the parents decision. At the time (a good 5-6 years ago) we also offered titanium earrings which were even better.

I will not let my dd get hers done under the age of 11 i think. she must be old enough to have thought about it and be mature enough to look after them properly, and i very much doubt i would let her wear anything other than studs.

But Funkimummy that's the whole poitn you are not 'letting' your child if that chhild is too little to understand fully what you sre suggesting or ask for it herself. You are deciding for them and choosing to pierce your child's skin, not with a needle full of live saving vaccine or to draw blood for vital tests, but a pair of 'pretty studs' for nothing more, at that age, than your own enjoyment.

Mumto3. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think your assumptions are unfounded, as most assumptions are. At no point did I say it was for my own enjoyment. It is part of the cultural origins of the ethnic background of my family as I have already stated.

Yes everyone has their opinion, that's what we are entitled to voice here. I did ask if anyone could explain why piercing studs of metal through a baby's ears is an important cultural/religious rite but noone answered that.

Maybe you could explain what importance it holds?

It's true that YOU made the decision for her though you didn't wait to see if she would want it done.

And if it's for cultural reasons what's the harm in her deciding if she wants to take part in that, or does she have no choice?

My oldest son and his friend peirced thier own ears when they where about 14 my son went on to develope an infection that was so bad he was indanger of loosing his lobe and all this was because I refused to let him get it done. I relented with one of his younger brothers who wanted it done at about 12 as I was worried he would do the same

Yes I did make the decision. And it's one I feel very comfortable with.

For us the tradition is a rite of passage. I can't answer for everyone else. It's a tradition that has gone back centuries. I'm not sure why it started. It is supposed to be the Grandmother that pierces her grandchildrens ears.

Not one that I wanted to do, nor did my parents so we got them done professionally.

I answered that very briefly further down the thread.

Tradtionally ear or body piercing was regarded as a symbol of wealth or status for example.

I can think of more barbaric practices than ear-piercing which should be eradicated tbh.

Mercy that's true, but for every subject discussed on here people could find a worse one...
I have a turlish friend who's mother did pierce her baby girls ears at home with a needle. She was always asking me why I wouldn't get my dd's ears done. Once her dd was old enough to go to school she told her mummy that she didn't want earrings in anymore - the hassle of having to remove them for PE etc and put them back in was difficult for her to manae and caused her ears to get sore. My friend relented and let her take them out and the holes healed. She is now expecting another girl in 3 weeks time and has decided not to pierce her ears until she is old enough to decide for herself.
This goes against her mother and mil's wishes, but she is standing firm. I salute her.

I've also started a thread on here about piercing babies ears. It's not a cultural or religious thing for me.
My DD is one and I want to pierce her ears. I know I do the decision making but I know (because she's like me and is my child) that she would like it.
At the end of the day it is your child and you can do what you want.

I don't have a problem with children having their ears pierced once they know it will hurt and make the decision themselves.

DD1 had hers done when she was 6, dd2 was 5. I explained to both of them that it would hurt, but they choose to have them done. They only ever wear tiny studs though.

I don't like seeing earings on babies though.

I do not think having a baby's ears pierced is abuse but I also do not think it looks nice. I really don't like to see small babies and children with earrings in, they look perfectly cute without them!
I first had my ears pierced at about 10 as a treat for my birthday, I had been asking for years! I was definitealy old enough to understand that it would hurt and that I would need to keep them clean and I felt very grown up once I had them done.
If I ever have a DD then I would let her if she wanted but only after 10. Don't know what I would do if my DSs wanted theirs done, I would probably prefer them to be a little older.

I'll take my daughter to have her ears pierced if she asks me to when I think she's old enough to have it done - I'm thinking 10+. And I won't be taking her to Claire's - those places are awful, the machines they use punch a hole with the blunt metal of the earring stud. I'll be taking her to a proper piercing place where they pierce manually with one-use needles and stock good quality jewellry.

I had mine done as a baby.

I'm Latina. It's a common practice.

I'm still here. Didn't sustain any long-term emotional damage from it.

blunt metal ?

i seem to remember the earrings i used had very sharp points - hence the need to use safety butterfies whilst wearing them.

btw i'm not trying to sound pro-claires! i can't stand the place!
just telling you of my experience thats all!

Tasja - 'At the end of the day it is your child and you can do what you want. '

I'm sure you didn't mean that to sound as horrible as it did.