To not let my daughter get her ears pierced at Claires?

[Hdaniels11]

My Dd has just turned 9 and has been begging me to let her have her ears pierced so i agreed but i told her that we will have to go to a "proper" piercing place and not Claire's. I didn't really know much about Claire's until i started looking into it and apparently it's got a really bad reputation for piercings and i have read multiple things online about how piercing guns are bad?Im not sure how true that is tho. My Dd specifically wants them done at Claire's because she loves the shop and that's where all her friends got them done but i don't want to risk her going there and getting a nasty infected piercing. I do feel mean saying she can't go there but i don't know what else to do.
Should i give her a choice between getting them done at a reputable place or no piercing at all?

I think that ear piercing guns should be banned on infection risk grounds, that only licenced piercing parlours and licenced staff should be allowed to do them, and that ear piercing should be banned until the child is at least 16 and preferably 18 and certainly should not be allowed when the child is far to young to give informed consent. But at the moment both are deemed okay, so I'm not judging you OP.

bodyartforms.com/blog/why-you-shouldnt-be-pierced-with-piercing-gun.asp

Leaving that aside, I don't believe in rewarding pestering and think that 9 is a bit young for it anyway thinking about a primary age child looking after them during play and PE, dealing with an infection, and being upset during the piercings, so my answer to her would be "you can have your ears pierced at a proper piercing parlour which I will research, when you are X age - if you pester me before then, you'll have to wait until you are old enough to get them done by yourself".

If possible, have your daughter’s ears done with stainless steel studs. They are most hypoallergenic. I’m an ancient American who had my ears done at the pediatrician’s office with sterilized equipment.

9 is so young to have pierced ears, which I appreciate may be an unpopular opinion. I first got mine done at 14 with a gun - no problems at all. In my later teens we all went to the local hippy-type shop where it was £2.50 a piercing and I ended up with 11 studs over time - again, a gun was used without issue.

That's actually a great suggestion by a poster uptrend, if you see someone with piercings ask them where they got them done. I guarantee 99% of them will not say Claires.

Upthread not uptrend. Bloody autocorrect.

Ours were waited until they were sixteen. We were the parents, it was our decision to make. You get to choose if, when and where it is done.

I would tell her she needs to wait until the start of the summer holidays so her ears have time to heal properly.

It's less painful too with a needle. My pierce is "big breath in, and out" and it's done
I had mine done at 15 at Beverley hill nails or whatever it was called - the gun got stuck and she had to redo the hole she had just made and it was so sore
After that I had all the rest done with a needle

We went to Claire's and paid over the odd, just for my daughter's ear to become infected and now she cannot wear earrings

I read all about it before my dd got hers done earlier this year We picked a reputable place that did lots of piercings with a needle and not a gun, they were lovely and it was all very clean. We pa aid extra for the expensive titanium non allergenic earrings, bought the aftercare, followed all the instructions and they just won't heal. Her ears immediately came out in bruises which the Internet assured me was one of the side effects of using a gun and that wouldn't happen with a needle. Then we did the 6 weeks, they looked healed so we took them out, she tried a pair of gold earrings (which we cleaned) and her ears reacted and got an infection. Went back to original earrings and cleaning everyday and it's now been another 6 weeks and they are still scabbing and bleeding but not infected. I got my ears pierced with a gun as a kid and they were fine after a few weeks. Not sure that there isn't a bit of ear piercing snobbery out there really. Did everything the right way and have had no end of problems. I think that some people's ears are just more sensitive than others.

Back in the day - 50 years ago, we weren't allowed jewellry at school, so all had them done just before VIth form as we didn't wear uniform. 9 seems far too young to me, too.

Do NOT go to Claires for this. I have a friend who used to work at Claires and I know her stories about the ear piercings... You do not want that for your DD trust me.

Professional piercer (piercing studio, tattoo parlour) all the way.
no jewellery shops, they’re just as bad as Claire’s.

The problem is, Claire's is a retail store. They are not regulated as a piercer. As a result they don't need to have the council health and safety checks and certifications that piercing places have. Proper piercing places and tattooists have to be certificated. They are regularly checked. No warning hygiene checks are done by the council. I wouldn't eat from a food establishment that held a 1 star food hygiene score. I also wouldn't have any piercings by an unregulated, non hygiene checked shop performed by a shop person who handles money, stock and has no idea about sterilising anything let alone their hands. But each to their own.

DD got her ears pierced in Claires about 6 years ago. They were misaligned, and one was pierced way too close to the edge of her ear.
met had to let it heal, and then went to a piercing studio who did a much better job.

recently was in Claires where there was only one sales assistant, she was so stressed between doing piercings and also managing the till. It’s not the right environment for piercings, would avoid.

Seriously, the idea that some part time barely trained shop staff will put holes in your ears is just such an incredibly crazy idea. How about getting them to give you a tattoo and colour your hair whilst they are at it. Hell why not go all the way and ask if they would do some eye correction surgery at the same time

If necessary tell her some horror stories. The girls in Claire's get 5 minutes training. The gun they use cannot be cleaned properly and they are not subject to the health and safety inspections that piercing / tattoo parlours are subject to. The place we took my daughter to regularly gets girls who have been to Claire's and then suffered complications - anything from wonky piecing, to infections that meant the piercing had to heal up and be redone, to the piercing gun getting stuck on the child's ear and the shop assistant in Claire's being unable to release it.

I wouldn't be putting their crap earrings in either.
Get some proper metals. Titanium gold or silver.

Yanbu. I will never, ever consent to any child if mine being pierced at Claire's. I do not understand how they still get that business given that the issues with using them are so well known.

That's a little harsh. My dd has hers done at Claire's - only done by the manager - who was excellent. She didn't do the actual piercing until we we're absolutely happy with the position - little black dot on earlobe. No problems at all re infection or pain.

Many years ago I had mine done at a jewellers - uneven and painful - had them redone - with a gun although not at Claire's ( I am very old no Claire's in my time) I have not had any problems.

If your kids cannot sit for a second, they are definitely not ready to have their ears pierced!

If there is anywhere that pierces with a needle that would be my first choice every time . More accurate and hygienic. I would also go for real gold earrings. Both of my dds have had piercings with a needle, no problems at all.

I got mine done there when I was 10. I'm 30 now!
I remember 2 staff members pierced my ears at the same time. One side the gun got stuck and the jewellery was kind of half in half out!

Genuine question if you don't use the gun, how do they do it with a needle?

Ha I went all the way to a " reputable place " having looked at reviews and sent emails to clarify the use of needles etc when I went to get dd1s done. The tattooist/piercer promptly took the earrings dd chose and used the plastic packing they were in to pierce her ears. To he fair there was no noise. It wasn't actually too painful and they were straight. Unfortunately dd got made to take them out at school several months later and was unable to get them back in. Like her dad she pretty much heels the instant they are removed.

We attempted a second time several years later and they were done with a needle. Slightly wonky it has to be said and despite having been in for 9/10 months when the ball fell off the front ajd the earring fell out we still couldn't get anything back in after .

Still wouldn't use Claires though