AIBU to get 6 year old get ear piercings?

[MRIELA]

Hello all, my 6 year old has been asking for months for ear piercings (her cousin got them at 5) , I have talked to her about the importance of daily cleaning, that there is always risk of infection etc and havent brought it uo myself until she asks if I have made an appointment yet and when could I make one. I talked to local piercing salons, of course needle piercings are the best but they dont deal with customers under 14. Which brings me to Claires (or does anyone know another better place perhaps?)- I had gun piercings myself at 7 and luckily had no problems, must say I am in my 30s and would still let no one near me with a needle :). Was I lucky because I read a lot of negative things about gun piercings, does anyone have any good/bad experiences with a younger child,any regrets or all went well?

I begged to have mine done and was also 6. We went to a local jeweller who had been around a long time. It was a gun. I won't lie and say cleaning and turning was fun for me or my mum but they healed well and still there more than thirty years later. I would as other pp's have advised wait until summer hols.

I used to be told to get my DD's ears pierced as a baby but felt it should come from her. If she had asked at 6 and I felt she would understand and comply with cleaning I would have said yes. As it is she's very afraid and hasn't wanted them until now and she's 12. We are waiting for the hols even though she's allowed studs at school.

Why would you not ban cats/dogs- statistically they cause more harm to children than Claires ear piercings, I have lost count how many kids this year have been mauled by the dogs, just the stories that made it to the news (not accounting for infections if there is a statistic somewhere). I have not read any tragic stories regarding getting ears pierced at Claires. If you have a pet at home are you knowingly risking your child as a parent?

(No i dont have problems with pets I have them myself :))

It's a very interesting discussion! Quite a way from the original topic of your thread 😂

I think that in at least some of the cases of children being mauled, the dogs ARE banned breeds. It's just that the parents haven't followed the law. In other cases the problem isn't the dog itself, it's the irresponsible ownership. I would support stronger laws around police/RSPCA having the power to remove dogs from problematic homes. I would also support a legal requirement for dogs to pass through some sort of training, alongside a harsher crackdown on puppy farms etc. Essentially, what I'm saying is I would support increased legislation around dog ownership rather than an outright ban.

In exactly the same way, I don't want an outright ban on piercing. I just think it should be banned for children.

I also think that pets contribute more to a child's life than piercings. There are benefits to having a dog, there are no benefits to having your ears pierced at age six. It's a risk with no reward.

Tattoo places here won't do it until 7. I remember as DD wanted hers done, had made the decision herself and understood they would need aftercare but nowhere would do it. We went to Claire's. I was glad as they could do them at the same time. She definitely would have said no to a second after the first as it was quite painful. It was with a gun but she didn't die and her ears were fine but it did cost a ridiculous amount.

To sum up, 6 is fine if she understands that it will hurt and she will need to be careful. I think wait til summer for school.

I just don't understand why you would. Risk of infection, risk of being caught on stuff while playing, it's sore to get done. What's the actual point? If it's just to play dress-up then you buy stick-ons and use those along with other costume jewellery and face paints etc. No six-year-old child needs to be wearing earrings day to day. I think it's a weirdly grown-up thing to want a little child to have.

"Pets are dangerous"

You could say this about anything. Cars can be dangerous. So can the kettle.

What bizarre excuses to justify getting a 6 year olds ears pierced. Do whatever you want, you're her mum. I won't be letting my daughter get hers done until she fully understands and can also properly look after them herself. Like a 6 year old cannot.

I previously mentioned I get why my child wants earrings, I wanted them in the same age for the same reasons, my mum allowed me to get mine done and I have made use of them ever since. My reply was to say everything in life carries a risk, my post here was to hear about other peoples experiences because my experience and my friends (childrens) experiences are limited to successful piercing experiences. I had a gun piercing at 7 with no complications, few months later at 7 I was in a serious car accident where I (luckily)ended up with a few broken bones, driving cars is risky too, you check your seat belt/car seats every time you set off checking just in case.. but you still use one. (if you say you dont drive a car but use a bus, dont get me going on this subject, british buses and trains must be only ones still without seat belts lol).

Are they allowed them at school?

Of course there are risks in everyday life and you balance these against the rewards they offer and make a decision in line with that.

There is no benefit to a six year old having their ears pierced, only risk, so the answer has to be no.

I understand that she wants them, but there are loads of things children want that they can't have and as you said earlier, you're able to say no and she'll accept it. So, do the responsible thing say no and move on.

I personally would wait until she is in high school if she wants them done, at age 6 I understand you said she’s mature and sensible etc.. I’m speaking from experience it’s the other children who she is in school with who could be not as mature, I had mine done at around 7/8 years old and one of my earring ended up being pulled out! It caused a horrible infection and i still remember this happening at 26😔! I decided to get them out soon after that happened and I still don’t have any piercings because of this! I have a tattoo but nothing else!

it’s great that she’s sensible and mature, I’m just trying to give you some insight into when making the decision to have them done, it’s not just about how sensible your daughter is/keeping them clean etc.. it’s the risk of another child ripping them out or them getting caught on something, which could be completely accidental! Which can then lead to further infections etc.

if she has them done when In highschool/teenage years her peers will also be more sensible and majority of other girls may well have piercings to they all understand the importance of personal space for other people etc.. at age 6 they only understand personal space up to a certain extent, not everyone is mature and the last thing you’d want after she’s just had them done is all of her classmates touching them and twizzling them! Its an infection waiting to happen😩.

it’s your decision and she may well be fine etc! I’m just letting you know of my own previous experiences from when I had them done, I’ll certainly be telling my daughter to hang on until highschool so she understands cleaning them, having the reassurance that she can take them out if wanting to, taking them out and putting them in independently and also I know her peers will be more mature so less risk of them being ripped out!

it’s nice to hear she’s got an interest in them though, if you do decide to get them done you could always suggest you and her cousin sit together to go through how to take proper care of her ears after having them done with her.

Its a hard one, because at 7 I am allowing mine to make decisions about his own body, and I truly believe in it. ( and there's a bit of me that might be saying " if she keeps going on I'll let her learn why I said no! 😂 ) "

But then there's the wider consequences of infection, and you would be taking responsibility for that at that age and not her. I wouldn't want to be stuck cleaning and turning if it was causing pain and upset.

Ultimately though you you know her and the situation best, go with your gut.

How do you judge enjoyment someone gets out of something or the value/happiness it brings to them? If something is important to my child I will hear her out, if its legal and reasonable, I will consider it, as I am doing right now. If I hadnt had mine done at 7 I would probably think shes too young to know whats she asking for, but I was the same age and I do remember going to Christmas party that year and being feeling pretty with my Santa earrings and attending my aunts wedding with sparkly white earrings to match my flower girl white dress,just as my daughter I found clip ons painful after 15 minutes and stick ons just fell off found them stuck on the clothes. I get your got your opinion and thats fine,not going to argue with that each to their own but I am interested in real experiences, good stories and the ones that did not go well.

I got my 7yo done in the summer. She'd been asking nagging for about 6 months prior.

We went to a jewellery shop so it was a gun piercing. They had two people doing it so did both ears at the same time. I'd had this place recommended to me and I actually went first (mine had closed up years ago) do DD could see.

We've both healed fine.

Both my girls were done at the end of year 1 (before Summer holiday) at Claires. Now we may have been lucky, but they had far fewer problems than their friends who had it done at 10/12 year olds.
I think because they were young enough to let me help with the cleaning.
At least one of the older girls deliberately didn't tell her mum it was getting infected until too late because she didn't want to be told to take it out.

When they had it done dd1 was a bit upset, but that was because they told her they'd pierce at the count of 5 and did it at 3 (clearly to stop the automatic wince!) and she doesn't like the unexpected.
Dd2 who is the biggest drama queen ever and would tell you she has a needle phobia (she doesn't-she's just naturally nervous of needles) sat there looking blank after hers was done, then said.
"Was that it? Why did you say it would hurt?"

Priced ears on babies and toddlers basically says chav. And child abuse, in my opinion.

OP I personally think 6 is too young, but I appreciate that having had just boys I'm probably out of touch with what young girls like.

But without doubt, 3 and under is disgusting.

haha, I discussed it with my daughter we agreed, if she still wishes, we will get it done on her 7th birthday in the early summer :)

6 is fine if she really wants it done. Really don't understand the snobbery about ear piercing in the UK.

What rubbish 🤣 I suppose you have the monopoly on everything classy?

My daughter had hers pierced at 7. She'd been asking for a while.
They were pierced with a gun and we didn't have any problems. She was responsible enough to keep them clean and did all the aftercare herself ( with my supervision)
She's now 11 and wants to have a second set done, I've said she can but she needs to wait until the beginning of the summer holidays next July.

I got mine done at 4 after pestering my mum. Getting them done before primary meant she helped to do the aftercare, she did tell me if I touched them they’d have to come out and I wouldn’t have pierced ears again. Theywere healed before school and that meant I could take them out when needed. I remember feeling so grown up and 40 years later still have open holes despite rarely wearing earring in the last decade, mine never closed up. I also still have the wee pink crystal earrings my ears were pierced with.

I actually had real trouble with my belly button piercing. It got caught on my waist and and became badly infected and I couldn’t get it loose to remove it. I never had any issues with my ears.

OP, response to your comment about whether there’s a ‘law’ as you put it or rule on people having them done if they have a needle phobia, it’s the fact you are the parent who can understand the issues that can come from the procedure if it went wrong, and most people if they understood how dodgy it is to have them done at Claire’s in such an unclean environment with the incorrect equipment wouldn’t even consider it. Needle phobias do exist but a good piercer will reassure you and hide the actual needle from you while the piercing is done. I have many tattoo clients who hate needles and part of my job is helping them get through it with as little stress as possible, there are ways to work around things without resorting to unsafe methods. At the end of the day a hollow needle is a lot less scary than a blunt earring being forced through your body, in my opinion at least. It’s worth talking to piercers and most are passionate about what they do and would be able to reassure a client they’re making the right decision going for a needle piercing rather than a gun :)

@Xaviera what a strange post! Monopoly on everything classy? What does that even mean? I'm just giving my opinion on babies and toddlers with pierced ears. Is that a problem for you?

DM was a sports coach and primary school teacher. She saw so many earrings ripped out that she banned me from piercing until 16. I wouldn't want my active, lively DD to have to worry about protecting their ears while she messed around building blanket forts, or playing with a ball