How long between asking and getting ears pierced?

[AmIreallyBeverly]

Assuming you are happy they are old enough to make the decision and look after them, how long was it between your child first asking to get their ears pierced and you letting them get it done?

Please no discussion about piercing babies or toddlers ears. They are too young to decide or give consent so it isn't relevant to this discussion.

It’s about age, surely? Kids under 11 shouldn’t have it done. Looks awful.

My DD1 asked around 7. I said yes. We went the following weekend. The occasion that prompted the request was upcoming First Communion.

Younger sisters obv noticed the earrings on their older sister and wanted them too, for F.C.

The only hesitation I had was to do with a sport they all played in late spring and early summer (Tball) in which they wore a batting helmet. I was also conscious of the healing time involved so they could go swimming when the local pools opened. Early May was an ideal time.

With the way some of you are reacting to ear piercing I'd hate to see your reaction to your child asking for a belly button or nose piercing

Are those still fashionable? Cultural nose piercing aside.

Surely they’re not allowed to have their belly buttons done until they’re over 16 anyway? In which case it would be their decision, so I wouldn’t ‘react’. Not sure if there’s an age limit on a nose piercing, but I would say no until they were 16. Not sure why that would be a bad thing?

Very much so. The majority of teenage girls (and some boys) I know seem to have one

No there isn't an age limit on any piercings with the exception of intimate ones. They just require parental consent if under 16? Out of interest why would you say no under 16? Surely it's better for them to have it done correctly in a clean, licenced environment with your knowledge so that it can be looked after correctly, rather than have it done in secret and risk a badly infected botched piercing?

Because I think a face piercing isn’t something you should have as a school child. At 16 I’d accept I probably had very little say in what they do, until then, it would be a no.

There isn’t a legal age limit on anything in England so any restrictions are set by the piercing place themselves. Intimate piercings on under 16s I imagine break other laws but there’s nothing stopping bellybuttons.

My daughter asked at 3 - she’s the baby of the family and has older cousins who have piercings. She got them done for her 4th birthday, which meant they were healed for her starting school. I did think it was young but she persistently asked even when we showed her videos of the process. She wears earrings every single day and we have had no issues.

Well any piercing other than one set of ears isn't allowed at school so nose, eyebrow. belly button etc are all pointless conversations. 🤣

I didn't even realise people still got their belly buttons pierced. I've just looked at photos of some very fashionable (younger!) friends who like showing their navels and not one of them has one. Tattoos, yes. A few nose piercings but no eyebrow or belly buttons.

It must be very much area dependent as I volunteer with teenagers and none of them have nose piercings.

I think it took about a year for us to get round to it/I ran out of excuses. She did ask when she was 9 or 10, but the. We t through a tomboy phase...then lockdown.

DD(15) is sporty. We avoided doing anything over hockey seasons (as she didn't want to risk plasters over sore ears), then she had a D of E expedition (wild camping etc), lots of swimming competitions (you aren't supposed to swim for a while).

In the end we did it over Christmas (£70 at a piercing studio that friends recommended). She and her Dad just got on with it whilst I was away (with my blessing). I think they were both determined to not mess things up.

Honestly, you are making a much bigger deal of this than you need to. Most girls have their ears pierced at some point. My daughter at 12 because all her friends already had them pierced. Some years before and a lot when turning 11 or 12. Earrings were a big topic of conversation and I felt it was important for her to be able to participate. She has a friend who still hasn't had them done and has been asking for years. Her parents have said 16. I think they are being ridiculous. If you go ahead then take her to a tattoo parlour not Claire's Accessories. The safety standards are much higher so there is a reduced risk of infection. The only children we know who have had problems are those who went to Claire's.

@WaddleAway. Regional variation is so strange isn't it? Here 13-16yr olds are identical. Dress the same, have the same hair etc. But if I go elsewhere they'll have a completely different look.

You think that it looks awful, many people don't. Kids under 11 are fine to have it done.
My GD got hers done a year later, for her fifth birthday. She loves earrings and asks for a new pair for birthdays/Christmas, she's now eight.

In your opinion. I don't really understand why you think a small pair of studs looks 'awful'.

Some of these responses are hilarious. Lifelong piercing regret for a tiny pin prick in your earlobe 😂Having to wait until adulthood to have them done because your father doesn’t like the look of them.

OK. I will work on persuading husband that she isn't going to want to get her tongue split, horns implanted or tattooed eyes because she gets a couple of ear studs. I just don't understand that logic. I mean, he used to go out with someone with a pierced nipple!

Once he agrees, she can have it done next (not this) summer holiday. So that's over a year away. Long enough for her to consider. Getting it done over the summer is a good idea and we can't get it done this summer.

Until then we'll stick with a general "when you're older" response but not tell her the time frame. It will be long enough to check it definately is something she wants.

And before anyone gets upset about the above body modifications, I don't mean they are "bad" (some look quite cool).

I've never considered length of asking time to be a factor tbh. I had decided 12 or 13 would be old enough, but dd didn't decide she wanted them done until she was 15. I let her straight away.

DD is nearly 8 and if she asks then we can get it done as soon as is practical…. in terms of booking availability etc.

if she doesn’t like it she can take them out and let them heal.

I find this a bit weird… do you do everything she asks ‘as soon as is practical’? So, for example, she asked for a toy costing £60… would you say ‘of course, I’ll buy it as soon as I can get to the shop’? And if you got it home and she didn’t like it, would you just say ‘never mind, we’ll send it to charity’?
Ear piercing is a want, not a need, so I find it strange people saying things like ‘if mine asked if take them the very next weekend’. Unless they generally just really spoil their kids and give them whatever they ask for, as soon as they ask?

It's not like buying a toy though.

Because 'practical' also encompasses ability to care for the new piercing and the demands of sport (both school and clubs). So it might be quite a while

My kid always has a few hundred pounds of her own money saved - she saves her pocket money (she gets very small amounts from several family members) plus tooth fairy, birthdays, Christmas, Easter (she’s allergic to milk so doesn’t get many chocolate treats so people normally do cash) and so on a plus she helps me sell her old clothes on vinted and she gets 50% of that too.

Just because kids can get something immediately doesn’t mean their parents are paying - mine has bought herself a bike, a scooter, and a tablet ❤️