4 year old getting pierced ears at Superdrug

[Childpiercinggate]

I was browsing in Superdrug this lunchtime and saw a small child getting their ears pierced. It was awful, the mother was holding the child down and she was yelling at the top of her lungs. I was in the makeup section at the other end of the shop and stopped in my tracks as I’ve never heard anything like it.

I asked to speak to the manager as I was so shocked that they do this in store. The manager told me it was nothing to do with me and the mother had given consent.

Ive written to the head office although I know nothing will be done.

Yes you were unreasonable - mind your own business
No you’re not unreasonable - you’re right, children of that age shouldn’t be getting piercings

If you’d seen it I can assure you, you’d have been upset as well. Unless you’re made of stone.

The child was wailing and asking all the adults to stop. It was absolutely horrible

Maybe, it's probably not anymore painful than vaccination but surely that doesn't excuse it; plus the pain of unwanted pregnancies, STD, liver and lung cancer is lifelong and I think parents are just saying no one under 18 should take actions that might lead to lifelong issues and illnesses like underage smoking, vaping, drinking, sexual relationships, tattoos, even excessive use of social media as we all know that leads to mental harm

You were.

Calling someone an idiot is unacceptable?

Well I really have been told now haven’t I!

I do think parents who do this to young children are cruel and idiots/stupid.

I don’t care if you think that’s unacceptable.

This thread raises important issues and is turning into a bun fight. It would be nice if we could stick to the subject at hand.

Pinning a child down to inflict pain on them in order to modify their body without their consent is most certainly child abuse.

Quite right you are. Ear piercing ranks up there with other forms of child abuse like beating, starvation and rape that you see it in the media all the time with children ending up losing their lives. It might not be too long before ear piercing kills a child as really anything is possible. I think people need to reflect on that . Agree with you strongly Op

Ergh, it’s vile so I agree with you!!

The child has no comprehension of what they’re getting done to make informed consent or understand properly what’s about to happen and guns are so damaging to ears.
Also getting them done at the same time by a none professional piercer doesn’t make it good as they’re often not uniform.
It’s all about the parent imposing their wishes on the child at that age I’m afraid IMO disguised with, ‘oh they kept asking for it’. If my child was too young to properly understand what they were asking for, I’d make them wait until a more appropriate age, do research like watching videos / discussing it; that’s why I’m the parent.
Well done you for taking a stand.

So many people on this thread saying "Well what if she asked to have them pierced at 4, then it's fine!" God I hope they don't apply the same logic to other aspects of parenting, or so help their kids. You/we, as the adult, are responsible for not letting our kids make decisions that they want to do but aren't good for them (or aren't good for them at that age.) My 1 year old would love to crawl over to the dog and yank on his tail but I don't let her because she's not intelligent enough yet to realise that's not a good idea 🙄

I wasn’t 100% sure if they did carry out the piercing - apologies if I missed it. I was thinking more the child had the first ear done and then got upset and the mother was holding them wanting the SA to do the second ear.

I also wouldn’t care if I received a complaint in this situation. And I would also absolutely back up any member of my team who refused to pierce in the above situation. But there is so much pressure put on stores to not get complaints and basically give customers whatever they want in order not to receive a complaint, that some managers take it too far with the staff and will issue warnings for receiving one.

I get that is a company problem but I could see why a young Sales Assistant (majority of those carrying out piercings) might not have the confidence to stand up for themselves in this situation in fear of management or even the parents shouting at them for refusing to do it.

Exactly! Just imagine if a 14/15 year old wanted to drink alcohol/smoke/take drugs/have sex. Would you say oh it's fine because they asked? Of course not! Children cannot consent to anything before 18 and parents need to remember that

No one should be piercing anyone’s body parts when the piercee is clearly distressed. Doesn’t matter whether that’s Superdrug or a more reputable place. I’m surprised the staff would want to to do this while a child is crying, screaming and generally hysterical. Even if they’re not upset by it themselves they’d at least find it irritating.

All of the above!!

I’d also like to add that being verbally able to communicate something and able to understand what that actually means and entails is something different
A very diluted example but when I was a child, my dad kept saying the word ‘tosser’ around me. I thought it just meant to throw something so I was playing a game throwing leaves and kept shouting it, not understanding why I suddenly got really told off by my mother.

For me too, I really question what 4 year old actually asks repeatedly out of nowhere (so much that you as the parent feel you have no choice but to relent) to get their ears pierced unless it’s been shown to them or the seed planted already by their parents? If my son has been curious about a few tattoos I have, I explained to him they’re on my skin forever, can’t come off and that you have to be 18 to have them. End of discussion and he doesn’t mention them again, he hasn’t started chewing my ear off asking for a tattoo…

Why mutilate their little ears! I have lots of piercing and got them all as a (stupid, sometimes drunk) young adult. My body my mistakes!

As much as l deplore the piercing of young children, l think it’s important to get the facts straight. The age of consent for sex is 16.

I am so sick of the snobbery about ear piercing in the UK as though it makes you superior. People need to get a life, seriously. Ear piercing is not barbaric - it's a tiny flap of skin that most women end up piercing 🥱🥱

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I think it's very sad that some parents feel the need to stick holes in their beautiful babies ears just to plonk a piece of jewellery on that they want their child to wear. Why? It's purely cosmetic.

Of course children can consent (or not consent) to loads of things before the age of 18! Where did you get your law degree?

100% agree. I got mine done with a gun when I was five (begged and begged my parents. And my mother being from a culture where it´s quite common to do the ears of baby girls / toddlers ultimately agreed).

But I had so many issues with these piercings. Didn´t heal well, infections (not related to improper care) and they´re also a little too high on the lobe. Do not take children to get this done at highstreet shops or even pharmacies (done in various countries). A qualified piercer should do it!

Such a horrible thing to do to a child all for the sake of vanity.

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Absolutely this

Straw man argument if ever I saw one!

I think it should be banned until a child is old enough to consent.

I don't think very small children should have it done and not if they are upset but you're conflating very different things here. FGM and child marriage are not the same as ear piercings FFS

Same - I was 8 and had begged for a couple of years. I have never heard of anyone in real life have such a visceral reaction to this

Just because it's "normal" doesn't mean it's ok. We used to think marital rape and smacking children was ok.

Shops such as Claires and Superdrug should be ashamed to allow this, and I am surprised the staff tell other customers to mind their own business. They should be having a look at themselves when they think it's ok for a small child to scream.

And you can't compare it with vaccination. Vaccination is aimed at preserving good health and saving lives. Piercings are cosmetic and should wait until secondary school age.

To be fair the Pro Pierce Brigade have chucked both Snowflake and Karen into the mix

So mean words on both sides