Child ear piercing gone wrong - help me with what to say

[formula3]

DD8 had ears pierced today at Claire’s. All went fine, until we got home and she said “my earring has fallen out” and after initially telling her that was impossible l looked, and sure enough there was no earring in right ear. She hadn’t fiddled with them in the 3 hours they had been pierced and we got home, and I found the earring itself in the hood of her coat, no sign of the back so assume it was loose from start and is still somewhere in the shopping centre.
she was very upset, obviously, as she’s 8 and was panicking due to some blood around hole. I called Claire’s and explained what happened, the lady I spoke to sounded very shocked and said she had never had this happen and she needed to call her senior. She called back to say they were very sorry, that it must have been a fault with the earring (though it looks fine) and all that can be done is to leave it a week to heal over and they will pierce it again and as an apology not make me pay again!

I was too shocked to really process it other than to say that I didn’t think she’d want to come back there given she’d been brave to get it done in the first place and was now very upset, and said I had to go as had a very upset little girl to sort out but Could someone senior get back to me. That didn’t happen by the end of the day.

what do I do now? Contact head office? I spent £68 on good quality piercing earrings and about £15 on the piercing aftercare which for me is a lot but it was a special occasion that has gone really wrong. I’d like a refund because I feel I’ve paid for a service that has been poor (be it the fault of the equipment, or staff not checking the back was secure). My daughter is upset she only has one earring (fair enough) and I will try and encourage her to get it re-done elsewhere but right now there’s no way she’d agree to being pierced again.

I don’t write very well- could someone help me word an email and what I should say/ask for? I mainly want to stop this happening to someone other child but I’d also like my money back, not just free new piercing which can’t be goof
for her ear after a week? ☹️

thank you X

Basically this. There is no age limit on ear piercings but yet an 8yo is too young.

My parents took me to get my 1st done. My gran took me to my 2nd done. Then again my parents took me for my 3rd set. They weren't inline so I done my 4th on my own at 14.

This post is so concise, informative and well-written. Absolutely nailed it. So glad you touched on the fact that they sell poor quality jewellery and massively inflate the price and claim it’s the “best quality”. Many people have spoken about why guns are so dangerous and needles are far superior but you were the first person I read that highlighted the importance of surgical grade materials being needed. Too often gold and silver jewellery are touted as “the best” but in reality are just the most expensive they offer and the worst quality for healing, along with the butterfly back style that aren’t secure and don’t allow for swelling.

Claire’s are barbaric and myself like many others cannot believe they are still allowed to continue to do this. Hopefully they’re the next company to go out of business so this practice stops. They should be banned and am mind-blown that they haven’t been.

I would. I'd want to know good practice so if I rocked up to a piercing studio and there was evidence of BAD practice I'd spot it and know to not go through with someone ultimately doing something that could cause me pain, infection or a bigger medical issue. You don't need enough research to be getting an NVQ, just 10 minutes on google to find regulations and general consensus of opinion.

I've never had my ears pierced, don't have children, but even I know Claire's are the place NOT to go to for ear piercings.

There should be a minimum age for piercing. It's as bad as circimcision, yet parents are happy to mutilate their child.
But 'everyone does it', apparently.

There are some very knowledgeable and wise women on this thread.
I’m very sorry your little girl was so unlucky, @formula3— I hope she gets her new pierced ears lickety split.
I was 12 before my mum let me pierce mine, and our dentist did it. Mum bought a good pair of gold balls and the dentist sharpened them up and loaded my earlobes full of novocaíne and shoved the posts through.
That was a million years ago and they’re still good.

Yeah - okay.

Did you miss the part where the back of the earring is missing?

Did you miss the bit where OP said she had tried to put an earring in and it was bleeding ++ and causing pain to her daughter?

Get over yourself,

Contrary to your original post @formula3 you clearly write very well and need to give yourself a bit more credit

Try and get an earring back in. If it's already closed I'd probably take the other one out and let them both heal and when she's ready take her to a tattoo/ piercing shop where they use a needle and not a gun. I asked for mine to be done when I was 7, my mum took me to Claire's and a week later one earring fell out when I was playing at school. It was closed up by the time I got home a few hours later and I had to go back and get it repeirced. Had nothing but issues with the healing but now I'm older and have went to a tattoo shop for them (since had another 5) and never had a problem.

I don’t understand why so many people are saying take the other one out? She wants her ears pierced eventually so why deliberately have both re pierced rather than one? Genuine question because so many people are suggesting this

It really is. Yours being even younger doesn't make it ok.

I don't think giving a mother a kicking for going to Claire's is going to do any good. It's just going to upset the OP.

I also don't get the hate for modern guns. There seems to be a mantra of, "blunt force trauma" which clearly isn't true because the ear does get pierced.

Yes there can be issues with reusable guns and not always having a autoclave but most guns are now single use.

Also there is a lack of knowledge about what is and isn't sterile. I've yet to come across a piercer who has scrubbed and actually uses sterile gloves. So the second you touch the jewellery it is no longer sterile.

In fact the piercing needle is often not sterile. It arrives in sterile packaging but again, as soon as you touch it with non sterile gloves it is no longer sterile.

I understand the hate for people only having 10 mins training and not knowing about after care.

Complain and then let it heal and go to a tattoo/piercing studio where someone has actually taken a proper course in piercing and uses a needle and not a gun. I can't believe people still use Claire's for ear piercing!

I’d contact a professional piercer in your area most tattoo studios have a professional piercer, get their advice they may be able to re pierce it with a fine needle they don't use the gun type piercers that Claire’s use, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t charge anywhere near what you’ve paid and you really don’t need to purchase that solution they sell you at Claire’s,they will be fine just bathed in salt water Claire’s have had a terrible reputation for ear piercings for years my daughter had hers done there about 20 years ago ended up in A&E a week later having to have them removed they swelled up so much.she eventually had them done again afew years later when she was older at a professional piercers with a good reputation and done with a needle they can also numb the ears too I think so you don’t feel anything, anyone can buy those gun type piercers I’ve seen them on shiene and temu for less than £2.

They will. It's with parental permission and you'd be there

Hopefully this morning, once the Saturday night wine had worn off, this poster will withdraw from the thread.

Any thoughts she had that may have been valid, have been made pointless by her ridiculous onslaught of dramatic posts. Including ask OP if she would agree with her daughter sleeping around at age 14 or whatever.

Totally crazy and hope she wakes this morning with a sore head, reads back her posts, is totally embarrassed.

OP, my advice is take the other out, let them heal and rethink during the summer holidays.

I think that’s quite unusual. The ‘convention’ at my DC’s school and with everyone else I know is to do it in the summer holidays after they turn 11. No way I’d let my 7 year old get their ears pierced.

Get a grip! Withdraw from the thread! You’re derailing and being ridiculous.

You save your energies for people who really can’t “properly” parent, those are plentiful.

This is not a case of not being able to “properly” parent, it’s your ridiculous and dramatic reaction.

If you act like this over a pair of earrings, imagine when your child comes to you with something serious that they’ve made a decision on, give ahead and done it. Your OTT reaction will be not “properly” parenting!

Thank god you’re bowing out, I suggest a long walk to clear your head!

Sorry you had a bad experience at Claire's, I think you now know to do your research when and if your daughter decides to get her ears repierced.
I am not sure whether Claire's will give a refund, they might refund the piercing process but I think you will struggle to get them to refund the earring cost and cleaning solution, but good luck and you should definitely try.

Lots of children here either have their ears pierced as babies, or around the age of 8. Not sure why this has triggered so many people claiming this is abuse 🙄
I would suggest waiting til the start of the summer holidays, and that is what the headteacher of my children's school will often write in the end of term newsletter stating that this allows time for healing, as even if ours have studs, they must be removed or covered with tape (I know you said studs are allowed in your school, but you might want to check if they make them cover them as that can be uncomfortable too). If your daughter plays sport or goes to swimming lessons they may also have their own rules about jewellery, I believe any team that follows the FA rules for example makes children remove earrings.

It is a definite minefield. My daughter wants hers done and I have been trying to research but there is always a bad review. One of my friends got her daughter's done at H Samuel and it sounded good, but it still sounds like a gun system that I wasn't sure on. Similarly a few of the tattoo/piercing places I have looked at, also don't have perfect reviews, so it is tough to find somewhere that you can be completely confident in.

Jesus I didn’t think anyone went to Claire’s for ear piercing anymore! I wouldn’t let them pierce a bit of pineapple with a stick.
Letting some unqualified shop assistant loose with a piercing gun.

many don't, though and can't be faulted.

Well, given you’ve talked about her numerous medical procedures and blood tests and a consultant, personally I wouldn’t have messed with anything invasive, with an infection risk, without thinking about it in a lot more detail. Claire’s reviews can be found very easily. Anyway, you know that now. It’s a shame your DC has had to suffer in the meantime though.

I don’t understand how for some reason she isn’t ready if it “requires courage” for her to get them done? I wasn’t allowed my ears pierced until I was 18 (mad) and I then had them done with a gun. I was obviously a bit nervous because I didn’t know if it would hurt etc. I’ve since had (and taken out) a good number of piercings and I had to psych myself up every time because someone shoving a needle through various parts of your body is painful! Even when I got my nose pierced a few years ago when I was 27, I felt a bit wobbly afterwards. I don’t think a child needs to feel zero nerves whatsoever to get their ears pierced.

Also imo 8 isn’t particularly young. It’s your fucking earlobes. It’s hardly a tongue piercing. I probably wouldn’t let my kid get it done at that age but it’s also not shocking to me. There is such a disconnect between what’s normal in the real world and what’s insane, negligent parenting on here.

Disagree. My daughter wanted hers done and I felt she was mature enough to make a decision about her own body at a similar age.

I took her to a reputable piercing studio and it has been fine, apart from a few lost backs.

Body autonomy is not something that starts at an arbitrary age - we have it from birth.

So just as I disagree with piercing tiny babies, I stand by the decisions a capable, sensible 8 year old can make about their own body.

@formula3 leave the one that’s in alone and continue the aftercare on both holes.

Find a reputable piercer that works with children - some local to me start at 7, others 9 or 10 - and next time go there.

Why anyone pays more for a shop girl to use a gun than a proper, trained piercer is beyond me.