AIBU to feel uneasy seeing a baby having his ear pierced?

[JoannaVictoria]

My 11 year old daughter has been asking for a long time about getting her ears pierced and I have given in.

Went into a chain store to have them done and there were two women and the piercing lady who was very young holding down a baby boy (he must have been about one) ready to pierce his ear.

AIBU Im thinking this isn’t right?

I know it’s legal etc and Im not a judgemental person but it just felt so wrong. Needless to say we left as I didn’t want to witness it. He was already screaming and thrashing around.

It just seems so unnecessary at that age. Other people in the store didn’t seem to have an issue with it.

I absolutely 💯 % agree with you. I'd have been very upset to see that @JoannaVictoria . What did your dd think?

Ought to be illegal I think.

Yah I agree I think it’s gross and unnecessary, and babies cannot consent to the procedure.

It's been done to death on MN.

It made her and my little boy uncomfortable and upset , they couldn’t get their head around the mother not stopping it as he was being very vocal and wanting to get off her lap .

I was born abroad where they pierce your ears right after birth if you're a girl! More hygienic and less drama than having it done at 11 in a supermarket.

And? We need to keep talking about this until it stops happening

It’s grim. Shame on any parents that do this.

Nobody should be getting their ears pierced at those places.

That’s irrelevant

I kind of wish I got my dd's ears pierced when she was a baby. She's 12 now, and she would love to have pierced ears, but she's too afraid of needles to get them done.

"AIBU Im thinking this isn’t right?"

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

What does this mean?

Well, it’s assault. There’s no other way to describe it.

But why take your daughter there rather than to a proper piercer? Those places are mank, the machines they use are shady AF and the staff practice on stuffed toys.

Body modifications aren’t really and area where you try to save a few ££. If you can’t afford to take your child to a proper place then just say no. Don’t cut corners with your child’s health FFS.

Wait till you hear about circumcision...

This and circumcision should be illegal- should not be carried out on a child who cannot provide consent

The non-consent issue is horrible and I know that there are cultural contexts but I don't think they outweigh the bodily autonomy of any individual, particularly one who cannot advocate on their own behalf. Plus their ears aren't fully developed so the holes move upwards as they grow, so usually the piercings become uneven as you can't predict the rate at which each ear will grow. Edited to add that I have nine piercings - I deliberately have one more in one ear than the other - and I would never go to an establishment that wasn't 18 and above. Vote with your feet people. Don't patronise somewhere that supports this practice.

So what?

Quite - I can think of plenty of others - street parking is a good example! I would never go on a thread all mealy-mouthed and say: "We've had this topic already!" People are free to discuss whatever they wish to discuss, if it's not for you then don't read the thread and don't comment!

The doctor who vaccinated my child told me babies forget pain very quickly 🤷🏾‍♀️.

Yes, while still in hospital so proper clean and experienced person.
I cannot comprehend why would someone take baby or child to random shop with barely trained staff for this tbh.

I can't disagree, but this thread is about to get spectacularly off the rails!

We’ve found a local business to go to now.

They use needles not guns and have a policy of not piercing children under the age of 7.

Tbh it wasn’t a decision based on money whatsoever. It’s around the same price at the other place.

YNBU to have felt uneasy and fled.

Didn’t take long …