to let my DD get her ears pierced...

[PuppyMonkey]

... if she's 11 years old...?

YANBU. 11 is a good age to have your ears pierced. Tiny Clanger wants hers done for her 11th birthday, which is funny, because I was exactly the same.

I'm afraid I don't agree with piercing any part of a baby or toddler, either. It looks skeevy and something as personal and unnecessary as piercings should always be a choice.

Actually i think I just made that up! As I posted my sister called and I we got talking about piercings and apparently I had it done when I was a lot older. She sent me this picture over, apparently I had them done for my birthday and I am showing them off.. I'm not sure how old I am but that cake is impressive!

img184.imageshack.us/img184/6430/grinningxw7.jpg

Hang on there are six candles - maybe I am six in the picture! Completely didn't know I was that old when I had them done - I feel like my childhood has been rewritten - how bizarre!

Anyway sorry for the mini hi-jack - OP yes I think 11 is fine so long as you think she is mature and responsible enough?

Why were you thinking she might still be too young? xx

Secondary school is fine. Any later than that and out of frustration she will probably end up getting about ten piercings to make up for the wait!!

I used to teach secondary, and I would agree that the most common age is the summer holiday before they start secondary school s0 11/12 ish.

in some countries its normal to have the ears pierces when yo are a baby and you get your first earrings from grandmothers or godmothers. while i understand that some people want their children to make their own decision i dont understand the fuss about when is it the right time... just let her do it i would say.

I will not get it done with a gun. It takes ages to heal, and there is a high risk of it getting infected/scaring in an ugly manner.

If you decide to get her ears pierced at 11, go to a proper piercing specialist, it will cost more, but this her body we are talking about. If it goes wrong, she can be scarred for life.

I had my ears pierced several times with guns as I grew up, had infections in them, and now if I wear earings they become red and sore.

I had my nose pierced with a gun and it became infected and sore for a long time, had to take it out - this was done professionally and kept clean.

I had my nose pierced again, but this time with a needle by a professional piercer, and my lip peirced twice by a professional piercer, the healing time was signifantly quicker, it was much less painful afterwards.

A gun shocks the skin and increases the risk of it scaring to protect the site. A needle is slower and give the skin time to cope with the trauma and this healing time/scaring is reduced.

Of course I am not suggesting nose/lip piercings, and I personally think 11 is too young, but the principle of a needle is much cleaner, and it hurts no more/no less (in fact I thought less as there was no sudden jerk of a gun).

Mine was 9 and it was her choice.
11 is fine.

i think 11 is fine.
i went into town the other week and walked past a claires and there was this woman getting her twin daughters ears pierced, thing is the girls must only have been 6 months. im really against getting them done until the child can ask for it done.

I was 13, when my mum let me have mine done ....it was like a special thing for being a teenager. I don't think 11 is too young though. Hate seeing babies with them done

When they are old and brave enough to have it done by needle in a professional bodypiercing studio (ideally secondary school age). I don't want some teenager in Claire's Accessories let loose on my kids with a stud gun.

my DD1 hasnt got hers done and she is 12! however she does know plenty of girls in her class had them done when they were a baby! and some who dont have their ears done and dont want to!

.. also when i was 13 i went with a friend to have mine done never told my mum thourght she wouldnt mind and when i got home she made me take them out and not have them done until i was 16!!!!!

11 is fine - I think I was 13 by the time my mother relented. School holidays is definitely the time to do it so you don't have issues with swimming or PE lessons.

As for people who pierce their baby's ears - it's barbaric and should be banned IMO.

11 is fine. only one in each ear mind!

my mum said i could have my ears pierced the day i can afford it myself... found a fiver that day - result!

mine both had them done for there 4th birthdays. they were both old enough to understand that it would hurt and that i would have to clean them twice a day.

we took them to a proffesional body peircing shop (not a 16 year old in claires who points and hopes for the best) and have had no problem with them.

we are not chavs and dd's are only allowed little studs. i really cant see the problem with it from this age up.

i would never ppeirce a babys ears but once they are old enough to understand what it involves why not?

I had mine done at five and have managed to lead a fairly decent life despite this early setback

What's so magical about age 11? Either you agree with piercing a child's ears or you don't. My caveat would be that they have to be old enough to ask and understand what's going to happen.

Having my ears pierced is a fab memory for me. I remember it all vividly, right down to checking myself in all the shop windows on the way home.

I think 11 is probably ok - it would be my borderline decision at 11 years old, lowest age I would even contemplateit.

Can see no point in doing it before 11y and secondary school as DDs school have complete ban on all jewellry bar a watch. Besides I don't like them on little girls.

11 is ok amd I am dead strict [grin}

when I was having my ds one of the cleaners in the hospital was telling me that she let her 12 year old have her naval pierced!!!

The look on my face..........

And who exactly does the piercing when its a little baby? I would have thought there was a limit??

Def child abuse to a baby.What benfit do they get out of it and it really hurts

bad bad bad

i had mine done at 6 with a gun and had infections etc.they still get infected sometimes,25 years on,i cant wear anything but silver in them.

there is a little girl at parent and toddler who had hers done at 11 months.she is about 19 months now and had gold hoops in the other day.

i saw a little baby of about 6 months with pierced ears in tesco last week.i very loudly said to dd1 'look at that poor baby,how can anyone do that?'

i dont think inflicting uneccessary pain on a small child should be a matter of parental choice

my dd had them done last year when she was 9, she only wears studs and has taken care of them herself. It wasnt painful! She got them pierced in a chemist shop locally.

Claire's is hideously expensive... my dd's cost £25!!! We didn't shop around tho so maybe there are cheaper options.

Doing it over the summer holidays sounds like a sensible idea.

We decided DDs could have their ears pierced when they hit puberty - might as well have something nice to look forward to (blood, pain) as well as all the blood and pain.... Mind you I didn't start till 17 so I would have had a long wait!