to think it's inappropriate for a 4 year old boy to be wearing an earring to school?

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Because I do. Maybe I should go off and read the Daily Mail but it just seems inappropriate at that age.

StewieGriffinsMom you are misguided if you think studs are safe. Safer than hoops yes, but studs can still cause damage, especially in young children.

We often saw young children with problems caused by stud earrings when I worked in A&E - they can get pushed inside the hole, and if they get caught they can tear the lobe just as a hoop would. I saw a child with a torn earlobe caused by her stud catching as she pulled her jumper over her head for PE.

If people want to dress their dolly child up to look pretty then do it at weekends when they are your responsibility, not the schools.

I do know that Stewie - my ds is of mixed heritage but looks white so if you didn't see his dad you wouldn't know that. BUT I have seen both this boy's parents at drop off time. He has blond hair. I am very well-versed with the way genetics can present themselves in unexpected ways but this boy is very very unlikely to be of Asian heritage.
So his parents might be Hindus anyway, but having an earring is a cultural thing not a religious matter. Go figure.

Anyway I don't want to get into a discussion of this sort of thing.

Let's assume it's not a cultural issue.

Oh OK yes maybe it's a Scottish cultural thing. His parents could be from that background but I don't know either way. Fair enough but I still think it looks off.

LOL@this thread

I'd value any cultures' traditions equally be they Scottish or Asian.

I still don't think it's nice for a four year old to be wearing an earring to school. I think it's too young. Sorry.

I think you are referring to me mentioning Hinduism rather than saying 'Asian'. This is because iirc earrings are typically a custom in Hindu communities and I was giving this as an example not suggesting that his family might not be following traditions from another Asian culture.
There is enormous diversity, as I'm sure you know, in 'Asian' cultures and religions and it is quite irritating when people lump them all in together.

"religion is part of culture but culture is more than religion"

I agree on that point and wish more people understood that.

My two penn'orth would be:

I quite like piercings (& tattoos, & 'extreme'/individual hair, etc etc), on adults.

However, I think that very small children should NOT have piercings. SGM is correct that ear piercing is endemic in all sorts of cultures - however, I've yet to see a convincing argument that the sky would fall if children whose parents belong to these cultures left it until their dc were old enough to express an opinion.

On the other hand I wouldn't jump to conclusions about the background of a child who happened to have pierced ears. It is often referenced in a snobby way on here, which I don't think is particularly helpful.

Inappropriate? No. Naff? Yes.

My ears were pierced when I was a baby. It's tradition in many African cultures. I wouldn't do it if I had a daughter, but at least it means I've had a lifetime of wearing fabulous earrings.

Ah then we are saying the same thing about that (sorry I was really tired last night and it was late!)

I guess fundamentally this is a minor version of the argument as to where the line should be drawn with respecting people's cultures versus school and societal rules.

no more inappropriate than a 4 year old girl imo

Wow, a lot of parents here in the US get their baby girl's ears pierced while they are babies. There are lots of young boys here that have their ears pierced. Not really an issue. I think most want to look like Daddy or maybe an Uncle.

we have some at baby group with them........................