how old was your child when they had pierced ears?

[nappyaddict]

and how old were they when they could care for them themselves?

my 6 year old is asking but I have said she has to be 12
I was told by my mum that I couldn't have them till I was 16, she let me have them for my 15th birthday
I wont let dd1 at 6 because I don't think she will be able to care for them properly herself yet and I don't think I can take on anything more at the mo that I have to look after and worry about

My sister had hers done at 11, when she started secondary school about a year ago. She looks after them fine and is very mature.

Would not put them on anyone younger. I had mine done at 16.

Had mine done at 14 or thereabouts. Wouldn't let me dd have hers done until she's much older (she's 5 now) but she hasnt asked yet either.

She wouldn't let me!

I had to be in work and earning my own money (we didn't get pocket money) before I could go and have it done - so 17 for me.

What really hacked me off, having been through the arguments and stress with mum over it all, was that my younger sister was then allowed to have hers done as a birthday present - she was 13!

I was only 16 when i had Ds, and he had his ear pierced at 3

I have a nearly 3 year old Dd now, (im 30)
I wouldnt dream of piercing her ears!
I think if she asks and if i think she is old enough to understand how to care for them, then we will ask daddy!!

I got mine done at 15/16. Dsd just had them done for her 9th birthday. Both her dad and I thought it was too young, but I think she played off her mum against her dad to do it. Problem is that she isn't responsible enough to take proper care of them and doesn't have enough money to afford anything other than cheap earrings so they keep getting infected.

I think there is a recommendation which my dsc keep quoting to me that you can be left by yourself when you're 12 and in charge of another child when you're 14... No idea where it says that though...

DD was 11 and it was a going to high school treat here too. She was about the last in her class. We did it in the summer hols as you do need time to look after them. She doesn't bother much about them now and changes her earrings about once a week max. Was painless all round.

my dd is 2 and far too young i think, as she doesnt understand, but i was 3 when i had mine done, i nagged my mum for ages, and apparantly i was as good as gold with them [halo emoticon]

I stupidly said 9 to my dd, just to try and put her off...However she's practically marking the days off her calendar..it was 2 yrs ago I said it...she's just 7 now. What have I done??!!!

The bad thing is I had mine done at 6, but we lived abroad and it was the thing to do there... (and yes I'm franctically trying to insist my mum was NOT a chav!)

IMHO its only the chav mum's who have their daughter |(and son's) ears done at dd's infant school.. the reponse is usually, "it'll 'urt 'em less if ya get 'em done when they're babbies" Almost like its a rite of passage

I actually think the older the better but its tough doo-dahs for me now that dd has a date and to be honest I was fine, sticky and scabby for a few months but that's to be expected when you insert a foreign body into a flap, no?!

so are we thinking an 8 year old wouldn't be able to care for them herself?

Lizzer, I totally agree with you re. the chav thing, but I'm glad you said it first. The exception is the Mediterranean/eastern Europe children, of which dds school has a lot, for whom it seems the cultural norm to have them pierced asap.

Otherwise, do you remember those headband things that mothers used to put round their six week old babies' heads a few years back? They almost always seemed to have had their ears pierced, too >

BTW I was ten when I had mine pierced, by a man who marked the spot with the charcoal from a burnt out match! But apparently, according to my mum, he was the man who pierced the Queen's ears, so that was alright

and at 10 did you look after and clean them yourself?

No. Mum did.

I was 10 and my mother looked after them. It took me ages to be able to change them.

My sister was 14 and she could look after them herself.

I wouldn't dream of letting my DD have hers done at 10

My dd was 11, and looked after them, I was 16 - my dad insisted!!!

I told my dd she couldn't have them til she was 16, but she managed to get round us at 14.

They don't!. As it is my eldest will probably have them first as he's the only one who has expressed an interest . DD will probably retain virgin lobes for ever like her mum.