What's your opinion?

[Mother21xx]

What's ur opinion on getting a new born baby's ear pierced? ( no I am not thinking of doing it for me personally it isn't something I'd do :) ) I saw a video of a newborn getting it done on Facebook and was wondering what your views are?

@NuffSaidSam it is a cultural thing. Whether you like or not it's a fact. Different countries normalise different things. That's how the world is. What to you may sound outrageous in other cultures it's completely looked as normal. In African countries they force feed girls to make them more plump. To me, it's crazy and outrageous to them it's normal, like I said to each their own. You do what you like with your child because whether you agree with other parents or not they will continue to do what they like with their children. Also I know vaccinations and piercings are not the same thing I'm talking about the pain in case you didn't catch on. I like little earrings on girls I think it's cute. My own opinion.

lovely36 I'm not disagreeing it's a cultural practise. I'm just saying that's not a good enough excuse.

If something is wrong, it's wrong. Something being a cultural practise isn't an excuse to turn your brain off.

'To me, it's crazy and outrageous to them it's normal'

Normal doesn't mean it's good or right or healthy or should continue.

'like I said to each their own'

Absolutely agree! Let your daughter decide what she wants for her ear lobes. Practise what you preach!

Just no. No no no no no.

I didn't have mine done until I was 16 and I'm sorry but it stung like a BITCH. No way in hell would I out someone through that who hadn't explicitly asked for it doing knowing and understanding the pain and the aftercare.

Tantamount to child abuse in my book.

its a cultural thing

So is FGM.

It's a total breach of someone's body boundaries and autonomy for no good reason

@NuffSaidSam You're not understanding me. In our culture (Spanish) it's not looked at as bad. I got my ears pierced as a baby and so have all my sisters and friends. We all love them. Not one girl said "I hate them." Girls in our cultural like it. It's a fact. To me it's not horrible. Don't tell me what to do with MY children. Mind your own business. If you don't like piercings then don't pierce your child's. Btw I bet you have your ears perished. Hypocrite.

No, you're not understanding me. Just because a certain culture views something as acceptable doesn't make it right. As you said yourself, some cultures force feed their girls. That's not right. Some cultures circumcise their girls. That's not right. 'It's cultural' is not an excuse.

'Girls in our cultural like it. It's a fact.'

Girls in your culture have no choice. It's done before you can speak or think or have an opinion. A newborn baby can't say 'I hate them'. Which is exactly why you shouldn't do it.

You said yourself, each to their own. That was your own comment! All I'm saying is follow your own advice. Let your daughter choose for herself.

You've misunderstood hypocrisy as well. I'd be a hypocrite if I had pierced a child's ears. I haven't. I have nothing against ear piercing on adults or children old enough to give informed consent.

I'm glad you like your earrings and didn't suffer any ill effects.

Out of interest, what do you think would happen if you didn't pierce your baby's ears? Would it matter? Would she be shunned? Thought of as hideous with her plain human ears?!

@NuffSaidSam of course she wouldn't be shunned. You are like wayyyyy way over dramatising this as if I'm harming her sooooo much. I don't even have a daughter 😂 I said if I did I would get her ears pierced because I'm her mom and I can. The end. I like them. Stop trying to shove your beliefs down people's throats. People have different opinions and that's ok.

It could harm her sooo much if they get infected, go septic, get caught and tear her ear lobe. It's not a good idea.

It seems an unnecessary risk for something that has no other purpose than you quite like it. It's a real breach of her bodily autonomy because you think it's cute, that seems an odd thing to do to a child you supposedly love!

I'm willing to bet that if you did have a daughter you'd like her even without earrings! So the ear piercing is a completely unnecessary health risk.

If she's not cute enough au naturale you could always sellotape a bow to her head? Less risk of infection with that.

People have different opinions and that's ok

Except that sometimes it really isn't.

lOvely36 a cultural thing? Like FGM then.

Not something I'd personally ever do to any child of mine. But I think in some communities it's an important rite of passage and as it's something that is not really permanent and can be taken out when they are older if they dislike it... then I couldn't get that angry about it to be honest.

@lovely36 I would really be interested, and it appears I'm not the only one, in knowing what your 'opinion' on the 'cultural' practice of FGM is. Care to share?

Ugh.

I never understood the "reasoning" : It is fine because if they are very young they don't remember. By that logic you can also slap a baby and it is fine because they don't remember? It is not ok to do whatever you want to another person if they are not going to remember.

The same as getting a vaccine. The needle goes in deeper when getting vaccinated actually

What a comparison...vaccines saves lives and prevent illnesses

FGM is a 'cultural thing'. It turns out some cultural practises are not that great!

Exactly

1. unnecessary pain and risk to a child who can not consent
2. looks fucking tacky

It's a no from me

@lovely36 I am also spanish and it is true that it is such a common practise in Spain, and it is so extended that people don't think twice about it, that's the problem. When something is everywhere it looks normal, nobody thinks twice about it, you've got a girl and that's what you do, no question about it. But is that right? Why is it ok to pierce the ears but not another part of the body? Why is it ok to make a hole in each ear but not more than one in each ear? A piercing is a piercing.

I didn't have my ears pierced when I was a baby (very very uncommon in Spain) and I had it done when I was 15, it was never a problem for me and actually, as an adult, I really really appreciate that my parents didn't do it.

The reality is that the only argument to do it is that you like it and rightly (in my opinion) a lot of people thing that inflicting any pain in a baby just because you like something is not great. Also, you need to understand that this is an UK forum and here that practice is not that common and it is frown upon, it is a cultural difference. I do understand that for you it is normal and that there is no harm on it, but this is only because it is something so normalized in your (our) culture. There are many other cultural practices from other countries that I am sure people in that culture think it is perfectly normal and you would think it is horrendous.

Culture or not I think it's nasty and Cruel and you gain nothing from it other than making ur baby cry and having to stop it getting infected