Ear Piercing and Baby's

[JeniC]

DD is 4 months old and DH wants to get her ears pierced. I am against it because she would have to sleep in them and that is painfull. DH thinks it would be best to do it now while she's little that way she won't remember how much it hurts. I got mine done when I was 10 and I think that is an appropriate age.

What is an appropriate age to get a little girls ear pierced?

 

[Jenn Lynn]

My DD is 2 and she does not have hers pierced. I did think about doing it, but changed my mind. I could just picture her pulling on them. Plus I did not want to have to mess with keeping them clean and turning them.

I plan on waiting until she asks for them.

 

[JohnTBap]

I would wait until at least 10, and she would have to ask for it. Repeatedly. Then I would schedule an appointment with the pediatrician. JMO.

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

As my 86 yr old dad would say " If God would have wanted her to have earring in her ears she would of been born with them" I think that is to young, I don't have a daughter but I think 10 or 11 is better

 

[Kermit]

I would also wait. I know that in some cultures it's customary to pierce ears early, but I wouldn't want to do it. Another reason to delay it is because your DD would be much more likely to have allergies to metals commonly found in earing posts, like nickel, if she gets them done early.

The pain from having your ears pierced really isn't that bad, so it's not like it will be traumatic for her if she waits. And if it were really painful, it would be something that you would want to let people decide for themselves rather than imposing on them.

 

[Evil Princess]

I always thought it was mean to pierce a baby's ears, especially considering they have no say in the matter. They are holes in their ears, it's not like you're buying the girl a new bib or something

Factor in the cleaning and the risk of her tugging them, and I'd wait until she said something to you. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

 

[SDAngel101]

I waited untill i was 10 to get my ears peirced.. and then 1y for the 2nd hole. I think that you should wait untill she asks for them.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I have 2 DDs (4.5 yrs and 21 months). Neither have pierced ears, and neither will until around 10 (I hope). Older DD is a very "Girly" girl, and she likes wearing dresses and nailpolish and earrings. You can find sheets of stick on jewelry just about everywhere, and DD4 loves her "earrings." All I have to do is unstick them from her hair! LOL

 

[disykat]

I wouldn't consider allowing until at least 13. Personally, I believe jewelry isn't appropriate until then unless it is a cultural thing. I can't tell you how much trauma I've witnessed with young girls losing jewelry at school (usually the backs of their earings).

 

[JeniC]

Thanks everyone! I made DH read this and I think he now realizes that what I was saying is right. Which is an unusal occurance in my house We're going to wait until she's 10 or until she starts asking and is old enough to take care of them herself.

 

[Princess_Aurora]

My DD is 5 and I plan on waiting until she's old enough to take care of the ears herself. She has already asked for them because she has a friend that has them, but once I explained how it was done she quickly changed her mind about it! I always thought it was best for girls to decide on their own if they want ears pierced.

 

[Antonia]

So glad you resisted DH's suggestion. I am a surgery nurse and it is miserable for me to see parents have to get those ear rings out of baby's ears prior to surgery. Most of the time it is a struggle for the parents to get them out and the baby winds up crying and then they are all upset prior to surgery from getting ear rings out. One parent actually asked if we could take the ear rings out after putting the child to sleep because she cried so much as they were trying to take them out. Babies and little girls do not like ear rings when they have to be removed. I see it nearly everyday. Wise decision, mom!

 

[disneyjunkie]

I would do it. My sister and I had our ears done when we were 5 and 4; very late for our family. The girls in my family get their ears pierced before they are one.

The main reason I'd do it early is because the increased risk of keloids by waiting to do it later.

 

[Laura]

Originally posted by JeniC
Thanks everyone! I made DH read this and I think he now realizes that what I was saying is right. Which is an unusal occurance in my house We're going to wait until she's 10 or until she starts asking and is old enough to take care of them herself.

I'm glad you two decided to go that route. Personally I'd be worried about a toddler pulling out an earring and swallowing or choking on it!

 

[MosMom]

My neighbor's neice has her ears pierced (1 year...has had them done for quite some time) and constantly loses them. I was over there while my neighbor was watching her and we noticed an earring that had been there was now gone. We looked everywhere and it was gone. Her mother came to get her and laughed about it saying that they dissapear all the time and she is pretty sure she is eating them. This earring was pretty big too...big enough to choke on!

I'm glad you talked hubby out of it. Besides, our kids are growing up faster than ever...might as well hang on to little unpierced babies as long as we can (before they come home with a bull hoop through their nose).

 

[jcemom]

DD is 9 mos and I am SO SICK of people asking when I'm getting her ears pierced!

She will need to be AT LEAST 10. I had mine done when I was 5 or 6 and had nothing but trouble. I am allergic to all but 14K gold, and still have troubles with one ear occasionally getting infected. I would not want to deal with that with my baby, not to mention her discomfort.

I have no real problem with others who want to get their babies ears pierced, but not MY baby! Luckily, DH agrees.

 

[Disneydenise]

My DD is now 19 and when she was a baby I wanted to get her ears pierced. I wanted her to look more like a girl, she was bald until she was 3. I got them pierced at 7 and she had an infection from the metal. It was painful but we learned that she needed to wear either sterling or 14 karat post. Fast forward to the lovely teen years and she goes to the local tatoo place and gets her belly button pierced. I am thrilled that it hasn't gotten infected but I thought secretly that due to all the trouble she had with the ears she wouldn't get another piercing. Now I am praying she doesn't do her face. I really donot enjoy these years. She use to be sensible but I swear the minute she got accepted to a college she lost all of her brains.

 

[AspiringCindy]

All my DDs have pierced ears. DD#1 and #2 got their ears pierced when each one turned 4 years old. We never had a problem! When DD # 3 was born(7 years later), we decided to have them pierced by the pediatric physician when she was 6 months old. She is now 2 and has never pulled on them, lost an earring or developed any type of allergy. My oldest(who is now 10) just recently started developing some kind of allergy leading to lobe infections, so we decided to let the holes close! She will try again when she is a teenager(if she wants)! I guess what I am trying to say is: that it is a personal choice and decision! If you don't think you want to have them pierced, then don't!

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by AspiringCindy
I guess what I am trying to say is: that it is a personal choice and decision! If you don't think you want to have them pierced, then don't!

Yep!

 

[Talking Hands]

Both of my daughters had their ears pierced before the age of 1 and never has a prblem with them. They are now both adults. It is very common in our community for infant girls to have their ears pierced. Contrary to popular belief it does not bother the child's sleeping. Btw the youngeest had hers pierced at her first doctor's visit. The older one we had to wait until she was 6 months as she was a preemie.