How old to get ears pierced?

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

Belle is asking to get her ears pierced, she saw a little girl have it done at the mall and wants it done too. She's two and a half. DH is of course freaking out saying she can't have it done because she's his baby and she's too little - her response was "nuh uh, I'm a big girl, I want my ears pierced!!" Followed by the pathetic pouty face.

So, would you let her? I'm on the fence, I've had mine done 7 times, I was 5 when I had mine done the first time. We'd make it a girls day and take her Nana, Great-Grandma and Aunt, well maybe not the Aunt, she cried harder than I did when I had mine done. I just don't know, she's pretty insistant right now.

 

[Boo'sMom]

well, since you asked for opinions...I'd say she's too young. And I certainly wouldn't do it without DH's approval....that's just not fair to him.

IMHO, my DD would have to fully understand the commitment to having pierced ears before we'd agree to it.....2 1/2 doesn't seem old enough for that.

 

[nhrenee]

No. I think kids should wait until they can take care of their own ears. But honestly, I don't feel strongly one way or the other. Sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind already .

 

[BrerLizzie]

i would get them done young cuz my mom didnt get mine done and now i'm too scared to do it.. i prolly never will

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I am waiting until DD is old enough to take care of them herself.

 

[laurie31]

Both of my dds were two.

I had planned to wait until they were old enough to take care of them but dd1 BEGGED and BEGGED, and so we told her it would hurt. She didn't care. We told her she would have to take care of them. She promised she would. We told her if she still wanted them when she turned two, we would do it as a birthday present. We thought she'd forget about it by then. Fast forward a couple of months. Her birthday is coming to an end. She's had the cake, the presents, etc. She looks at me and said, "What about my earrings?! You promised!" Well, yes we did, so off we went to WalMart. The lady there was very dubious about piercing a 2 year-old's ears, but DD has a very high pain tolerance (this kid calmly held out her finger for a blood test at her 2 year old check up) and she did just fine. She also (with help of course) cleaned them each day for 6 weeks as she was instructed.

DD2 knew DD1 had gotten earrings for her birthday when she turned 2 and she wanted them for her 2nd birthday as well. However, she does NOT have her sister's pain tolerance. We took her to get them done, got one side done and that was the end of that. We had to go back the next day to get the other one done. We probably should have had them do both sides simultaneously but that seems so painful to me. We did ask her if she wanted to go back and get the other one, or just take out the one she had, and she wanted the other one. It took a lot of courage for her to go back, though.

Now they are glad they had them done when they were little. Neither of them remembers it, although I made pictures and they each have a page in their scrapbook of it. DD1 is already asking for a second set of holes, but we think she's too young for that

Laurie

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

My DD4 has wanted hers done since about that age also - but each time I remind her that it requires a needle - she changes her mind oddly enough. I'm guessing I have a couple more years that this will work for me.

 

[tiggerlover]

Originally posted by Boo'sMom
well, since you asked for opinions...I'd say she's too young. And I certainly wouldn't do it without DH's approval....that's just not fair to him.

I have to agree with this, I would never go forward if DH wasn't onboard with it. My SIL had here DD's done around 2 and they ended up getting infected and caused my niece a lot of pain. I am of the mind-set that it would be better when DD can take care of them herself. But that is just my two cents.

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

Originally posted by nhrenee
No. I think kids should wait until they can take care of their own ears. But honestly, I don't feel strongly one way or the other. Sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind already .

I haven't actually - I'm just not sure, part of me would take her just to get it over with because the girl never forgets anything! DH is against it not because he doesn't want it done but because he has to admit she's growing up and that's the last thing he wants! But on the other hand I don't want her to freak out - which is why I'd take everyone with me She does handle pain really well - she's had tests done that she barely wimpered at that I wouldn't have done as well with!

Nearly 8 years of raising a boy has spoiled me, this raising a girl thing is crazy!!

=

 

[aprilgail2]

I had my daughters done at 3 months old...never one problem with them....the younger you do it the better..once they get older they start tugging at them if they are not used to them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Discuss it with dh. Get a reasonable date set then tell dd yes but she has to wait until ?. Everybody wins.

 

[llij]

My mother would not let me get my ears pierced until I was 14!


I have two daughters and my rule was when they both turned 10 they could get them pierced. Well, my oldest almost 9 and she would ask me every once in awhile about getting her ears pierced. Now, my daughter has no tolerance for pain so I was very leary, but I relaxed the rule. She's did well and she has dutifully been taking care of them for the last six months. She even keeps track of her earings! Now, the youngest needs to be eight and I'm holding firm to that!

My biggest thing is that they can be responsible about cleaning their ears and avoiding infections.....

 

[Augustheather97]

I would wait....My 7 year old had it done in january and we are very strict in cleaning them like they should be and still they get infected a lot.......she even developed a big cysct on the back of her ear from the earring digging into the ear at night that got nasty.....I would wait till at least 6. I wish I had waited till 9

 

[mudnuri]

DD8 had to wait till she was 6, I figured by that age, not only was she able to care for them with minimal help from me, but also know when it hurt, should they become infected etc...

She got them done- screamed, that was over in about 15 seconds...then 1.5 years later, she took them out for something...basketball I think...and never put them back in. 2 months later she wanted me too, but it hurt so bad, we never got them in.

DD6 isnt interested at all- she watched DD8...DD8 decided that when she's 13 she'll get them done again...but who knows.

One thing I hate to see is little girls at school- talking 1st-2nd grade, with huge hoop earings on, they get hooked ONCE at recess, or gym class- and the ears getting ripped out!....I never let DD8 wear dangle earings, only VERY small hoops....

Brandy

 

[laurie31]

My DH had been wanting dd's ears pierced since she was 4 months old. He just thinks girls should have pierced ears. He likes the way it looks. I thought that was too young, and I worried about her pulling the earring out and choking on it. I know lots of people have their babies done, and they just watch them carefully, but I didn't want to do it that young.

DH's brother thought we were awful for "giving in" to her, but this was something we wanted for her all along. We (I, actually) just wanted to wait until it was her idea. She did understand about cleaning them and taking care of them. We wouldn't have agreed to something we didn't approve of just to shut her up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want her to have pierced ears anyway, then go for it. If you think they are only for older girls, then wait. My BIL's dd is 12 and still doesn't have them; she's envious of our girls for getting to wear fun earrings to match their outfits. BIL thinks one must be 18. It's amazing how different he and DH are.

Laurie

 

[ThAnswr]

I come from an ethnic group where girls had their ears pierced as babies. However, my DH was 9 when she her ears pierced and my great-niece was 1.

It's only 2 little pin pricks in someone's ear lobe and I think little girls look so cute with birthstone posts in their ears.

 

[Sabeking]

I don't know about the piercing thing but I'm excited because this is the first time I have ever heard of someone's child having the same name as mine! I have an Ellie too! Is it short for something else? My DD is Ellison.

 

[Trish5768]

We got our DD's done for her second b'day. Never had any problems. I agree though, make sure you and DH are on the same page with it before doing it.

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

Originally posted by Sabeking
I don't know about the piercing thing but I'm excited because this is the first time I have ever heard of someone's child having the same name as mine! I have an Ellie too! Is it short for something else? My DD is Ellison.

Ellie is actually Amelie, but Belle couldn't pronounce it! Now she calls her Aimee though!

 

[TandJ61574]

I too come from an ethnic group that has it done as babies. So my girls were about 2 weeks old. They didn't cry..just looked a bit startled. Never had any problems.