Piercing baby's ears??

[waltskids]

DD is 3.5 months old and DH and I would like to get DD's ears pierced when she is 6 months old (that is what our dr. recommended). After talking to some people though, it got me thinking. I have heard people say let the child decide if they want holes in their ears and the concern for keeping them clean and not infected also keeps coming up. What have all of you done in terms of ear piercing? Our first child is a boy so we haven't had to deal with this yet. TIA

 

[mjkacmom]

I waited, and now regret it. A lot of girls here get their ears pierced as infants. Dd13 had hers done twice now - the first time they got infected. Dd8 has had them done twice, and they're closed up again - she had to keep taking them out for sports before her ears were totally healed. Wish I had done it when they were babies!

 

[afeld111781]

I was in Claires a week ago and there was a couple ladies in there getting one of their approx 6 month old's ears pierced and I am telling you I can still hear the screams and crys of that poor little girl...not only while getting it done but also as I saw her through out the mall later on. It was a horrible sound that I cant forget, Me and another lady in the store just looked at each other and said "its just not worth it" for what really...the moms pleasure because the girl really could care less at 6 months. I have an alomost 5 year old girl that doesnt even ask to get her ears pierced yet and until she does she wont get them....if she does ask I will certainly take her whenever shes ready after explaining to her that it WILL in fact hurt a little. Not to mention the care afterwards. I know I had problems when I was a kid with infections and that HURT and I was 10 or so when I got it done the first time...I cant personally imagine inflicting that pain on purpose of my baby for vanity reasons. Just my opinion and I def understand other people think differently than me but I HATE seeing my kids in pain and would never want to cause it.

 

[allyphoe]

I personally am not a fan of permanent body modifications for kids who are too young to have any meaningful input into the decision.

That said, I'd either do it as young as possible (I believe it's not uncommon to get piercings within a week of birth) or as old as possible. You don't want a young child playing with an unhealed piercing.

 

[kevschickee]

I was in Claires a week ago and there was a couple ladies in there getting one of their approx 6 month old's ears pierced and I am telling you I can still hear the screams and crys of that poor little girl...not only while getting it done but also as I saw her through out the mall later on. It was a horrible sound that I cant forget, Me and another lady in the store just looked at each other and said "its just not worth it" for what really...the moms pleasure because the girl really could care less at 6 months. I have an alomost 5 year old girl that doesnt even ask to get her ears pierced yet and until she does she wont get them....if she does ask I will certainly take her whenever shes ready after explaining to her that it WILL in fact hurt a little. Not to mention the care afterwards. I know I had problems when I was a kid with infections and that HURT and I was 10 or so when I got it done the first time...I cant personally imagine inflicting that pain on purpose of my baby for vanity reasons. Just my opinion and I def understand other people think differently than me but I HATE seeing my kids in pain and would never want to cause it.

My babies got it done at 6 months and I can tell you they cried for less than 2 min and that was it. As for the care it is much easier when they are babies then when they are bigger plus they get used to them and never play with them. That baby may have had other issues other than getting her ears pierced. My pediatrician actually pierced the girls ears and we had no issues.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I'm against it. There isn't any purpose to doing it while they are little, and shouldn't everyone have the right to make their own decisions about body modifications that are merely cosmetic.

 

[brockash]

When our dd was born, it never even dawned on me to think about piercing her ears. I got mine pierced when I was 10, because I wanted to, and the same with my sisters ect. One day my husband brought it up, and apparently had thought that we'd automatically get her ears pierced. Well we didn't, and won't be until she says she wants them, and even then, it'll be something that I'll have her really think about and discuss how she'll need to take care of them ect. I haven't set an age in my mind yet, but she's only 2.5, so we'll see if/when we cross that bridge. I will say, I do think little girls do look pretty cute with them, but personally I wouldn't feel right making the decision that she has to have holes in her ears.

 

[Motherofboys]

I'm against it. There isn't any purpose to doing it while they are little, and shouldn't everyone have the right to make their own decisions about body modifications that are merely cosmetic.

I totally agree

I never wanted my ears pierced and I grew up in the 80's/early 90's when 90% of my friends had their's pierced. I thought it was stupid then and I think it is stupid now!

Seriously, I would have been ticked if my mom had gotten my ears pierced for me. I don't get how it is a parent's choice to make for their child???

It's not the same as picking out their clothes, haircut, etc. in my opinion. It's like getting your child a tatoo! Sure she can have it removed later, but why put her through the pain for something she might not even want?

 

[kevschickee]

I am Portugues and this is part of out traditions. I know its part of other traditions especially hispanic families.

 

[indimom]

I have no personal opinion either way, but I thought I'd give you one other thought to ponder. A friend of mine had identical twin girls. To avoid mixing the girls up, my friend pierced their ears. One wore blue, the other red. One of the girls never touched her piercings, but the other ATE hers numerous times over a couple months. (They were not lost, she "found" them back every time!) She finally gave up on it and let her piercings grow shut. So while some babies may leave them be, others may not. Just food for thought. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[look1angel]

Got mine done when I was 16, because my mom refused to let me get it done any earlier!

My mother never got her ears pierced she wore those painful clip ons or screw on ones!

I have 2 girls, the first got hers done around 3 & the other around 1. My x husband is hispanic so it was the norm for his family, the fact that I waited so long for the first one baffled them. I went to a place (drugstore in Jersey)where they pierced both ears at the same time.

I would have probably waited since it was a hassle to have to clean them all the time when they were small. Now they have double piercings plus the one up higher on the ear. Then again they are 23 & 26

To each his own I say

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Got mine done when I was 16, because my mom refused to let me get it done any earlier!

My mother never got her ears pierced she wore those painful clip ons or screw on ones!

I have 2 girls, the first got hers done around 3 & the other around 1. My x husband is hispanic so it was the norm for his family, the fact that I waited so long for the first one baffled them. I went to a place (drugstore in Jersey)where they pierced both ears at the same time.

I would have probably waited since it was a hassle to have to clean them all the time when they were small. Now they have double piercings plus the one up higher on the ear. Then again they are 23 & 26

To each his own I say

lol, does that include the ones being pierced?

 

[pixiewings71]

I have 3 girls, I didn't pierce their ears, they chose when to do it. All my girls have sensitive ears (like me) and are prone to issues if they wear "cheap" earrings, it took a long time for them to heal but they did and the girls are happy they got them done, they are also happy they waited. It's my feeling that piercings are personal and each person should chose to have them or not. I understand it's tradition for some but it's personal for me. And I have multiple piercings of my own, twice in my lobes, my cartiledge and tragus on my right ear and my belly button.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

we had both of our girls done at 3-4 months old. My niece was the manager for claires and went in on her day off and we had 2 people on to do them both at the same time. She cried for less than a minute, the 2nd dd was done at walmart and we had 2 people on and they also were done at the same time with the same result, tears for less than a minute. Care afterwards was so easy, it became part of bathtime routine. My girls are now 8 and 4 and have no issues with them at all. I say make sure you go to a place that has 2 people available for peircing. I know at our local piercing pagoda they will not pierce infants unless they have 2 people available.

 

[mjkacmom]

For those of you who say no, they won't inflict pain on a baby for purely cosmetic reasons, do you believe it's okay to circumcise baby boys? Ear holes can close up - foreskins do not grow back (and I did have my boys circumcised, for cosmetic reasons).

 

[Ashlander]

Our girls are 6 & 4 right now and we still do not have their ears pierced. I just didn't see the need to have ears pierced so early in their life. We will wait until 1) our daughters ask to get them done and 2) they are responsible enough to take care of their ears and earrings. None of their friends have their ears pierced so they don't feel like they are missing out on anything.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

For those of you who say no, they won't inflict pain on a baby for purely cosmetic reasons, do you believe it's okay to circumcise baby boys? Ear holes can close up - foreskins do not grow back (and I did have my boys circumcised, for cosmetic reasons).

Not okay to circumsize for a cosmetic reason. I would never alter a normal babies body for "looks".

Would you tattoo a bady because it is cute?

 

[Motherofboys]

For those of you who say no, they won't inflict pain on a baby for purely cosmetic reasons, do you believe it's okay to circumcise baby boys? Ear holes can close up - foreskins do not grow back (and I did have my boys circumcised, for cosmetic reasons).

I thought about this too when writing my post, but I didn't have my sons circumcised for cosmetic reasons.

I had them circumcised for health reasons. I know mother's who had sons left "natural" and they did have issues with infections, grooming issues, etc. I didn't want to take those risks or any potential risks for later in life (std, etc). I know a mom who had her son done at 6 after several infections, it was a major ordeal and he was very traumatized by it.

Not really the same thing in my opinion.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

For those of you who say no, they won't inflict pain on a baby for purely cosmetic reasons, do you believe it's okay to circumcise baby boys? Ear holes can close up - foreskins do not grow back (and I did have my boys circumcised, for cosmetic reasons).

One of my boys is, for medical reasons. The others are intact until they might make the change.

My ears have not earrings in them for 25 years due to allergies, they still have holes, and they still get infected.

 

[okeydokey]

I let my DD decide and she had them done at 9. I wouldn't make that decision for her because they are her ears, not mine.