Would it bother you if your teenager pierced their own ear?

[Minnie824]

My friend and I were having a discussion, and I'm just curious how others felt on it. Her DD is 15 and went on vacation w/her friend and friends family for 2 weeks. She came back and apparently had pierced her own ear..not at some place while on vacation, but she did it herself. She already had her ears pierced, just added another hole. Now, my oldest is 7, so maybe I'll feel different later, but I asked my friend if her daughter was in trouble and her response was "It could have been worse. You have to pick your battles." To me, this would probably be a battle. I mean, how safe is that? If she went somewhere and got her ears pierced again, it wouldn't bother me...what would bother me is she did it herself. Yeah, it could be worse, but that doesn't make it ok. Anyway, just wondering if it would bother others or not.

 

[jel0511]

My DD is 11, and I agree with your friend. When I was DD's age some people still were piercing their own ears. As long as she keeps it clean and doesn't get an infection, I'd have no problem with it. It's not like she was doing anything serious like cutting herself.

 

[mickeyboat]

Nope it would not bother me. I might tell her that it wasn't a great choice (because of infection) and offer to take her to a piercing place if she wants to do it again, but I wouldn't have a fit about it. There are definitely bigger battles.

 

[XYSRUS]

Wouldn't be an issue in my house...when I was 12 I pierced my ears at home. After I did the first one I felt a little woozy and called my mom to fess up and get some sympathy. Her response...when you feel better make sure you do the other one so you don't look stupid! My mom was way a head of her time!

 

[Boo'sMom]

Nope, wouldn't bother me....probably because i was the designated "ear piercer" of friends in high school.
Not a battle I'd have, and my daughter is 9

 

[HM]

Yep.
We took our DD to the dermatologist to have hers done when she was eight (she is now almost 14). While she lives with us, she is not to get any more holes in her ears and she knows it. So, yeah, she'd be in big trouble.

 

[luvmy3]

No wouldn't bother me at all, unless I found out she used a needle that someone else used to do theirs right beforehand.
Self ear peircing was very common when I was younger. An ice cube,a needle and a hunk of potato and you are all set. I imagine girls still do it today.

 

[robinb]

For me it would be a battle. Only because of the unsanitary nature of back-room piercing (reusing needles, etc). I wouldn't care if my 15-year old had another hole put in, but I would have it done someplace safe.

 

[kafitty]

i did most of the holes in my ears myself. i think most people are smart enough to think about pain/sanitary conditions, so they use ice and wash their stuff before doing it.

i never had any problems. i do regret doing my cartiledge myself, because you really need a hollow point needle to remove the mass, so now my ear is a little funky because it just got moved to the side. nothing noticeable, but sometimes i'm like "ah crud why'd i do that", ya know?

per my usual disclaimer, i am not a parent, but i would say this really wouldn't be something to get too upset over, but i guess it should warrant a "hey dummy remember germs" conversation.

 

[tazdev3225]

That wouldn't bother me at all. When my DD was younger she pierced her own eyebrow. I came downstairs to find a huge safety pin sticking out over her eye. After the initial shock because the idea of the pain made me a little woozy, I took her to have it done by a professional piercer. It's a phase kids go through and she hasn't worn an eyebrow ring for a couple of years. Now she is getting her belly button pierced. I just told her to make sure the guy was clean. She is an adult now and I have long gotten past her trying to shock me. I had other battles with her that were far more serious. This wouldn't even qualify as being worth the effort.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I'm not a parent, so I can't say exactly how I'd feel if it were my kid, but when I was 16, I pierced my own ear twice (I wanted to have 3 piercings in my left ear; I already had 2 in the right). My mother continually said no, so I came home from work one night, iced my ear down, and popped my old piercing studs through. Now, I did soak them in alcohol for the 15 minutes I iced my ear...

My mother found out a week later. Her reaction was, "Huh...it's kind of cute." They never got infected like my professional ones did, and almost 20 years later, I still have them.

 

[sbell111]

... Her response...when you feel better make sure you do the other one so you don't look stupid! My mom was way a head of her time!

I love that response.

I also totally agree with the OP's friend. The only reason we would get upset by this is if getting a second piercing had been discussed and we had told her that she couldn't have it done.

I also agree with those that would use the opportunity to have a germs talk.

 

[boltfans]

Since I did the same thing when I was about 15yo, I wouldn't really care. In my case I had the first holes done when I was about 6yo (my mom's choice more than mine), then when I was 12yo she let me get 2nd holes put in. Both times she took me to a dr to get it done. The 2nd set ended up closing up because I played sports year round and after the initial 6 weeks or whatever I took them out and rarely put any back in because it was just a pain to have to take them out for soccer practice or whatever. So when I was 14 or 15, when the hole was long since gone, I decided to repierce them myself so I took a pin and an ice cube and that was that. My mom would have taken me to redo them, I just didn't really care that much. She found out about it later and thought I was nuts, but she didn't get mad or anything, just couldn't believe I'd rather stick myself than have it done professionally.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I don't think the actual piercing would bother me. However if it did get infected then my teen would be paying out of pocket for the DR's visit.

 

[Darsa]

Ack ack ack!! Wouldn't bother me if she wanted to do it but I know she wouldn't do it because she's like me and gets completely at the thought of "mutilating" herself LOL Her first earring holes were a challenge; I know she wants a second set but she just doesn't dare

 

[luvsJack]

My younger son put two holes in both ears and one in the top of one ear during football practice in 7th grade. It really wasn't an issue for me, except for school rules which do not allow boys to wear earrings. So we all had a talk and told him that he could keep one and everybody was happy.

 

[robinb]

i did most of the holes in my ears myself. i think most people are smart enough to think about pain/sanitary conditions, so they use ice and wash their stuff before doing it.

I have to disagree. I don't think that most teenagers or pre-teens think about getting an infection due to an unsanitary conditions or AIDS (or other blood borne illnesses) by sharing a needle with an infected person.

 

[paintnolish]

Nah. Been there, done that...myself! My friend also pierced her own nose! Both of us are successful unscarred women today.