Ear Piercing... - Uniontown,PA

I used to be the mom that said they are her ears to pierce and she need to be old enough to choose... HOWEVER... my daughter finally got up the guts to get her ears pierced at 9 years old and it did not go well. She fiddled with them until she almost worked them out of her ears and we ended up taking them out. I don't know if they will heal completely and she'll be able to get them re-pierced or not.
She has asked me... "why didn't you get my ears pierced when I was a baby???" And I stood by my answer of... "they aren't my ears to pierce." But I kinda wish I had done it then. Apparently babies don't even notice them and it's not a big deal. But I don't know about 13 months... that might be a whole other thing.
So, sorry I don't have advice about it. I just wanted to say that I see both sides of the argument... and I don't think you're a bad Mom.

I also want to add that I find it frustrating that this site is becoming more and more about people criticizing others for their choices and less about giving advice and support. The question wasn't about whether you should do it or not. In fact you clearly asked for people not to read you the riot act for the choice you're making. If people don't have anything constructive to add or if they can't do it in a kind, helpful way, I wish they'd just skip it instead of making every post their soap box. Ok, I'm off mine now...

I have to wonder if some of those criticizing you have had their sons circumcised. I don't see too much of a difference except the latter is not reversible!

Not my cup of tea but I don't judge you for doing it and I can't deny it is pretty cute. Good luck!

Add: I like avncavwife's answer. Good points, and sounds healthier and safer all around.

ORIGINAL: For me, it was a cool coming-of-age thing to wait till 11 or so. You're old enough to pick them, take care of them, and put up with the pain.

Honestly, I don't get the infant ear piercing thing. It's a quick pinch, that can also be a low throb for hours. Just because you can't remember when yours were done, doesn't mean it didn't hurt. They could play with them and hurt themselves. And I remember mine getting infected as a teenager - I could not imagine risking that kind of pain for a toddler who doesn't understand why it's happening.

Just for these reasons alone, I would wait and let it be when SHE asks for it. It'll be a mommy-daughter bonding thing then, and not a painful decoration now.

L., I don't have any advice for you, but you are not horrible for suggesting that you do the piercing while she sleeps.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I am really upset that people are so harsh about this. If you are a bad mom, then I must be the MOST WRETCHED of evil parents, because I sometimes change my kids insulin pumps in the middle of the night, while they are asleep. Yup, big ol' needle, launched into their skin, while they sleep. It's way more traumatic than an ear piercing. Granted, they need that to stay alive, but it's the same concept as a piercing. It's NOT mean, unsafe, or horrible to do while they are asleep. Oops! Forgot to add an important detail.....most of the time, they don't even wake up and are spared the pain and stress. Go figure! :)

Do what you think is best, L.. And welcome back! You've been missed around here! :)

While I think babies look adorable w/their ears pierced, now that I have a daughter on the way, I'm really thinking it's not a great idea for the reasons you yourself mentioned.

I got mine done when I was 8 and I distinctly remember having trouble sleeping bc the posts dug into the back of my head. How would a baby deal with this? I think that pulling them and having them catch on things would be a huge concern when the child is not old enough to be aware and avoid activities where this could be a risk.

Nope, not worth it for a cosmetic thing. I now understand why my parents had us wait until we were old enough to appreciate it, take care of them, and be careful.

I'm just going to keep this in a text file to c/p from now on. lol And I say all this as a mother who's had to deal with my ex-husband surprising my daughter with piercings and never taking care of them, and as someone who has four holes in each ear.

Hoboy, another piercing question. This is kind of my "soapbox" issue, so...warned? lol Here's the answer I give to...well everyone.

Please reconsider getting your kiddo pierced. Her choice or not. "Traditional" piercings done with a gun aren't healthy and can cause keloid scarring. It's benign, but can often cause pain, itchiness, and often times doesn't allow the wound to heal properly.

The biggest problem with gun piercing is that the guns are rarely if ever changed out, and certainly aren't sent through an autoclave for proper sterilization since they're plastic. Which means the same gun is used on person before your kiddo, and who knows what kind of blood borne illnesses they have.

Second, take a pencil, now stab it through a piece of paper. See that torn, nasty hole? That's what that gun is doing to your child. It's simply tearing through the skin with zero surgical precision.

I beg you, if you do wish to get your little one pierced, take her to a doctor to have it done in a sterile, safe environment. Or wait until she's of age and take her to a certified, well trained, registered piercist. Both consider piercings to be surgical procedures, the only difference is location (if you get a good piercist), and price.

If you do have any questions about surgical piercings, please don't hesitate to contact me.

As someone who had her ears pierced long before the age of informed consent (I was four), I would be very, very cautious. Young kids can have earrings get pulled on or infected very easily. My ears got infected around age 7 or so and then I had to have them re-pierced at age 11 or so. Not fun. My mom drove that train and I still wonder why she couldn't wait to ask me when I was old enough to understand. It was my body.

That said, if it were me, I'd go to a pediatrician to do it. Not a boutique. If not a pediatrician, a jewelry shop with a certified piercer. No way I'd want some teenager at the mall piercing my kid at such a young age.

(And in answer to Kari's question, NO, I did not have my son circumcised. His body. I don't impose cosmetic alterations on his flesh.)

I did my first DD's when she was a month or so old. My second DD was 7 when her's were done. My third DD was 13 months when her's were done and my last was done on her first birthday.

As you can see there was no rhyme or reason as to when I did it, and none of them ever had any problems. No sleep issues, well DD #2 did a little, no ear tugging, nothing. Cleaning them was easy, and so was turning them

I have 3 daughters. I got their ears all pierced at the same time so they were ages 5, 3, and 3 months. 3 totally different experiences based mostly their age and understanding of what was going on.

The 5 yr old cried a bit and then was fine. She helped with aftercare and we never had an infection. We could only use surgical steel or gold in her ears.

The 3 month old screamed and cried for about 5 minutes, fell asleep, and when she woke up it's like it never happened. Her earrings were gold screw backed earrings which worked out well.

The 3 yr old screamed and settled. Every time I tried to clean and turn the earrings she'd scream in terror thinking it was going to hurt again. No amount of explaining that it wasn't going to ever hurt like that was able to change her mind. After 2 days I ended up taking out the earrings because I was afraid they would become infected since I couldn't clear or turn them.

I don't think doing them while she's sleeping is the way to go. She'd probably wake up while you were cleaning and putting dots on her ears before piercing. Getting them done both at the same time would probably work the best. Some places will do that.

L. you are not a bad mom. I think many/most of us just see piercing/tattoos as a beauty or cultural thing not as a health thing (like vaccines) so it's hard to understand the rush to do it, that's all.
For what it's worth I think it's a good lesson for girls (or boys for that matter) to be old enough to choose, because it teaches them a lesson in personal responsibility, but if you don't want to wait then go for it. Your daughter will only be "traumatized" for a few minutes I'm sure. She will be just FINE!

No idea, L..
I have a boy. ;)

Maybe talk to someone who works at a piecing place for advice from someone that deals with this issue all of the time?

Just wanted to say nice to see your name here again.
I can't believe your "new baby" is 13 months!!!

Hi L.,
Welcome back! I haven't read your other responses, but vaccines are really not comparable to ear piercing in terms of importance, right? I personally would wait to have your child's ears pierced until she's 1. asking for it and 2. can take care of it/clean the area, etc. herself.

The only thing your one year old is going to understand is that mommy took her to a place where they hurt her twice. I saved that kind of ordeal for the important stuff, like vaccinations. Of course, this is just MY opinion :)

Well I have to say my daughter did sleep through vaccinations and I didn't think it was a horrible thing, she didn't wake up for some and did for others, but was more OK than when she was totally awake. So the sleeping is not totally foreign to me, and I would consider an option. However I do know you can request they do both ears at the same time and she would likely need to be awake for that. And that may be less traumatic as she will only have one pinch in both ears and it will be over. I got mine done when i was 6, and I took care of them myself. I waited with my daughter hoping she would decide on her own. Unfortunately she is not as brave as I was and has wanted hers pierced since she was 4 and is now 7 and still doesn't want to go out of fear. I am hoping maybe when she is eight or nine, but i now fear she may hate dealing with the healing and remove them even if she does decide to get them. So I am wondering if she will ever get them done and wish now I had them done when she was a baby. Go get her ears pierced and be confident in your own decisions as a parent. Even if another parent doesn't agree with you, this is your child, your decision! Good luck!

they wont pierce one at a time on such a young child.. they do them both in one shot, so dont worry about that.. when my daughter was 4months we had hers done, it was about 5seconds of crying n then she was fine (just make sure you go to a reputable place that has expierience piercing children, not just adults and teens)
i have no personal experience but i know a couple people who have had their daughters ears peirced anywhere from age 2-4 and they had no problem with it, other than the fact that the piercing earrings are a pain in the butt to get out when the time come that you can change them

I think it really depends on her, my new dude is 15 months and always rubs his hands in his hair while he eats an when he gets tired so I find food in his hair, ears etc and just a couple days ago I found something dried on his ear I missed in after eating clean up. So if she is like that, I'd hold off. I have boys so beyond that I have no wisdom! Good luck!

I took my daughter when she was 2 yrs old. The girls that did hers were wonderful. I talked to them ahead of time, asked them how they thought it should be done. My fear was also that once one was done she would in no way sit through the other. So they let her pick a stuffed animal and she brought her blankie too. They marked her ears and a girl got on each side had me talk to my daughter as they lined the piercing gun, I had my daughter focused straight ahead on me, they silently counted and did it at the same time, she cringed for a few seconds but they had the mirror right there to show her, her pretty new earings. She was so excited to show them off after that. Hope this helps.

I know of a few bad experiences with friend's who had their babies' ears pierced, things went wrong later, one of the girls still wears a sticker on her ears at 5yo as a 'band-aid'. When my son was an infant and we would walk the mall once/week in the winter time, we saw dozens of screaming babies, some of them only getting the first done and having to return later for the second ear.
I know more who've had zero problems. I loved having the 'special' experience at 12yo and would want that for my daughter (which I don't have, haha).