Ear Piercing - Mountain View, CA

Why not let her decide when and if she gets it done? It is painful, and kids are always getting shots they have no choice about. Maybe this one ought to be her call to make. Just a thought.

I want to wait and let my daughter decide whether or not she wants to have pierced ears. I thought about doing it but then thought, maybe she won't want to have holes in her ears for the rest of her life. Don't just do it because "everyone else does", do it because you want to do it....

I am waiting until my daughter is old enough to remember it. I will be a special day for her. Although I would LOVE to do it now- soo cute on babies.

Dear R.,
In my personal opinion, if you're going to do it, it's best to pierce their ears in the first few months or wait until they are old enough to understand what's going on. My daughter was 3 years old when I pierced her ears. She knew there would be a pinch and some stinging. She also knew that her ears had to be cleaned daily and not to put her hands on her ears or be fiddling with her earrings. They did both ears at the same time so there was no chance of getting one done and then the child refusing to get the other one done. She did just fine with it. The clicking of the piercing guns actually scared her more than any pain she experienced.
It's completely up to you, of course, whatever you decide. My only concern would be that at 16 months, your daughter might not leave her ears alone.

Good luck!

Why do your friends and family think this has to be done as soon as possible? I prefer to wait until my daughter wants earrings and can ask for them herself. My sister wanted them in 3rd grade, and I waited until 8th grade. There is no harm in waiting! Personally I think it's a little cruel to pierce a baby's ears--they don't understand why you're putting them through pain, and it's certainly not for their health like shots.

Hi R., I took my daughter in to have her ears pierced at around that age and she is super active baby. You just have to hold her down real tight in a sitting position on your lap and her back up against your chest and hold her arms down and wrap your arms around her as you hold her arms and hands. After one ear is pierced wait until she is calm then do the same position as you did on the first piercing. Just to warn you that she will cry. Be brave and she will be fine after it is done. It will be well worth it. I had put it off for so long to get my daughter's ears pierced. She looked more like a beautiful princess even though she looked beutiful before the piercing. The reason for that b/c her name is Angel and everyone thought she is a boy. I got tired of it so got her ears pierced. Good luck!

I had my daughter's ears pierced when she was 3 months old. She didn't even cry when they were done.

I would wait till you think she's ready to have them done. Don't let anyone pressure you into getting them pierced if you're not ready to make sure they stay clean and all that stuff.

If you do decide to go ahead and get them done, call ahead and make sure there are two people there who are qualified to do the piercings. That way both ears can be done at the same time and there's less chance of there being the issue one of the other posters had.

The actual piercing isn't usually what the babies have such an issue with (although it does sting) it's the being restrained. And wanting comforting while having to be restrained while the folx get the other ear ready and done ... not good.

Hope this helps.

Wait til she's 13 as my mom made me and then can take care of cleaning herself. Most little ones who get them done as babies end up having them close up or get infected from touching/ playing with them. And then they end up doing it again anyway when they are older. My cousin never got hers done in all her 16 years alive, never wanted to deal with it. Maybe let your child make the decision on this when she is old enough.

Take her in when she's napping or wait until she is a "big girl" to do it. You may have already waited too long. At 16 months they are starting to touch and explore all parts of their bodies and she may try to pull the earrings out. Don't let friends and family pressure you...it is okay to start a new tradition.

I think it is up to you when you want it done. You know your child the best. What I do recommend is that you do a double shot (both ears at the same time). My daughter had hers done when she was 5, we called it a milestone to enter kinder. At that time we did not know about the double shots. Once they did the first ear, she was to freaked out to do the second ear. Needless to say there was a lot of bribery involved! My friend used a lollipop for her daughter. She was sucking the lollipop while they did the double shot. She was so happy to be sucking on the lollipop that she forgot to scream. Yes it hurts, but they get over it real fast! Good luck.

She's your baby, you should do it when you think the time is right. When your friends and family have children they can decide for themselves.

I know parents who wait until they are 7 or later and it's a big thing for the girl. I did both my daughters when they were about 4 months. The place where it gets done will not do it until after they get their first round of shots, which is about 1 or 2 months old. Also, don't have both done at the same time. Although it may seem easier and faster and she won't have time to think about getting the other done, it is too much of a shock for them. I know most places don't do that anymore anyway. We just waited for our girls to calm down a bit and did the the next. Good luck and have fun, I'm sure she will look cute!

I understand that it is a cultural thing for Indians, but truly most Americans find it inappropriate for a baby to wear earrings and most girls will get them pierced somewhere between 7 and 13 years of age. Every time I see a little baby with earrings it just makes me cringe. Why can't they look innocent and unscarred for at least the first few years of life? Just one moms opinion.

Hi R.!

I've got a great ear piercing story for you! When our youngest daughter was only about 16 months old, we decided to go ahead and get her ears pierced. We were living in Switzerland at the time so we brought her to the drug store in the Mall to get the job done. The young woman attending to us looked at me and said (in German), "I think there's only one way to do this with such a young child." She called for her colleague to come and assist. One took the right ear lobe, the other took the left. They marked their spots, positioned themselved, and counted to three. The moment they had finished, my daughter opened her mouth to let out a great bit scream. The woman behind the counter came running to the scene with a fruchtsucre (fruit sugar dissolvable candy) and shoved it quickly in my daughter's mouth. She sucked, smiled, and was absolutely fine. The ladies gave my daughter two more of the little candies, one for each hand, to keep her happy. The young women shook hands and we were on our way. It really was precious!

There really is no "best time" to get a child's ears pierced. Many people say that parents should wait until a child actually asks to get them done. In my Greek culture, girls' ears are pierced shortly after they're born. My Swiss husband wanted to wait a while so we did.

Good luck and let us know when you decide to go ahead with the piercing!

D.

why not let your daughter decide,i don't think babies or small children need earrings.my daughter was 10 or so.

I agree with most of the other moms!! It hurts, and why should we subject our precious babies to that if we don't have to? I understand cultural pressures, but she's YOUR child, so you need to decide what YOU feel comfortable with. If this is a "battle" you feel strongly about, then you need to just smile and nod when someone tries to pressure you into getting her ears pierced. Or take a stand and say NO. Whatever you decide (yes or no), you need to trust your instincts, and right now, I think they're telling you that she's too young. Good luck!

I pierced my daughters when she was 9 months old. Earlier is always better. It does not hurt as much as the tantrum they throw. I got my daughters done by her pediatrician. Which helped a lot as the nurses were there to help and the pediatrician herself did the piercing. I did not have to do any cleaning. Once a week alcohol swab and dry the ear. It is always hard for us moms. I would say get it done now it will be tough to hold her but she will be fine. Later you will have to wait to overcome her fear in addition to yours.

When she's 8-10 years old and able to take care of them herself. Piercings on babies don't look right. Why make her grow up faster than she has to.

My mother waited until I was old enough to ask for earrings, then told me all about piercing and asked me if I was sure. I think I was six. At six I was SO SURE. Haha. After the first one went through I jumped up and cried and didn't want to get the other done but mom said that I can't go around lopsided because kids would make fun so that got my butt back in the chair for the second one and I didn't fuss after it was done. Better to bear the pain than the embarrassment!

I say wait until she's old enough to ask for them and understand how to take care of them herself so she doesn't get an infection. That's what I'm doing with my girl.

When I got into high school and wanted to get a second set of piercing my parents said no, so I locked myself in the bathroom and did it myself with a needle, dental floss, icecubes and alcohol wipes.

Dont let the pressure get to you. The best time is when they are really small or wait til they are older. Our pediatrician suggested we wait til she can ask for them. For my friend, that was age 3, and she does really well with them. You may want to wait til an age where she wont tug on them at this point.

R.:
I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 9 and even then I think my mom had a heart attack (my great aunt took me for my b-day). Anyways, it is up to you as to when to pierce her ears or to not pierce them at all. I told my daughter (3.5 yrs old) that she had to wait until she was at least 9 because she needs to be able to take care of them (turn the earrings constantly so the ears don't get infected and put alcohol on the earrings for the same reason). Even at 9, I had trouble and had one close up on me because it got infected and I had to take the earring out early. Ended up re-piercing it with a needle a yr or so later. It hurt really bad, so not recommended. So until she's ready to do the work, she can't have them. Everyone in my family is ok with this, but some people think I'm too strict. Since you are the mom and you'd be the one taking care of them, I'd do what you think is best and everyone can just deal.
I hope that isn't too harsh, but sometimes I think people should just keep their opinions to themselves when it isn't their child.
Just my opinion. Hope this helps in some small way.

I'm a 36 yr old stay-at-home mom of 1 daughter - 3.5 yrs old. and married to a great man for 5.5 yrs.

HI,

my girl got her earrings when she turned 2 y.o. she cried only for 1 min and never did again.
We went to the place in the mall in Concord and the ladys did so good, they did two ears together so she didn't even understand what happend.
The place name is POGODA, I recommend it!

I had my daughters done when she was 6 months old. With your daughter, I would wait until she is a bit older and can sit still for 5-10 minutes straight.

My folks made me wait until I was 14, TOO LONG, now I've had six piercing and five tattoos. So for my 3 year old daughter, I decided that when she can tell me she wants them, she knows it will hurt, and it takes alot to keep them healthy, then she can get her ears pierced. Personally I think it's wrong to pierce a babies ears, it's a scar they'll always have. Unless you have some cultural responsibilities to do this, I thnk you should wait. It could be a much better experience when she's a preteen, than a "double" rip of an earring through her little ears. Good luck.
C.

Hi R.:

You know.. it is completely your decision, dont let people bully you around to meet their expectations. I personally got my daughter's ears pierced at 4 months-(she's 16 months now) and she NEVER had a problem with them. aside from the occasional time she lost the back of her earring and I had to replace those with some of mine My personal thought was to do it either really early.. when she's young enough to not mess with them.. or wait really late.. and make it a right of passage (tween age or so), i obviously went with the early age since my mom didn't let me get my ears pierced until i could pay for them on my own.... but that's another story all together. Sit down and think about what the pros and cons would be in your specific situation and make YOUR decision based on that and not what every one else is so nicely suggesting and nudging for you to do =).
best of luck!!

We pierced our daughter's ears right before she turned 2. I would definitely recommend having two people pierce her ears to get it over with quicker although one of my daughter's ears had to be redone but she was done crying by the time we left the store. She has been really good about letting me clean her ears everyday and doesn't touch them like I thought she would.

I'm not sure why your family would be pressuring you, unless it is a cultural tradition? Anyway, I agree with many other posts that it should be her decision. My oldest wanted them, I told her when she was 7 if she still did I'd get them done. She did and she was very happy to look forward to this. But it was her choice, not mine. I'm thankful we did wait,turns out she was allergic to just about every metal but a high quality gold/white gold, we didn't know with the hypoallergenic surgical steel why she had problems, when we switched, her ears healed almost instantly. Do what YOU think is best for your daughter, regardless of other people's opinions! Go MOM!!
Bless you & yours!

D.

As her parents, I think the decision should be up to you. I never got my ears pierced because my parents didn't believe in wearing earrings, however when all of my sisters turned 18 they all got their ears pierced, some with double holes.

When I was just fostering my girls, I wanted their ears pierced, but you have to have a court order to do so, so I waited until the adoption was final on both of them. My oldest daughter was 15 months old, and she cried for all of 30 seconds and walked around with her sippy cup. My younger daughter was 9 months old when her ears were pierced and never had a problem with either of them.

Because I was responsible for their care, I made sure I followed all the rules about keeping them clean etc. Now they are 6 and 4 and are really "girly girls"; so they wear earrings daily and like to change up for special occasions.

Oprah Winfrey got her ears pierced on her show for her 50th birthday, because she always wanted to have them done, but just never did. I thought about just going to the mall and getting mine done, but why? I don't wear earrings that often and it's not a big deal for me.

I have known people to leave the hospital and head to the mall (in Florida) and the ears are pierced at "days old". The decision is totally up to you, you're culture and what you're comfortable with!

My 6 yr old has asked about ear piercing, but when she asked if it hurt and I said yes, for a few minutes, that was the end of it. She's never asked again. My SIL told my niece she had to wait until she was responsibly bathing every day without it being a battle. My niece finally had her ears pierced when she was in high school, but it was completely her choice and her responsibility! Don't do it, if you don't want to! P.S. I had mine pierced when I was 12, and can honestly say that 3 decades later, I still have some of my first pairs of earrings.

Hi,

I struggled with family pressure too and was uncomfortable taking my girls to a mall kiosk ear piercing place. I got a recommendation from a friend for a woman in SF that does an excellent job--very clean, very professional, very safe. http://www.babypiercing.com/

My baby was 11 months and her big sister was 2.

Best,
T.

Hi! It is completely your decision, so don't feel pressured to have your child's ears pierced until you are ready & you feel that your child is ready. My daughter was 2 yrs old, & she got to hold a little stuffed bear with pierced ears. My daughter did very well! (I was about 7 or 8 yrs old when my ears were pierced, but I wish I would have gotten them pierced sooner.)

& Remember that it's nice to get input from family & friends, but don't let anyone pressure you.

Have a great day!

I agree with the other ladies, don't let people pressure you into doing this. Do what feels right to you. Personally, I am going to wait until my daughter asks to have them pierced and can help keep them clean so she doesn't get an infection.

My mother in law and my sister in laws sent me some expensive pairs of earrings when my daughter was born. I asked my husband-were they really expecting me to pierce her ears? He said that is how they usually do it in his family. I said-we can save these for her, but count me out of that tradition. I want my daughters to be able to decide if that is something they want to do. My younger sister had her ears pierced at a young age and ended up letting them close, because she HATES earrings. So it is your choice-if you don't want to do it-don't. It is your child, you decided.

Let the child decide (in time) if she wants to get her ear pierced or not.

In many cultures, it is done early. I'd recommend for safety and healing, either early (before 8 months?) or later, after 5. My pediatrician pierced my 3 month old baby's ears- and the only thing she cried about was the 4 vaccinations she needed after this. On the other hand, my 7 and 5 yo nieces "chose" to have them pierced- bc they were "old enough" to know and it was an infected disaster for both- at that age, they wanted to keep changing their earrings to all the cute Hannah Montana ones... now neither have them because of too many problems- and they were not old enough to safely care for them- my 2 yr. old's ears/earrings are fine because I diligently took care of them- and by the time she even knew she had ears, they were well healed up! I HATE when people are judgemental bc there are many cultural reasons for doing this people! I do admit, the littlest tiniest studs look alot better than the big gold balls they pierce with- but always use 14K or 24K for the 1st year- and change them never or as little as possible.

Why not wait and let her decide for herself? Your family & friends are not raising this child. YOU need to be comfortable with your decision and do what's right for your little girl.

Frankly, I think the only time a baby ever ever needs earrings is if she looks like a boy, even while wearing frilly pink and cute little headbands. (But, some men will still ask if the baby's a he or she EVEN if they've got pink or blue on from head to toe)

I always feel sorry for little babies with earrings because they poke you when you lay down on them (at least mine do sometimes) and since babies are napping/sleeping/laying down so much, why do it then?? I'd wait till she's 8 years old.
But then that's just me. :-)

I'm not sure anytime is a good time to get a squirmy 16 month old's ear pierced. I waited until my girls were old enough to ask for their ears to be pierced (4 and 5) because it is not just about the piercing part, but the daily cleaning and turning until the ears are healed that was difficult. They were willing to put up with the pain and fuss because they chose it for themselves.

I wouldn't do it just because your friends are pressuring you to. Choose when YOU think the time is right. Some parents won't allow for it until they are teens...

I would tell your friends and family to stop the pressure and telling you "it has to be done as early as possible." The fact is that it doesn't "have to" be done at all since, of course, it is purely cosmetic. My youngest daughter asked to have hers pierced for her 5th birthday. I warned her that it would hurt a bit and probably be sore for a while. She wanted them so we did it and then they got so sore she took them out. She decided to wait until she was 8 then asked again. We did it again, with her fully aware of what she was in for, and this time they have been just fine. My advice is to wait and let your child decide for herself whether or not she wants holes in her ears. It does not always go smoothly.

I had my oldest daughter's ears pierced when was around a year old, or so. I will never forget how she was giggling and smiling for the girls who would be piercing her ears. I will also never forget the screams she let out after they punched holes in her ears. Her face crumbled in pain and she was screaming horribly. I still feel guilty, 20 years later. I would definitely wait.

Good luck. L.

In my opinion, it is nice to wait until she is old enough to ask for it. I got mine done at 6 yrs after begging for months. And proudly endured the pain. And learned about cleaning the new holes with alcohol. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride.

I haven't yet cut my 20 mos old boy's hair yet, b/c he won't sit still. There is a Jewish tradition about not cutting hair until 3. Maybe by 3, they will sit still? Maybe the same holds true for ears?

But reading your post, I wonder if the real issue is that you have so much external pressure to do things that contradict your own instincts? No one knows your little girl like you do. I'll give you a mantra given to me, "I'm doing what is right for my baby." Repeat it to yourself whenever you need.

I think that if you are uncomfortable in getting it done then you shouldn't do it at all. Your daughter should have a choice in whether or not she has her ears pierced regardless of what your family and friends think. Unless it is done for a cultural reason I think it is completely unnecessary to have it done. You would not take your daughter in for plastic surgery at 16 months old so why would you have a different cosmetic procedure done?

Personally, I'd wait until she is old enough to decide if she wants this done to her or not.

HI R.,
don't do it if you don't want to
my husband and I for Christmas just agreed to let our girls get there ears pierced they are 10 and 7
tell your friends and family that your not going to till
YOU think she is ready and that is that
Best of luck D.
Mom of 4

R.,

I would wait until she is able to sit still and wants to get them done. Maybe age 3-5?

Don't let family pressure you... You are the one that will be dealing with her ears if they get infected or if she tries to yank them out.

Good luck!

Molly

Hello,
Well i used to work at Claires and i have ear pierced many babies, children, and adults (and i am the person that always got the babies because nobody else wanted to do them)... your friend is right the earlier the better, they actually started ear piercing at 2 months so that would have been my answer.... but since that is not an option anymore i would recommend that you call and see if there is two people working so they can do a "double". this is when you have someone make the dots to your liking and then two workers, one on each side, pierces at the same time so you can get it done all in one shot... she will only cry for a few minutes then she will be fine!!! Just a thought and from experience and performing this many times in my past it works great!!!
Hope everything works out.... make sure you get real gold because there is less chance of allergic reaction (they have pre-sterilized earrrings to choose from) Have a blessed day!! Good luck.. she will be fine! :)

Hello! Before I became a mom I actually did piercings as a job and in my opinion I would wait until she is much older. Her ears will grow and change, and thus so will the placement of her piercings. So, what may look even and equal now, may not be the case when she's a bit older. Don't let anyone pressure you into having her ears done. Wait until you both are ready. Good luck!!!