D, my 6 year old, made the decision to get her ears pierced this past week. It was totally her decision, she has been wanting to wear earrings for a while but has been hesitant to get them done. While we were at the store last week, she said “Can I get my ears pierced”, I replied with “really, you really want to do it?” She said yes, so I took her over to pick out some earrings...and she did it! She was so brave and such a big girl, she didn’t cry a bit.
Ear piercing can be a debatable topic, some parents take their babies to have their ears pierced, others think it should be the child’s choice as to when it happens, and some parents have age restrictions. I believe it should be the child’s choice. I would never get an infants ears pierced. When D brought up the subject a few years ago, I told her it was totally up to her. I did explain to her that it would probably sting and that we would have to clean and take care of them as to ward off infection, but when she was ready we would make it happen. She was a little iffy, worried that it would hurt and it took her a couple years to work up the nerve to do it, but when she was ready, she knew it, and I respected her decision. So far so good, there has been no pain or infections and she is good about letting me clean them, rotate the earring and apply a little coconut oil/chamomile mix to help keep them in good shape.
So, what is your stance on this topic?
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I'm with you. It should be the child's decision to make... that said, my mom felt that way too and I waited until I was 10 years old (mom might have had an age requirement, too, I don't remember) ... and I cried and cried and cried! LOL! But I was still happy with them and I still like 'em! My sister never did get hers done - and she's so glad my mom didn't just pierce them when she was little! D's look great! What a trooper! ;-)
ReplyDelete~Karli
I honestly don't remember how old I was when I got mine done, 10-ish maybe, it was my choice, I remember it stinging, but I never cried.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. It should be the child's choice, not ours. And the child should be old enough to understand the decision they are making. Ally as 5 when she got hers done, but she has always been very mature. My other 2 girls are 7 and 4, and are still pierce-less. I am going to link up for this discussion, Brooke. Thanks for adding the linky. :)
ReplyDeleteBoth my daughters just got their ears pierced about a month ago! I have always believed that it should be their choice about whether they want pierced ears or not. They made the choice now, at ages 7 and 9. My 9 year old wanted to once before, but then got so scared in the chair that we left without getting them pierced. We hung out at the mall together and had fun that day and I totally supported her decision to wait. When they both finally went through with it, there were no tears at all! They smiled at themselves in the mirror and were giddy with excitement. It was GREAT because they chose everything for themselves--very empowering!
ReplyDeleteThat is great Jen :) D is so proud of herself and her new earrings :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up! I too agree that it should be the child's choice whether or not to have their ears pierced. In our home we have enforced the 10 years old age just because at that point I think they will be able to clean and take care of the earrings themselves. My daughter barely lets me brush her hair let alone clean pierced ears, hehe. Of course, some girls do awesome with the whole process like your daughter and her ears look super cute!
ReplyDeletei got my ears pierced as an infant and so did A. it was weird with her, she didn't even cry. the lady looked at me like i had some freak baby since she didn't cry. lol
ReplyDeleteshe got them done when she was 6 weeks old and she's had no infections or anything. the biggest thing we've dealt with is lost earrings, but that's no big deal.
My daughter got hers done when she was a baby. She wore ear rings for awhile but then she started showing signs that she didn't like them so I took them out. Since then when she started being able to talk My husband and I will only put them in if she asks or if I'm putting on some I'll ask her if she wants to wear some and then she'll give her answer. People ask me why she doesn't wear them more often and I'll say because she doesn't want to that's when I'll get the whole well her ears will close if she doesn't and that she's a child so it should be her choice. We just do what works for us.
ReplyDeleteBoth my girls got their ears pierced at about two months. I got may ears pierced as a baby and I was only natural that I would do the same for them. However, now as kids 3 and 4 it is totally their decision if they want to wear earring....which most of the time the don't but the options are still there. As far as the experience Kaela screamed and holla....Aleah just flinched a little but no crying
ReplyDeleteHi Brooke, thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth with thinking it's ok to pierce a baby's ears and letting them make their own decision. The only thing that holds me back from waiting is that when they are older they will want to mess with them and not take care of them. I'd just rather do it when they are young enough to not even notice that they are there... get them cleaned and healed up and be done with it.
I got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 8 weeks old--which is the youngest age Claire's would pierce her ears. I had to bring proof of her updated immunizations with me. Baby O wasn't upset at getting her ears pierced, she got upset that I had to hold her head still. She didn't cry until the gun pierced her ear and I'm 100% sure that it startled her and that caused the reaction. All it took was a little soothing and some lullabies in her ears and she was fine. Even though she was very young I still explained to her what was going on before the piercings. It's more of a culture thing where I grew up, AA babies got their ears pierced as infants.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I got her ears pierced while she was too young to remember the pain. She's never tugged, pulled or played with her earrings and I always check them to make sure there's no infections and she hasn't had one. :-)
Great topic for a friendly debate!