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How do we feel about piercing baby girl's ears?
Just wanted to know about the thoughts about piercing babies ears, doesn't matter at what age really. DH seems to think it would cause ear infections, and I've never heard this before, so any evidence?
At what age did you get your DDs ears pierced?
I was brought up in the "you don't get your ears pierced until 13" after many years of bugging and I hated it, but want to find an equal ground.
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Re: How do we feel about piercing baby girl's ears?
I'm not sure about ear infections but sometimes the ears get infected (at the site of the piercing) from having an earring in. My cousin's LO has her ears pierced (she just turned one). They got them pretty young and they've been infected twice. Three times a week she takes them out, cleans them and puts them back in. She turns them once a day I think...
Anyway, my oldest is wanting her ears pierced now but I told her to wait until she was five. Part of me is hoping she forgets about it for two reasons: one is that I'd find it a pain for me to have to clean/monitor for infections, etc. I feel like I already have to do a ton for her...and two because she has a skin condition that would probably make this hard or impossible and I'm just not sure I want to go down that road.
Hope that helps!
That does help a bit, and at times I don't really want to have to clean her ears and worry if they're infected. DH have talked about waiting until 5-8 if we have a girl to see if she asks.
I'm interested in others' opinions too!
Big E (6) & Little E (2.5)
I agree with this. I think it's kinda gross to see tiny babies with earrings, but that's just me. I know my mom pierced my ears when I was pretty young (toddler or preschool age), and as I grew older I decided to let them close up. Sometimes I think it would be nice to wear earrings (like as an accessory to an outfit, not something to wear all the time) but the thought of re-piercing my ears makes my stomach turn.
That's because you're a genius rational mom. I agree with you 100%. My parents did the same thing. I asked occasionally as a kid. My parents always set a timeline. If I asked in September they'd tell me I could do them for Christmas if I wanted. I always forgot about it. I finally did them when I was around 13. I'm glad I waited. I have sensitive skin and can't have anything cheap in my ears or they get irritated and ultimately infected and gross (even now).
You have to clean them a couple times a day until they heal then you can cut down and do it once or twice a week. For adults or teens once they're healed you would only have to clean them occasionally.
Also, if you have your ears pierced for long enough they won't close up. I didn't even have mine done for that long but I let them heal well. I haven't worn earring regularly since high school. My holes will never close up. I have 2 on each ear and can still wear earrings in all 4.
I had the same problem, so I understand! I'm glad I asked you guys! You're very wise! I had mixed feelings, and DH sides with you, so I think I'll join the same view and wait until they ask/maturity level! Thanks!
I am going to wait until she is old enough to ask me, if she asks me. I would feel terrible inflicting pain on a baby for the sake of vanity. Yes, they look pretty but what if she never wants her ears pierced?
My mother took me when I was seven after I asked and agreed to take care of them during the healing process. (She helped a lot of course!) And it was fun going together - a nice mother daughter moment. We made a day of it. Had lunch, got my ears pierced, had ice cream and went shopping. So if and when the time comes, I want to do this with her and invite my mom to come along.
I got mine pierced when I was 9 but I had asked and begged for a looooong time before that. I really like wearing earrings although I don't always do it. My mom did zilch to help me with them. I had to take care of them and it was fine. I could see a couple of times that they started to get irritated but I was able to stop it before it got too bad.
I would love to have little sparkles in my daughter's ears but the thought of her screaming in pain stops me dead in my tracks. There's no way I would put her though that before she understands and can agree to it. When my son was less than a week old I was in the mall searching for a nursing bra and walked by Claire's. There was a tiny baby (3 or 4 months old) getting her ears pierced. The sound of her scream made me cry. Yes I was totally full of hormones but it was such an awful cry. The thought of it still kind of sends shivers down my spine. It was no bueno.
I'll wait until she asks and can agree to it hurting.
This! My mom insists that I was begging to have my ears pierced at 18 months, so she took me to get them pierced. I'm not sure why I wanted them done so young; neither of my best friends had their ears pierced. I wouldn't let my daughter get her ears pierced this young. Our plan is to only have them pierced if she wants it, and only after she's old enough to understand that it's a (semi-)permanent thing and that she'll have to take care of the piercings.
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
tbh, there are bigger things to worry about when it comes to parenting choices, so I never think it's such a big deal, especially since I know this is a cultural thing for many families [mine included], YET on that note, I wouldn't do it to my DD simply because mine are CROOKED!
Yes. My ears were pierced when I was 3 months old and because a baby's ear is so small and grow since then, one of mine is weirdly close to my head and the other looks normal. So, for that reason alone I'd advise against it.
On other boards, I've seen moms get really defensive about getting their babies ears pierced, some people really dig it. Personally, I also think it's gross on little ones...and I would loath having to take care of them in addition to everything else. It just seems silly to me (I barely wear studs now...and never change them, and I've let a cartilage and second set of holes close up).
It was a coming of age treat for me as a 11 yo...I begged forever, and then went with my mom and grandmother to get it done. I was old enough to take care of them myself and had to promise to do so. If DD begs, I'll probably let her do it at that age, but not before.
This seems incredibly sensible to me. I also feel like it should be a coming-of-age thing. A certain maturity stepping-stone if you will. Seeing piercings in children wierds me out just because it seems like those mothers are trying to make their children grow up too fast. But, to each their own. In my own case, I did actually beg for them at the age of three. I remember wanting them. And I don't remember the pain, I guess because I was so young. But, I really don't think I was old enough to make that choice, and I will not let my daughter make it until she is older.
My mom pierced mine very early. Like 4 months I think it was? I had Addy's done around 8-9 months maybe later (can't remember) and she basically kept ripping the one out every time she got teeth/ear infections. SO I said eff it and took them out. I had taken mine out too because I was just kinda over it all. LOL So neither of us have earrings now. I figure when she is old enough and if she wants to, maybe we can do it "together."
I can say I am very glad I took hers out because as she started to grow they just looked uneven to me. Mine were to me too... So I think it's best to wait, personally.
Personally, I think pierced ears on little kids is totally creepy.
Mostly though, I wouldn't trust the teenaged girls at the mall with almost no training to do a decent job, nor do I trust their probably lax sanitation standards. Any reputable piercing salon in my area won't pierce anyone under 16, even with parental consent, so that's probably when I would take her.
The rule in my house growing up was that we could get it done at the end of 6th grade, because that was the rule in my mom's house when she was growing up. She wanted us to be able to clean them ourselves and now that I am an adult I can understand that. Also, when I got mine done, three weeks later they got infected and I had to go to the doctor to have them removed. I don't know what caused the infection; quite possibly I wasn't cleaning them correctly. I had to wait 6 months before I could get them repierced. I can't imagine doing that to my baby girl, if I had one. But that's just me.
And ear infections are in the ear, not on the earlobe.
Sabine just got hers pierced two weeks ago. I wanted to wait for her to ask. She actually asked a few months ago but I wasn't really sure it wasn't some fleeting 3 y/o thing. I was thinking she'd ask more along the age of five or so? So, I "we'll see"d her a bit and we talked about the process, watched some YouTube videos of kids getting it done, talked about after care, etc. When I was pretty comfortable that she understood what she was getting herself into I said OK.
We had them done on a day when it was just the two of us out together. I wanted her to remember it as a special time with her mom. She's done great with them so far and I'm glad that we have that memory together now.
I got mine done for my third birthday, but I had been asking for them for a while, & I remember Mom talking to me about the aftercare & whatnot. I don't wear earrings very often anymore, but my holes will never close.
I think earrings on babies are horrid. SD just got hers done about 6 months ago (she was 5) - but she hadn't been asking for them at all. Hadn't even mentioned them. DH wasn't even consulted about it. He was pissed. We can't even take her to get her hair cut (& it will grow back!) but they can get her ears pierced without even a mention! Sorry, that turned into a vent.