Are your 2 year old girl's ears pierced?

Question

My daughter turned 2 in December and is obsessed with earrings, she has some play "clip-on" earrings and is always telling me that my earrings are pretty, so I have decided to get her ears pierced. We are also expecting a new baby (girl) in April so I want to help her feel like a "big girl" and do something special with her.

My question is, how well did your toddler handle getting her ears pierced?

Where did you go to do it?

About how much did it cost?

Thanks for any feedback, I was thinking Claire's so if anyone has done it there please tell me about the experiance.

Negative comments will be ignored, she has made it quite clear that SHE WANTS earrings.

GM- You are an idiot, she's 2 and it's quite clear she is a girl. Insecure people leave everything to "god" instead of forming their own ideas.

asimpledork- I apologize, I did not mean to offend anyone, I just let that jerk get to me. I should have found another way to tell him off, I did not mean to belittle you.

artemm- I think most (not all, but most) people would agree there is a MAJOR difference between a 2 year old getting her ears pierced and a 5 year old getting a tattoo. Your remark was plain silly. She will have to be at least 6 before she can get any tattoos.

I did an online search and there are not any Piercing Pagoda stores in my area (New Orleans) or even in my state. It's a shame, everyone seems to like them so much!

Answer 1

I think that's an absolutely wonderful way to make your daughter feel special. I have two girls and I regret not getting my older girl's done when she was younger (she's 3 now). I had my now 15m daughter's ears pierced at 6m - the youngest age allowed in my area - and she took to it wonderfully. The reason we did hers so young is she wasn't capable yet of playing around with them while they were healing and now she doesn't even recognize them being there or mess with them.

That she would play with them, touch them constantly, etc. would be the only worry because it could lead to infection. But, she's obviously excited and I'm sure you could explain it to her in a way that would make her feel like a big girl about how she shouldn't touch them a lot, etc.

We got our daughter's done at Piercing Pagoda because they had real diamonds/birthstones. We went with 14k gold because it has less of a chance of infection. The piercing was free. You bought the earrings. Ours cost $29.99, but like I said, we went with the 14k and diamond. It was special thing, so we didn't skimp. The birthstones (opals, topaz, etc.) were only $24.99 in the 14k. I think price will differ slightly on where you decide to go. I would shop around before settling on one place.

And, I don't like to push people into certain things, but I would definitely recommend the 14k. When I said about what was recommended, it was what we spoke with her doctor about. It's just for the safety against infection (as opposed to gold-plated or sterling silver). Apparently 10k-14k is better due to young children/infants having such tender/sensitive skin.

Good luck and I'm sure she'll be beautiful and absolutely love them!

Answer 2

In my family, us girls got our ears pierced at only a couple months old. There's NOTHING wrong with that. Don't let judgmental people here (or anywhere) try to cut you down for piercing your daughter's ears.

I would have gotten my daughter's ears pierced when she was a couple months old as well, but she was born 3 month early and in the NICU for 4 months, and we've been advised to not get her ears pierced till she's at LEAST a year old, and preferrably 2 years old. But she's 13 months old now and her doctor said it'd be ok to pierce her ears now.

Apparently some doctors offices still pierce ears (that's where my sister and I got ours done as babies), but more and more are stopping that tradition. You could try a place like Claire's or any piercing pagoda, but I'd want to be SURE the place and equipment is sterile and that the people doing it have experience piercing a toddlers ears. Because toddlers can get very squirmy and agitated when having their ears pierced, even if they WANT them pierced. I was also going to look into a couple very well-known and very clean piercing parlors around here and see if they'll do my daughter's ears. I trust the places I'm thinking about since I've gotten piercings done at these places.
By the way, how does she do with shots at the doctors? That's a good indicator of how she'll react to an ear piercing. She'll most likely be more calm in the beginning, but once she feels the sting, she's likely to react.

A few tips:
-Don't lie or sugar-coat it--tell her it DOES hurt for a little bit.
-Let her hold something that comforts her...maybe it's a doll or blankie, etc.
-Try to distract her with something.
-Hold her hands so she doesn't try to immediately reach up to her ears.
-Ask if you can have two employees do it at the same time...one on each side. That helps a lot...often after the first ear is done, the kid is so worked up and upset that it's hard to get the second one done. =/

And cost will just depend on where you go and what kind of earring you select. Try to stick with either 14k gold or stainless steel (I suggest the gold to be on the safe side).

I took my cousin when she was 3 (she's 5 now)...it actually went pretty smoothly since I had two girls do her ears at once. She did cry and all that, but I distracted her with a promise of a trip to the ice cream parlor. =P

Answer 3

I went with a friend to get her belly button pierced about a year ago and saw something there that shocked me rigid! A couple and their 8 year old daughter had brought their 2 year old son in to get his ears pierced because he apparently wanted them really badly. The family didn't want to get them done but thought they would 'teach him a lesson'. The poor little boy had to sit all by himself (the family stood on the other side of the shop watching) and when the first one was pierced he started crying and screaming. He got so scared and the parents and sister just stood, pointing and jeering at this little tot! They wouldn't let him come to them for comfort, and forced him back into the chair for the second piercing all while laughing at him in the cruelest way! The poor little guy was so scared and hysterical, i eventually went over to him, picked him up and calmed him down. I mean, he was two!!! Eventually he got the second piercing and the family left. I was so upset! I personally don't agree with piercing a childs ears when they're so young, but it's a personal choice- i had to wait til i was 13 as my mom thought that was when i was old enough to make proper decisions for myself. However, you sound like a fantastic, caring mommy, and I know you won't do what that family did. Make it a special, fun outing for the two of you, encouraging, maybe take her out for an ice cream afterwards for being so brave or something? If it's going to make her happy, go for it! My 2 year old loves mearings, but iv managed to side track her with bangles ;) he he! Good luck with the new baby! :)

Answer 4

where I come from, every girl wears ear rings and so we pierce the ears as early as possible. The pain and time to heal increases with age. Younger children quickly forgets the pain. My ears were pierced at the age of 4 and it was very painful. But I have seen children getting ear pierced at 1 month old and they dont cry much , not even for minutes.

Answer 5

I just have to tell my story on having my ears pierced when I was young. I had mine done when I was in Kindergarden and a girl that went to the same day care as I did had been begging to get her ears pierced and her parents wouldnt let her. She got so mad that I was able to get mine done that she RIPPED mine out of my ears! That crap hurt! I can still remember it like it was yesterday! So just remember she is not the only one you have to worry about with earrings there are other kids that she will be playing with that could easily rip them out or she could fall and rip it out. So many things could happen I would just think it over a little more. I am a mother of 2 and my daughter is 6 and we decided very early on that she would not get them until she was able to fully understand the impact of them and I still do not believe that she is old enough.

Answer 6

We pierced my daughter's ears in Walmart when she was 4 month old, we pay about 20 some dollars for the earrings( a beautiful set of 10K gold ).We never have a problems with infections and since then she handle it real well.She is 2 1/2 years old now.

Answer 7

In New Orleans, there are some doctor's that do it in their offices. You can try Claire's or the Icing, The should have one in Lakeside Mall or The Esplande Mall. My daughter got her's done at 3 months, because the state of Texas won't do them without the first shots being done.

Answer 8

This is an excellent idea related to making your daughter feel special and to receive extra attention during the arrival of a new baby. My daughter had her ears pierced at about three, at a place in the mall like Claire's. I couldn't watch and stood far away in emotional agony (I've never had mine pierced). But, she absolutely loved the whole experience, said it hurt more than she expected, and took care of all the peroxide cleaning and turning and gross stuff completely on her own. She amazed me for really just being a baby still. I loved buying her earrings all the while she was growing up. RN

Answer 9

My sister in laws(2 of them) both had my nieces ears pierced a month after they were born so that every one knew that they were little girls. All I have is boys but my middle son(16) went to the hair saloon to get his ear pierced. It cost him $20.
They do it with a gun anymore and it happens so quick that as long as she sits still she should do alright.

Answer 10

Well, if it's something that she really wants to do, why not? It's not like it's a tattoo or something. If she doesn't like them later on, she can take them out. If she is really in love with earrings right now, I say she will do good with them. She will want to keep them pretty! lol Good luck. I don't see anything wrong with it. Check out Piercing Pagoda. They are everywhere. When I got mine done a loooooooooong time ago I just went to one of those little jewelry stores in the mall like Claire's. It was fine. Just make sure it's not a little teeny bopper that doesn't seem to know what she's doing. It's not too expensive. I don't remember exacts though. You may even want to check out a local tattoo/piercing place. They are experts more so than at Claires. BTW, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!