advice on ear piercings for a baby please?

Question

me and my partner have a 5 month old baby and she wants to get her ears pierced, im against it as i believe that when she is old enough the choice should be hers, what are your views??

i can understand why my g/f wants this done, but call me old fashioned, i think any body art should be the decision of that particular person, for instance i have tatoos, but that was my choice and 1 i dont regret, and i will neither condone or condemn them, its your body, so the choice should be yours

Answer 1

I believe it should be done when a child ask for it to be done.Babys are pretty and do not need ear rings to enhance their looks.

Answer 2

I live in Tenerife, and here all the spanish have their baby girls ears pierced a few days after they are born. It is accepted as the norm. Despite this my baby girl (due in September) will not have her ears pierced until she is old enough to ask for it herself. Then I will happily let her have it done. I believe it should be the childs choice, and I also have a big issue with safety, a young child may get an earing caught and rip it out, or may take it out and swallow it. Older children would be less likely to do that.

Answer 3

Hmm. I come from a big family of girls and we all got our ears pierced when were little. It's also a cultural practice for some folks. It was kind of expected that we get ours done when we were babies. Personally, I don't think anything is wrong with it but I'm pretty laid back about lots of stuff like that. I know lots of babies in our family that have had their ears pierced and there were no infections, and none ever complained later. It's not like you're getting five holes in one ear and it's pretty non-discreet and still pretty acceptabe in western culture, not like tattoos I would think.

I never thought later, gosh, I wish my parents had allowed me to make my own decision about my getting my ears pierced...but then again, we didn't grow up in a family where kids got to make decisions about things like that. And it never ever was an issue. I would talk it over with your partner again--if she feels really strongly about it, I might give in a little just 'cause it's one of those things that is so minor in the big picture of raising a child. Maybe later she'll have to compromise for you on something else?

Answer 4

No I dont think you should. It is different when someone chooses to do that to themselves its their choice, but a small baby is not a fashion accessory. Babies feel pain and the piercing could easily get infected and for the baby to be pierced at that age is just cruel. Could you honestly say the baby would want to be put through that. Parents are meant to protect their children not cause them pain. I would leave it until the baby is of an age to make its own wishes heard.

Answer 5

As you have no doubt figured out by all the responses you have received, there is not definite answer to the question. It's down to personal choice and what you feel is right for your daughter.

Personally I sit on the side that believes it should be the child's choice when they are older. Many of my friends have pierced their daughters ears and I find it quite cruel. Pain is pain whether you are 7 months or 7 years old.

Answer 6

Ok well I have a daughter and I got her ears pierced when she was still very little. They got infected so we took them out. Now she is 3 and knows the whole concept of having her ears pierced she got them re done this year and she really likes them but once again her ears can't handle earring. She is allergic to them. My whole family has always gotten ours done when we were little just so we don't remember the pain but as I look at it now if I could do it all over again I think I would have waited till she was older.

Answer 7

I always wished my parents had gotten my ears pierced when I was a baby because as I grew up I had a VERY low pain tolerance and never could get it done.
However, I also developed very bad metal allergies. When I was 15 I finally BAWLED through the pain of having my ears pierced, and then had a horrible allergic reaction to the earrings and had to go on antibiotics and take them out for good.
So, looking back, it was a good thing that they didnt get them pierced!

Answer 8

I took my daughter to have hers done when she was only 4, and I regretted it immediately. I would never do it again. She started school not long after and had to undress for pe, which caused alot of problems. It REALLY hurt when she had them done, she screamed and didn't trust me for ages afterwards. It took a long time to win back her trust. After a few weeks I had to take her back there as some skin had got stuck in the back of the earring; we were in the shop for an hour trying to calm her down enough to let the woman take the back off. It hurt again when the back was pulled off with skin stuck in it. A few weeks later we had to take them out for her ballet exam and she was too scared to let me put them back in. After 1 day they were closed up. So it was a complete waste of time, all that pain for nothing. It was really traumatic for her. I'll not get them done again, unless she absolutely wants to when she's much older. They do cause a big problem with sports and swimming and pe, though. I would never get a baby's done. The baby will associate you with the pain; my daughter did and she was 4.

Answer 9

i used to pierce for a living and i have seen young children have bad reactions to jewellery and solutions and have even witnessed some have panick attacks and sometimes fits as a result of the trauma involved with having their ears pierced. I say leave it till the child is old enough to make her own decision. it not is necessary to have them done so young and IT IS JUST MY OPINION BUT don't you think its a bit chavvy having them done so young, oh my gawd look at all my thumbs down! LOL Any way your child is not a fashion accessory and should be able to make her own mind up on the subject when she is at an age that is responsible.

Answer 10

i agree that the choice should be the childs and more than likely she will want to have them pierced when she is older the differnce then is that she is old enough to have it explained that she will be in pain inflicting unneccesary pain on a five month old child in my opinion is just stupidity especially for what appears to be for the reason of pure vanity

i have a five month old girl and have to cover my eyes if she needs to get a needle at the docs or something i cant imagine somebody willingly putting a child through that

Answer 11

Others have made excellent comments.

I think it's a very bad idea and am against it.
It should be a person's choice, but I think they should wait until 10+, when they have shown responsibility and the capacity to care for them completely on their own.
There are risks of infection and transaction of a disease as others mentioned, why risk it?
Babies are beautiful as they are, and aren't meant to have their bodies altered for cuteness or fashion.
I also think they should be old enough to truly understand that after a bit, it's for life. Once they've been in long enough, they dont just close up - and even if the inner holes do, you still have the marks.
Good for you for sticking with what you believe and protecting your baby.