if smacking and marking your children to discipline them is illegal then should?

Question

having childrens ears peirced also constitute child abuse and also be illegal ? i hate to see children, especially babies with their ears peirced, i think its tacky, it hurt them and it consitutes in my book abuse. what do you think ?

mmorrillos i think you are cheap, nasty trailer trash, what responsible loving parent has her daughters ears peirced at 2 months, you stupid sh*t. i was not saying that peircing is considered as a punishment i just said if smacking was illegal then so should peircing as it leaves a permenant mark, i think some of you should go back to school and learn how to understand text before answering .

yes i have my ears pierced and yes it did hurt actually. the point is that jabs can save their lives, ear piercing can rip babies lobes of before they can even walk. how can anyone justify that ?

now i am exasperated at some of the responses. what i am saying is if it is illegal to smack a child that hard that it leaves a mark should it not also be illegal to pierce childrens ears as that also leaves a mark, babies cannot give consent and young children cannot make an informed choice. if smacking to leave a mark is considered by childrens charities as abuse then so should ear piercing, and i dont care what you lot say IT IS TACKY !!! thanks to the level headed majority for your support.

Answer 1

I had my ears pierced at 11 after badgering my mother for months. it was my wish to have them done, not a chavvy choice my mother forced on me before i could talk. I wholeheartedly agree with you Dolls, Smacking children is a necessity sometimes, ear piercings on children who spend most of their time trying to figure out how to hold a cup upright is a disgrace
(I have no problem with beating kids. My siblings and I were smacked/beaten by our parents and can categorically say we deserved 80% of them!)

Answer 2

The ways to discipline a child and customary practises vary from one race to another race. In some races, there is nothing wrong with hitting the child and the child knows that it is a form of discipline. The child will also know if it is an abuse. Children know it is a discipline because they know they have done something wrong which make their parents mad. As for body piercing whether it is on the earlobe or wherever, it is meant to symbolise something or as a form of decoration and it's not supposed to mean anything bad or negative. I think before Westerners jump into conclusion about non Westerners abusing their children, they should find out the truth, the customs, the practises. Of course certain practises are best do away with if it will cause pain and misery for all years to come. Take another example. Body tattoo. Getting a real tattoo done is very painful and pain is being inflicted upon the child if tattooing is done on him. Do you really need a tattoo ? What does a tattoo really mean and not just the modern day meaning of body decoration ?

Answer 3

like another person said certain cultures do certain things. However there is a damn big difference between beating a kid blue and having ears pierced!!! What do you think the psychological impact is on a child that has been abused? Terrible.. You cannot compare it with ear piercing.
You could argue that it is a form of assault if the child is unable to give consent. And a baby cannot consent to ear piercing.

Answer 4

My opinion is that when you hit a child you teach it that it is ok to hit somebody if they are doing something which you do not like, it may give a quick fix or make an angry person feel better for a short time but long term it does not help to correct behaviour. There are far better ways to guide a child. I think smacking is a lazy way to try to correct a child. It takes more effort to use other methods of correction. If I smacked my child in public nobody would take any notice yet if I were to smack my dog I would be lynched.

Answer 5

It does not hurt to get your ears pierced. Maybe a little startling, but no pain. Getting their shots hurts them much worse. What about circumcision, I'm sure that hurts. They are babies and forget it right after it happens. At any rate, it is a matter of choice.

I disagree with you. While I did not pierce my girl's ears when they were babies, I waited until they asked for it. It is not tacky, it is not abuse. It is a personal choice that parents make and they have the right to do it if they want. You have your opinion so don't pierce your child. Don't pass your opinion and make it like others are abusive.

By stating that it is abuse, you take away what real abuse is. I have been a child advocate in court for many children and trust me, I have heard and seen it all.

Your statement minimizes what real abuse is.

Answer 6

I agree I think it is tacky and cheap to have your child's ears pierced too young but not child abuse.

I think that when you smack a child for a punishment that is hugely different to any other incidents which may cause pain such as ear piercings, accidents or medical procedures eg injections because the child knows that you are displeased with them and see the situation in a different light.

Answer 7

I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old and they are good children but they have there times and i admit i may tap them on the hand but not all the time and i wouldn't dream of marking them, as for the ears piercing my daughter is 2 and i would love to get her ears done as it does look nice but at the same tI'me i worry that if she did get them done she may harm herself whilst wearing them, so im taking the sensible route and waiting, if she wants them done when she is a teenager fine, but i cant go through with it now.

Answer 8

smacking is different from markings. like in ear piercing, there's no harm in it. It's a cultural practise anyway.

I hate to admit it, but even with all my degrees in child developmet I have occasionaly been abusive. I thougth of it a sort of dicipline. But somehow, I am not sorry for it. Now I am happy for the result of my discipline, as they grew up a good citizen and all professionals.

Answer 9

I cannot STAND seeing babies with their ears pierced. I can accept that some people consider it part of their beliefs, and although I find it repugnant, I'm not going to start commenting on someone elses faith, as I don't really know the reasons behind it, and uninformed comment is pointless. However, when it is done purely as a fashion thing, well then as far as I'm concerned its apalling. What next, dressing babies in mini skirts and high heels? (Actually, judging by how some people dress their toddlers and young children, it wouldn't surprise me.)

I had to wait until I was 13 to get my ears pierced, as did my sisters, so my daughter (who is 9) has always known that she can have them done then, IF she chooses to.

Answer 10

this is crazy..

I had my ears pierced at 6 months old (that was 20 yrs ago) then had the second holes done at 11 and you know that might have the most painful thing i remember.. and they have never healed and are a mess. I do not remember getting them done at 6 months old though and glad that my parents chose to do them! and how do you know it hurts them? most don't even cry and when they do they are crying mostly because they are being help still. and I don't know when they ruled that "smacking" your child was illegal? "beating" your child is.. BIG difference...Hopefully you don't have children cause I'm sure they are hellyans.

Answer 11

Perhaps earpiercing should be for 16years and older. That way they can decide for themselves. It's hard to define it as abuse as the earpiercing isn't done out of violence or anger but mostly for vanity reasons.
I wasn't allowed to have my ears pierced until I was 16 as my Mum thinks that earrings on little girls looks 'too old' and some how not right.
For the record she also smacked me a few times in my childhood, though never too hard or spitefully. I have the upmost respect for my Mum and she hasn't made a bad job of raising me!