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To be honest I'm glad I don't have to worry about this right now because I have a boy, but I can't WAIT to hear what you have to say. So I ask you:
What do you think about piercing baby's ears? At what age, baby or older child, do you think is appropriate for getting their ears pierced?
*Do you have something you'd like to ask The Coterie readers for Two Cent Tuesdays? If so, feel free to e-mail me at heather (at) thecoterieblog (dot) com.
Please note, I try to stay away from political/controversial topics but like to ask things that people have strong opinions about. Thanks!
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30 comments:
If you want to do it do it now. Or you will have to wait until she is 4 or five. I would suggest doing it now so she gets used to it and doesn't fight you with the cleaning earring changes.
I chose not to have my girls get their ears pierced until they are older and decide/choose for themselves if they want to have them pierced or not. If they are old enough to make their own decision as to if they want them or not they are old enough to learn how to care for their piercings.
p.s.Random side note that came to mind:
Sometimes people pierce their babies ears due to a cultural thing. I think different cultures are so interesting and I love learning about different traditions in different cultures. Because of this I think people should be less judgemental and be more accepting. Especially since it's not your kid or your ears...know what I mean?
I've overheard too many conversations between mom's who are mumbling about so-and-so's baby and why on earth would she have her kids ears pierced as a newborn. It just bugs me that they care so much about someone else's kid. Let's all just worry about being the best mom we can be to our own kids and worry about ourselves...if you're anything like me there's plenty of things to improve in my own parenting.
I love this comment, Erica! VERY well-said. Thank you!
I don't think you should make that decision for your child. That's her body. Yes, you're her mom so you make important decisions for her, but this is not one of them. If she's older and decides that's what she wants, then a valuable situation has arisen where you can teach her responsibility for caring for her own body.
Personally, I won't let my girls have their ears pierced until they're old enough and responsible enough to take care of them themselves (I'm thinking 10 years). I think babies are more beautiful without the added jewelery.
My Mother had us wait until we were 12 years old. I thought it was a good pre-cursor to making more important decisions. Since it is a society norm to have pierced ears there is some pressure involved, but there is pressure involved in every decision.
I also have some friends who have been pierced since they were young, and they are just glad it is over with.
Either decision is valid.
I don't really want to be in charge of cleaning my little girl's earings.That's just one more thing to do. Having two kids has shown me how lazy I really am :) I'll wait until she's old enough to decide and make her clean them. I am also totally grossed out by the idea that her ear could somehow get accidentally ripped. So grossed out.
Having said that, I really like pierced ears on babies that aren't mine.
I agree with Erica 100% that we need not worry about anyone else's kids but our own. I, for example, come from a latin culture where it is basically expected that a girls ears will be pierced at a very young age, and personally love it!
I am pregnant with my first child and will be finding out what the gender is this week (!), and if it happens to be a girl, I am going to be getting her ears pierced at 3months. I love the way a baby girl looks so femenine with ears pierced but also like that other mothers may use it as an opportunity to bond with their older daughters. Either way though, we are so lucky we have the freedom to do whatever it is we please to do!
I ended up piercing my little girls ears when she was around 3 or 4 months. I hesitated for a minute, but I am so glad I did it when she was young. I can't think of one time they have bothered her. The day of, her ears were a little tender, but that is it! I am all for it.
i'm on the 'wait till she's older' side, and here's why. when i was 5, i decided i wanted my ears pierced, and my mom said yes. it was this big, fun, exciting event. i got to pick out special earrings, and i had something to look forward to. i'm glad my mom didn't make the decision for me when i was a baby because that allowed it to be a fun bonding thing for us when i was old enough to remember it. as for my daughter, there was no way i was going to voluntarily stick anything in her ears (unless it was a tranquilizer, maybe).....she screamed enough for me as it was! :)
Etta,
I know a lot of people have strong feelings when to pierce a child’s ear. “Let them decide” is
being replaced by parental decision when mommy intuition knows, “earlier is better” from either personal or friend’s experiences of unpleasant childhood ear piercing. I think it just depends on your own personal choice whether or not you wish your baby or little girl to have pierced ears.
Some feel perceived gender of their child is important while others find it a cultural tradition where all infant girls have pierced ears.
With all that said, this is a perfect age to pierce your dd's ears.
Promise, she'll thank you later.
We pierced ours at 2 mos after seeing other babies and little girls with pretty earrings, so I
asked our ped. She encouraged me to go ahead and pierce her ears especially when mommy can care
for them.
I’d say if your’re thinking about it now, then your mommy intuition is telling you now is a good
time and I’d follow your heart. If you’d like our ped’s suggestions for moms having their little
girls ears pierced, write me an e-mail.
Good luck with your decision, but secretly, I think you’ve already made it and it is not a matter
of if she’ll have them done, but when.
Amy
Amyswor@hotmail.com
In my family it's practically a tradition for women NOT to pierce their ears - we haven't for generations. However, a couple of my sisters opted to pierce their ears when they were old enough to ask for it (my parents never really brought it up).
I'm glad that my parents never pierced my ears. I have two young daughters, and I'll leave that decision up to them.
I say DO IT!
(sorry I am not as profound as everyone else Etta)
My parents decided to have it be a part of my sisters & my rite of passage for turning 8 and becoming 'big girls'. It was something we looked forward to, and prepared for - plus it was a great teaching opportunity for my parents to help us learn responsibility.
I imagine babies being difficult enough to handle, let alone having the added stress of potential ear infections :)
Good luck to your friend!
I had mine done when I was nine, and my mom still cleaned them for me. I wouldn't worry about age and keeping them clean. The threat of having an infection made me do as I was told. Infections hurt, and at age nine, I knew not to mess with that.
MY main concern:
When ears are pierced while very young, the earlobe continues to grow as the child ages, until the hole which was once center is no longer in the middle of the earlobe. It ends up sitting in the lower-outside quadrant of the earlobe instead of in the middle.
awww. I had my littlegirls ears peirced when she was younger (1 year old) and she loves them still! I figure if she does not want them later, she can always take them out. Honestly, they are no bother at all. I just cleaned them when she got out of the bath each night and that's it. they are so cute too. Mine were pierced at 3 months and I still have the same peircing at 27!
I say no to this, just because I can't get over the whole 'causing my kid pain' thing.
I would also worry that she'd tug at them and that they'd get infected -- babies are tons of work already. I wouldn't want to add to it.
I also don't believe that piercing guns are the way to go -- piercings should be done with a hollow needle and NOT at a hairdresser, as many first time piercings are :) I remember getting my ears gunned when I was about 7 and I HATED it!
I totally had my ears pierced as a baby. My mother was a mom to 4 boys and when her baby girl game along being #5 she was sick of everyone asking about her baby boy. When I got older I don't remember caring one way or another. I just remember being too lazy to put earrings in so they closed up. I got them pierced again when I was 10 or 12.
Getting your ears pierced is not even that big of deal. If people want to judge let them judge. I love the "holier than thou" approach to ear piercing. People, getting your ear pierced (1 hole) is not against the LDS religion. (It reminds me of the freaks who never kiss until the alter. What a joke.)
SIDE NOTE: IT IS NEVER EVER OK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE FOR A BOY TO HAVE A PIERCING. EVER, I REPEAT.
I am terrified of earrings! I had a bad experience with the skin growing over the back of one of my earrings and my older sister having to "operate" to get the earring out of my ear!
It's so funny that you posted this because I just saw the cutest 4-year-old with the cutest earrings and I almost thought about reconsidering. But for now, I think I'll let Anora decide when she's old enough to take care of them herself. I seriously don't want another thing to take care of!
This is just me!
There is a part of me that thinks it is a good idea to let them decide later-but also there is a part of me that thinks it's no big deal. You only have to have your darling girl called a boy a few times before you want something to advertise her gender. Vain? Silly? Maybe.
I pierced Felicity's ears when right after her 4 month shots (dr reccomended this time). Of course she cried when it happened, but by the time we paid and checked out, she was fine. She has never had any infections or pulled at them.
How many girls do you know that DON'T want their ears pierced eventually? And if she wishes I hadn't done it-she will only have teeny tiny holes. In my opinion-not too big of a deal-but everyone should do what they think is right. No judgment.
I don't really care either way, but my Mom SWEARS it is the best bribe when your little girl is older. It got me to stop wetting the bed at night (can't believe I'm admitting this on the internet) and my sister to stop sucking her thumb. We were obviously still young, but old enough that it was a good bribe. Just a thought :)
Isn't Jana going to be a great mama?
I think it's totally a personal decision. I'm surprised how strongly people feel about it one way or the other. I know a lot of moms who have had their little girls ears pierced as babies and a lot who have them wait until they're 8-12 and some who have put their foot down and said no ear piercing at all . . . all are great moms with well adjusted children. :)
But what do I know? I only have boys in my house so I've never given the issue a tremendous amount of thought.
I have my ears pierced and NEVER wear earings. It's not a priority to me, where as to others it may be.
I will let my daughter get them when she is old enough to understand how and why we take care of them/clean them.
I don't want my daughter to think that ear pericings/clothes/hair styles is what makes you look beutiful. So, I personally don't make it an issue, nor a priority.
Sometimes I think it can be a little bit distracting from their precious little faces. (depending on the size of the jewel)But with some babies, it totally looks so cute and girly. It doesn't even cross my mind when I see little babies ears perieced. It is to bad mom's have made comments about it. I would never judge/comment on that! I say go with what your heart feels. :)
It is tradition in Mexico to pierce baby girls ears when they are newborns, so Noel really wanted to do this. When I took Bryn to Mexico as an 18 month old, everyone thought she was a boy even though I had her dressed in pink, bows, dresses, etc.
Still I was very firm and said no with both girls. Our girls have to wait until they are 10. I don't like piercing babies ears because: 1. it hurts them. 2. it can get infected and hurt again. 3. you have to clean it 4. they can't tell you if they want it or not 5. their ears grow and the pierce can end up being uneven (as with my SIL)
Just wait until they are older and can decide for themselves if that is what they want. Then they can clean it themselves!
I say:
Let babies, be babies. They don't want their ears pierced! Kids grow up way too fast. Why speed up the process by piercing their perfect, little ears? There will come a day when they will actually care to have their ears pierced. Then, go have a fun outing, picking the studs, and sharing that exciting mile-stone.
Loved all the comments,
Bri
haha! Thanks Shelly :)
only after 6 years old, and only if she wanted to.
I don't have any kids, but I am not a fan of piercing baby's ears. I remember being so excited for my 6th birthday, because my mom had always told me that's when I could get it done if I wanted to. Because I was looking forward to it so much, I was very into taking care of them myself as well, even though she supervised and made sure I was doing it properly. I dunno... not to offend anyone (and I have nieces who got their ears pierced at near-infancy), but I just think it's kind of tacky to have earrings on a tiny baby! That's my two cents :)
I'm late for the discussion, but had to tell you girls how it's done here in Brazil: the baby girl's ears are pierced most times in the hospital, right after the baby is born.
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