To each their own… but if I had a daughter I’d probably wait until she was old enough to decide for herself.
Yes. I’m not a parent, but if I were, and if I had a daughter, I would wait until she was old enough to tell me when she wanted to get her ears pierced.
Well, for my daughter, that’s exactly what I thought… If she wants them when she’s older, she can go for it.
Yes…a child should ask and be old enough…I’ve seen poor babies getting pierced and screaming
Did Christina Applegate do that?
sounds like a consensus to me; we waited and our daughter wanted; it was the ideal sitch; all parenting should be so easy
Wait until she (or he, let’s not be sexist) can buy her (or his) own jewelry. I pierced mine in my early forties.
I have to say I’m indifferent. I have a friend who has had her ears pierced 3 times, but she didn’t leave the earrings in long enough either time, so the holes closed up. Thats one of the advantages about piercing baby ears. My ears were pierced as a child, but that doesn’t mean I have to wear earrings every day for the rest of my life.
Actually, I think its dumb that this conversation is even happening.
No it really doesn’t bother me when babies have their ears pierced. My ears are pierced, and I’ve never met a girl who is upset that hers are. If she doesn’t like it when she is older she can close them.
i honestly don’t see a problem with it, but seriously what’s the point?
I think parents should do as they wish in this case. Like @EmilyandAtticus said, I’ve never met someone who was upset with the ear piercing they received as a baby. If anything I’ve known people who are glad because they wouldn’t have wanted to do it now.
If I had a girl, I would pierce her ears. I don’t think she care neither way.
I’ve known a lot of people that get their baby’s ears pierced. I don’t think I could do it to my child but it’s really a matter of what the parent wants, the baby doesn’t care either way. I would wait until the child is old enough to tell me on their own that they want their ears pierced. Until then it would just be a selfish thing for the parent’s sake. Like I said, a baby doesn’t care if her earrings match her outfit that day. In fact, she doesn’t even care if she has clothes on. So I don’t know, I think it’s just putting the baby through unnecessary pain. Until they can think about it and then verbalize that they want it done, I wouldn’t do it. To each their own though. And I don’t knock anyone for doing it to their kid, just personally I wouldn’t do it to my child.
What if I wanted to get her nose pierced? Would that be cool?
I wish there was a humane law against it..
I will say right here and now that regardless of what a parent believes on this issue, that they should do a CRAP ton of research on who is piercing their children’s ears and I am a great example.
My mother took me to get my ears pierced when I was very young in a MALL and the idiots who did it put them in too low. The weight of the earrings actually pulled completely through my ears tearing my ear lobe in two. The doctors said that my ears would never heal. My parents were the kind of people who decided not to accept that as truth, went home, essentially pressed my ear lobes together, and prayed for days. My ears DID go back together and they healed. I have big scars on both of them however.
I do not suggest getting it done from ANYONE besides a doctor and not until the child is a few years old.
My ears were pierced at home when I was just a couple of months old and they turned out fine.
Personally, I’d wait until a child is old enough to consent.
Personally, I am very opposed to the idea of deliberately causing bodily harm and/or damage to another human being for the sake of THEIR appearance. I’m not against the practice of plastic surgery or anything like that, I’m just saying I wouldn’t perform the procedure myself unless it was on myself.
As for doing so without a person’s consent…
I can’t decide whether I feel that it’s really fucked up in some obscure way that I don’t currently understand or whether it’s a benign practice when done to baby, but either way that is one chance I sure as hell wouldn’t take.
Hmm… I’ll ask Adam Levine later cause’ he is the father of my babies :p :p
As someone that isn’t a parent, I don’t think feel I have a right to weigh in on something related to the upbringing of children. What I can contribute is that my sister and I both had our ears pierced as infants and suffered no ill effects from it. My niece had her ears pierced three times between the ages of 3 months and 6 years old only for us to find out that she’s allergic to nearly every metal imaginable. If I had a daughter, I honestly don’t know what I would do; I don’t fault parents either way.
Hmmmmm. I pierced my daughters ears when she was about 3 months old. When she had her daughters she did the same. I fine with that.
Lets reframe the question. Should a child be old enough to consent before being circumcised ?
I haven’t gotten Emma’s ears pierced and I probably won’t until she can ask me herself.
I never cared much for jewelry, so I’m grateful my mom didn’t get my ears pierced. I’d rather decide on my own, if I ever start getting into that. (Don’t hold your breath.)
@gokellyjo - I totally agree with you. Lets rephrase the question one more time:- Should a child be old enough to consent before being sent to school. Being parents is taking decisions on behalf of the child. Children become what parents make them.
I think it is an atrocious thing to do to a child. There is a risk of infection and you have to be religious about cleaning the ears to avoid it. Why the freaking heck would you open a wee baby up to a risk of infection like that just for the aesthetics? It is stupid. I definitely think you should wait until the child is old enough to care for the piercings themselves.
Ear piercing was originally used to show ownership, so whatever mutilation a parent wants to commit on their child, who is just above the state of chattel until age 14, should be fine.
I was very small when my mom had my ears pierced, and my daughter was an infant when I had her ears pierced. The pediatricians office does them before 6 months old (I nursed my daughter while she had hers done and she wasn’t fazed) or after 6 years old. I think as with anything else it’s up to the parents discretion. When the child is older she can decide for herself whether she wants to wear earrings or not.
Probably. But I think it’s adorable so my baby won’t need to consent ;P
when I worked in pediatrics back in the early 90′s a little boy told us how you can tell if it’s a baby boy or girl and we said,”how?” bracing ourselves for the answer and he said,”girls have earrings.”
lol I like to tell little kids if they ask me if it’s a boy or girl kitten or puppy? well, it’s stamped on the bottom but when they’re little it’s hard to tell.They usually say that ‘s why mommy and daddy were looking on the bottom.lol
No. I had my ears pierced when I was a Baby and it’s much more conveniant.
Someone else had to take care of the rotateing and cleaning milarky.
Yes, the child should get to choose. Yesterday at the mall I saw a family with their young daughter (about 3 years old). The dad had her in a bear hug, she was crying and squirming and yelling she didn’t want it done but the technician was doing it anyway. I felt really bad for her. Child abuse? Maybe. I just don’t know what prompted the trip to get her ears pierced or why she was so upset about the whole thing. I made my kids wait til they were 14. They both did it, but the older one ended up letting them grow back after only a few months.
The link you posted relates to when a third party can tattoo or pierce a minor, which in many cases will require consent of the parent. From what I glanced over, the state laws referenced are not related to when a parent can choose for a young child to have their ears pierced. Please direct me to specific state laws if I missed something.
If I had kids, I would probably not like having that done to them.
As for whether the State should prevent parents from doing this: Meh, I don’t really think this qualifies as abuse of any kind. I would probably lean in favor of preventing the State from being overly involved in parenting decisions.
I think consent is really the wrong worry here. Get over your holier-than-you political correctness bullshit, people. They grow in super quickly, especially in childrens ears. Seems like some people wouldn’t even cut a kid’s hair.
My problems would be - infections/allergies. Not necessarily a big deal when discovered quickly, but I wouldn’t want to deal with it. - risk of hurting. I see many babies with rings in their ears…what if they rip them out because they get stuck somewhere, and cut their earlobe? - babies eat anything, including earrings they managed to take out.
It’s no big deal, parents aren’t child molesters because of this, but I wouldn’t want to do it. Just more stress. babies are cute anyway.
Permanently scarring a person’s body should not be done before the age of consent, barring more pressing circumstances (i.e. vaccinations to prevent major illness, forcing a kid to jump out a 2-story building window in a fire). That is mutilation and it is barbaric to inflict upon a person otherwise.
It can’t be any worse than infant circumcision.
@gokellyjo - Yes, circumcision should only be done on consenting adults, never children. Nearly every medical issue concerning a child’s penis can be fixed without a full circumcision.
Yes, a child should consent to having something non-medically necessary done to their body. It’s not like a baby needs her ears pierced. I had mine done when I was 7 and it did not hurt. I then tried to get them double pierced when I was 16 and it hurt like hell so I have two holes in my left ear and one in my right ear. lol So, the myth of a baby “not feeling” it and an older child “feeling” it is busted!
If I have a kid, i’m having its nipples pierced right out of the womb! AND, i’m putting a ”MY DADDY’S A PIMP” tatoo on its chest!
I fully understand the premise of the question, giving personal choice to body modification, but have to admit that our society is getting way off base in having our lives run by children. There is a reason that the structure/foundation of our youth gets worse with each generation… parents! Stop trying to be their friend and robbing them of parents, and something like ear rings makes more sense to do young and not torture them later in life (remembered pain), and why is it that a child dictates choices a parent should be making? And why do we pretend a child is abused by following what we’ve all done for generations? I for one can speak from personal experience when I say waiting to do things can do more damage than good in many cases. And that is stating a wide array of parenting choices (not just ear piercing) that we all with children make (or even endured as children ourselves).
My mom made me wait, which meant a friend with a sewing needle and potato… infection! Than when I had them properly done, still wasn’t a pleasant experience! I can see holding off with the one ear fads little boys had in the 1980s-1990s, but ridiculous to wait with little girls.
It should be illegal. It’s entirely unnecessary and does pose risks. I also can’t get on board with causing a child pain for purely aesthetic reasons. They do not always close, either. Mom went years without wearing earrings, and her piercing holes never closed up.
My Grandmother used to get all her grandbabies ears pierced when they turned 1. Never saw a problem with it. Though, after I got married and had daughters, it was something I wanted to continue and my husband flat out said NO. Mine were pierced when I was a baby. Those holes, I could leave earrings out for YEARS and they would never close.
I plan to pierce my daughter’s ears. I’ve noticed a bit of a trend though…
When I was a few months old, my mother got my ears pierced. The healed fine because I couldn’t really do much to cause them to get infected or ripped out. Nineteen years later, they’re still fine.
My little sister is turning six in a few days. She got her ears pierced when she was 4 because she said she wanted to. She cried for hours afterwards (it’s scary when you understand what’s going on). Healing took FOREVER. She touched them constantly. They were harder to keep clean and she wouldn’t let anyone else touch them because she was afraid they’d hurt.
My little cousin is about to turn seven in a few months. She’s YET to get her ears pierced because she’s afraid. She really wants them done though and talks about it all the time. But, her fear of the pain is far more powerful.
My friend was 16 when she got her ears pierced. At that age, we think we KNOW IT ALL. She didn’t wait the full period of having that piercing in and kept removing it. Her body ultimately rejected it.
To each is own, of course. But I’m definitely taking my daughter to get her ears pierced when she turns 3 months old.
I wish my parents pierced my ears when I was a baby so at least I didn’t have to remember the painful experience.
Wait untill they can decide themselves.
I got my 5 year old daughter’s ears pierced when she was 3. Her father and I discussed it and he said to go for it and I asked her if she wanted it and she also said yes. SHe hated the process but now she loves wearing earrings to school.
I’m Italian, and my ears were peirced when I was born. I’m going to do the same to my child when I have one. I think it’s more about the parent’s nationality. Some parents think its stupid, some find it a tradition. To each their own.
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I love to read and appreciate your work. Bryan Boyne
That was what I wanted for my daughter. I wanted her to make the decision when she got old enough, but her mother had her own idea and brought my daughter home from the mall with her ears pierce. Regardless of what I felt, I don’t believe it was anything to fight about.
I have always disliked large clip ons on my ears. I looked longingly at the small pierced earrings…”If God wanted you to have pierced ears he would have given them to you”, my dad would say….I finally got mine done when I had my hair cut short and part of my ear showed. I don’t regret it for a minute. But there are too many stories of babies pulling the rings out of their mother’s ears and I think if it was as popular with babies we would hear more stories of them tearing their own ears. Let them get old enough for the safety of both and by that time the child can decide for her/him self.
Should a child be old enough to consent before her ears are pierced?
Comments (60)
To each their own… but if I had a daughter I’d probably wait until she was old enough to decide for herself.
Yes. I’m not a parent, but if I were, and if I had a daughter, I would wait until she was old enough to tell me when she wanted to get her ears pierced.
Well, for my daughter, that’s exactly what I thought… If she wants them when she’s older, she can go for it.
Yes…a child should ask and be old enough…I’ve seen poor babies getting pierced and screaming
Did Christina Applegate do that?
sounds like a consensus to me; we waited and our daughter wanted; it was the ideal sitch; all parenting should be so easy
Wait until she (or he, let’s not be sexist) can buy her (or his) own jewelry. I pierced mine in my early forties.
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/tattooing-and-body-piercing.aspx
the law, BTW, is quite plain on this matter
I have to say I’m indifferent. I have a friend who has had her ears pierced 3 times, but she didn’t leave the earrings in long enough either time, so the holes closed up. Thats one of the advantages about piercing baby ears. My ears were pierced as a child, but that doesn’t mean I have to wear earrings every day for the rest of my life.
Actually, I think its dumb that this conversation is even happening.
No it really doesn’t bother me when babies have their ears pierced. My ears are pierced, and I’ve never met a girl who is upset that hers are. If she doesn’t like it when she is older she can close them.
i honestly don’t see a problem with it, but seriously what’s the point?
I think parents should do as they wish in this case. Like @EmilyandAtticus said, I’ve never met someone who was upset with the ear piercing they received as a baby. If anything I’ve known people who are glad because they wouldn’t have wanted to do it now.
If I had a girl, I would pierce her ears. I don’t think she care neither way.
Seedsower is The Queen of Xanga!
No.
I’ve known a lot of people that get their baby’s ears pierced. I don’t think I could do it to my child but it’s really a matter of what the parent wants, the baby doesn’t care either way. I would wait until the child is old enough to tell me on their own that they want their ears pierced. Until then it would just be a selfish thing for the parent’s sake. Like I said, a baby doesn’t care if her earrings match her outfit that day. In fact, she doesn’t even care if she has clothes on. So I don’t know, I think it’s just putting the baby through unnecessary pain. Until they can think about it and then verbalize that they want it done, I wouldn’t do it. To each their own though. And I don’t knock anyone for doing it to their kid, just personally I wouldn’t do it to my child.
What if I wanted to get her nose pierced? Would that be cool?
I wish there was a humane law against it..
I will say right here and now that regardless of what a parent believes on this issue, that they should do a CRAP ton of research on who is piercing their children’s ears and I am a great example.
My mother took me to get my ears pierced when I was very young in a MALL and the idiots who did it put them in too low. The weight of the earrings actually pulled completely through my ears tearing my ear lobe in two. The doctors said that my ears would never heal. My parents were the kind of people who decided not to accept that as truth, went home, essentially pressed my ear lobes together, and prayed for days. My ears DID go back together and they healed. I have big scars on both of them however.
I do not suggest getting it done from ANYONE besides a doctor and not until the child is a few years old.
My ears were pierced at home when I was just a couple of months old and they turned out fine.
Personally, I’d wait until a child is old enough to consent.
Personally, I am very opposed to the idea of deliberately causing bodily harm and/or damage to another human being for the sake of THEIR appearance. I’m not against the practice of plastic surgery or anything like that, I’m just saying I wouldn’t perform the procedure myself unless it was on myself.
As for doing so without a person’s consent…
I can’t decide whether I feel that it’s really fucked up in some obscure way that I don’t currently understand or whether it’s a benign practice when done to baby, but either way that is one chance I sure as hell wouldn’t take.
Hmm… I’ll ask Adam Levine later cause’ he is the father of my babies :p :p
As someone that isn’t a parent, I don’t think feel I have a right to weigh in on something related to the upbringing of children. What I can contribute is that my sister and I both had our ears pierced as infants and suffered no ill effects from it. My niece had her ears pierced three times between the ages of 3 months and 6 years old only for us to find out that she’s allergic to nearly every metal imaginable. If I had a daughter, I honestly don’t know what I would do; I don’t fault parents either way.
Hmmmmm. I pierced my daughters ears when she was about 3 months old. When she had her daughters she did the same. I fine with that.
Lets reframe the question. Should a child be old enough to consent before being circumcised ?
I haven’t gotten Emma’s ears pierced and I probably won’t until she can ask me herself.
I never cared much for jewelry, so I’m grateful my mom didn’t get my ears pierced. I’d rather decide on my own, if I ever start getting into that. (Don’t hold your breath.)
@gokellyjo - I totally agree with you. Lets rephrase the question one more time:- Should a child be old enough to consent before being sent to school.
Being parents is taking decisions on behalf of the child. Children become what parents make them.
I think it is an atrocious thing to do to a child. There is a risk of infection and you have to be religious about cleaning the ears to avoid it. Why the freaking heck would you open a wee baby up to a risk of infection like that just for the aesthetics? It is stupid. I definitely think you should wait until the child is old enough to care for the piercings themselves.
Ear piercing was originally used to show ownership, so whatever mutilation a parent wants to commit on their child, who is just above the state of chattel until age 14, should be fine.
I was very small when my mom had my ears pierced, and my daughter was an infant when I had her ears pierced. The pediatricians office does them before 6 months old (I nursed my daughter while she had hers done and she wasn’t fazed) or after 6 years old. I think as with anything else it’s up to the parents discretion. When the child is older she can decide for herself whether she wants to wear earrings or not.
Probably. But I think it’s adorable so my baby won’t need to consent ;P
@grizzlybearr – same here!!
when I worked in pediatrics back in the early 90′s a little boy told us how you can tell if it’s a baby boy or girl and we said,”how?” bracing ourselves for the answer and he said,”girls have earrings.”
lol I like to tell little kids if they ask me if it’s a boy or girl kitten or puppy? well, it’s stamped on the bottom but when they’re little it’s hard to tell.They usually say that ‘s why mommy and daddy were looking on the bottom.lol
No. I had my ears pierced when I was a Baby and it’s much more conveniant.
Someone else had to take care of the rotateing and cleaning milarky.
Yes, the child should get to choose. Yesterday at the mall I saw a family with their young daughter (about 3 years old). The dad had her in a bear hug, she was crying and squirming and yelling she didn’t want it done but the technician was doing it anyway. I felt really bad for her. Child abuse? Maybe. I just don’t know what prompted the trip to get her ears pierced or why she was so upset about the whole thing. I made my kids wait til they were 14. They both did it, but the older one ended up letting them grow back after only a few months.
I think the same would apply to circumcision.
Yes.
@wrybreadspread -
The link you posted relates to when a third party can tattoo or pierce a minor, which in many cases will require consent of the parent. From what I glanced over, the state laws referenced are not related to when a parent can choose for a young child to have their ears pierced. Please direct me to specific state laws if I missed something.
If I had kids, I would probably not like having that done to them.
As for whether the State should prevent parents from doing this: Meh, I don’t really think this qualifies as abuse of any kind. I would probably lean in favor of preventing the State from being overly involved in parenting decisions.
I think consent is really the wrong worry here. Get over your holier-than-you political correctness bullshit, people. They grow in super quickly, especially in childrens ears. Seems like some people wouldn’t even cut a kid’s hair.
My problems would be
- infections/allergies. Not necessarily a big deal when discovered quickly, but I wouldn’t want to deal with it.
- risk of hurting. I see many babies with rings in their ears…what if they rip them out because they get stuck somewhere, and cut their earlobe?
- babies eat anything, including earrings they managed to take out.
It’s no big deal, parents aren’t child molesters because of this, but I wouldn’t want to do it. Just more stress. babies are cute anyway.
Permanently scarring a person’s body should not be done before the age of consent, barring more pressing circumstances (i.e. vaccinations to prevent major illness, forcing a kid to jump out a 2-story building window in a fire). That is mutilation and it is barbaric to inflict upon a person otherwise.
It can’t be any worse than infant circumcision.
@gokellyjo - Yes, circumcision should only be done on consenting adults, never children. Nearly every medical issue concerning a child’s penis can be fixed without a full circumcision.
Yes, a child should consent to having something non-medically necessary done to their body. It’s not like a baby needs her ears pierced. I had mine done when I was 7 and it did not hurt. I then tried to get them double pierced when I was 16 and it hurt like hell so I have two holes in my left ear and one in my right ear. lol So, the myth of a baby “not feeling” it and an older child “feeling” it is busted!
If I have a kid, i’m having its nipples pierced right out of the womb! AND, i’m putting a ”MY DADDY’S A PIMP” tatoo on its chest!
I fully understand the premise of the question, giving personal choice to body modification, but have to admit that our society is getting way off base in having our lives run by children. There is a reason that the structure/foundation of our youth gets worse with each generation… parents! Stop trying to be their friend and robbing them of parents, and something like ear rings makes more sense to do young and not torture them later in life (remembered pain), and why is it that a child dictates choices a parent should be making? And why do we pretend a child is abused by following what we’ve all done for generations? I for one can speak from personal experience when I say waiting to do things can do more damage than good in many cases. And that is stating a wide array of parenting choices (not just ear piercing) that we all with children make (or even endured as children ourselves).
My mom made me wait, which meant a friend with a sewing needle and potato… infection! Than when I had them properly done, still wasn’t a pleasant experience! I can see holding off with the one ear fads little boys had in the 1980s-1990s, but ridiculous to wait with little girls.
It should be illegal. It’s entirely unnecessary and does pose risks. I also can’t get on board with causing a child pain for purely aesthetic reasons. They do not always close, either. Mom went years without wearing earrings, and her piercing holes never closed up.
My Grandmother used to get all her grandbabies ears pierced when they turned 1. Never saw a problem with it. Though, after I got married and had daughters, it was something I wanted to continue and my husband flat out said NO. Mine were pierced when I was a baby. Those holes, I could leave earrings out for YEARS and they would never close.
@gokellyjo - Nicely said!
I plan to pierce my daughter’s ears. I’ve noticed a bit of a trend though…
When I was a few months old, my mother got my ears pierced. The healed fine because I couldn’t really do much to cause them to get infected or ripped out. Nineteen years later, they’re still fine.
My little sister is turning six in a few days. She got her ears pierced when she was 4 because she said she wanted to. She cried for hours afterwards (it’s scary when you understand what’s going on). Healing took FOREVER. She touched them constantly. They were harder to keep clean and she wouldn’t let anyone else touch them because she was afraid they’d hurt.
My little cousin is about to turn seven in a few months. She’s YET to get her ears pierced because she’s afraid. She really wants them done though and talks about it all the time. But, her fear of the pain is far more powerful.
My friend was 16 when she got her ears pierced. At that age, we think we KNOW IT ALL. She didn’t wait the full period of having that piercing in and kept removing it. Her body ultimately rejected it.
To each is own, of course. But I’m definitely taking my daughter to get her ears pierced when she turns 3 months old.
I wish my parents pierced my ears when I was a baby so at least I didn’t have to remember the painful experience.
Wait untill they can decide themselves.
I got my 5 year old daughter’s ears pierced when she was 3. Her father and I discussed it and he said to go for it and I asked her if she wanted it and she also said yes. SHe hated the process but now she loves wearing earrings to school.
I’m Italian, and my ears were peirced when I was born. I’m going to do the same to my child when I have one. I think it’s more about the parent’s nationality. Some parents think its stupid, some find it a tradition. To each their own.
Hi
I love to read and appreciate your work.
Bryan Boyne
That was what I wanted for my daughter. I wanted her to make the decision when she got old enough, but her mother had her own idea and brought my daughter home from the mall with her ears pierce. Regardless of what I felt, I don’t believe it was anything to fight about.
I have always disliked large clip ons on my ears. I looked longingly at the small pierced earrings…”If God wanted you to have pierced ears he would have given them to you”, my dad would say….I finally got mine done when I had my hair cut short and part of my ear showed. I don’t regret it for a minute. But there are too many stories of babies pulling the rings out of their mother’s ears and I think if it was as popular with babies we would hear more stories of them tearing their own ears. Let them get old enough for the safety of both and by that time the child can decide for her/him self.
@AngelAsh_86 - perfect future mother
@jennyvie89 - Aww, thank you!
Yes…100% yes