what do ya'll think about getting your baby's ears pierced? my momma had mine pierced when i was probably four or so months old, and I'm not saying I was traumatized by the experience or anything, but I won't do that to my Ivy. Mom keeps hinting that she'd look so cute with them pierced, but if she gets any cuter my heart might just burst anyway!! I'd rather her want her ears pierced one day and ask for it than me just pushing it on her without her say. They are her ears after all. Maybe she won't ever want them pierced...who knows?
Your Mum definitely means well because she loves Ivy to pieces too but I agree with you........... they are her ears and she should decide whether she'd like them pierced. I would just kindly say that to your Mum......... she'll understand. I got my ears pierced for my 9th Birthday and I was so excited. It was a great pressie from my Mum that I never forgot. Love and peace x
Mz mom pierced mine when I was 4 years old. We went to the store, with some other girls and their moms, and when the first one was done, and screamed, I did not want to get my ears piereced. So I didn't have to. But originally I wanted my ears pierced, so we went back to the store a few weeks later, and then I was brave and got my ears done
I'm all about waiting until the child is old enough to decide on her own. You're right, it is her body, and she should be able to make the decision herself. Maddie was five when we got her ears pierced. The first ear got pierced and then she screamed bloody murder. We had to walk around the mall until she calmed down before we could get her to remove her hands and let the second ear get pierced!!
I think unneccesary pain and permenant body decoration is reprehensible. Would you give your baby a tatoo? There is NO REASON to harm a baby this way (yes they get infected all the time, it hurts when it is done, you can expose your baby to Hepatits and other blood born diseases, and babies can and DO rip them out and often swallow them, I remember a client whose 7 month old choked on her earring.) Babies are beautiful enough. There is no reason to alter them. Body changes should ONLY be made with the consent and desire of the person whose body it is. And a baby cannot ask for or consent to earrings. I have three girls. They did not get thier ears pierced until they not only asked for it, but were able to do the self care themselves. Meaning cleaning, turning and changing the earrings. This didn't happen before the kindergarden. Sage is 5 and is not pierced. When Sunshine and Moon got theirs done (at the same time at 5 and 7) the piercer did BOTH ears at once, as she said a lot of little kids cry so much they don't want the second one done. My kids didn't cry. I let them KNOW it would hurt, they would need to take care of the ears. Iveysmom, this is YOUR baby. One of the worst problems I see with new mamas is them having a hard time convincing their moms or inlaws that THIS IS YOUR BABY. YOU make the decisions. When you give in, you open a lot of doors to broken boundries, that you really shouldn't have. This is a boundry issue. It can set the tone for how much your mother interferes with your parenting choices. Let your mom know, in NO uncertain terms, that the baby is YOURS, and the you, and only you will make the decisions. Don't let her "well I did this to you, so you must think I am a horrible mother if YOU won't do what I did." garbage interfere with your decisions. My mother tried this shit with me. With everything from starting solids at 1 week, to letting the baby cry, to quitting breastfeeding "because it won't be the end of the world." My mother wanted me to make the same mistakes SHE did, so her mistakes would seem less problematic. When I refused to do the things she tried to insist on (let the baby cry, wean the baby, or give her rice cereal at 1 week old, leave the baby for a weekend) she got offended. Tough shit. My baby is more important than my mother's "feelings." Let your mom KNOW who the boss is. YOU and Ivy. NOW is the time to set boundries that will be in place for the rest of your motherhood. You can still love your mother and say NO to things about your dd that you know are not right. If you give in, it will be harder and harder for YOU to be the parent. This goes BEYOND ear piercing. Make your stand, it will be important.
Totally agree with Maggie As you say their her ears, and it seems a pretty mean thing to do. Having a random stranger attack your baby with a needle then having to faff about cleaning them and such. Also toddlers can play pretty rough, always worry the earings would get ripped out or something. My parents wouldn't let me get my ears done until I was 12. Figured by then I'd be smart enough to make an educated choice and to care of my ears. Ironically when the time came I said no way, because... A) because I'm irrantionally scared of needles B) couldn't see the point, my ears are fine C) it'd just be conforming to a cultural norm, and I'd rather not do that. Still haven't got it done, probably never will. And am very grateful for having the option.
I got my first ones done when I was 6, as a present for stopping biting my fingernails. (Not that it lasted long lol but still)....I dunno I think it's a parents' personal choice. My aunt and uncle pierced my cousin's ears when she was about 6 months old because their pediatrician said it was the best time to do it. I've also heard of people doing it so that people will know if their baby is a boy or a girl... at any rate, I think it's a pretty personal choice - not to mention sometimes there's cultural aspects, too.
My daughter asked to have her ears pierced when she started Kindergarten because other girls had theirs pierced. Any way, we talked about it for a long time and I finally gave in around Christmas when I was convinced she could take care of them. It has been a little over a year now and she has done pretty well with it. Every morning she chooses earrings that match her clothes. But, never would I have had her ears pierced when she was an infant. It is just too scary. It was scary for me as a mom when she was nearly 6. I just don't think a baby needs such a thing. Ever.
Im with you.. Its being talk about it like it was a tattoo... If they don't want them take them out... Its not hard... Its not personal... Its earings... You make the dicision to cut you childs hair.. what they wear.. eat and everything else... What if your son wanted long hair.. let him grow it when hes older.. but its natural to just let his hair grow and then decide to cut it if he wants it short... Im not trying to be a bitch at all.. I just personally dont think its a big deal either way.. pierce them or don't doesnt really matter.. you want to wait okay fine... more power to you.. but dont make it out to be this major thing... P.S. Im really not tring to be a bitch..
I got my ears pierced when I was 2. I sorta remember the experience. I was pretty little, though, so it's fuzzy. I remember thinking that it didn't hurt as much as getting a shot. Of course, when you're 2, you think falling out of a 2nd story window doesn't hurt as much as getting a show. I don't remember crying, though. It hurt, but it wasn't traumatic. After the lady was done, I remember looking in the mirror and feeling glamorous. Lol. It wasn't getting my ears pieced that was the problem, it was just having pierced ears in general. Sometimes I forgot to take them out at night, and my ears would get sore. The earrings they made for little kids were made really badly, so they would hurt sometimes, especially when I took them out. I don't wear earrings anymore. It hurts to have something dangling from my ears, and I don't like the idea of putting a piece of metal inside of me. Yeah, it's inside a small part of your ear, but it's still inside your ear. That idea disturbs me a little. I don't like having holes in my ears. The one thing you have to remember with small children is if they get their ears pierced at a young enough age, there's a change that the holes will not close up. That's all good and well if you want to wear earings the rest of your life, but if you don't, you just hang around having holes in your ears forever. If I were a parent, I don't think I would let my child, male or female (guys pierce their ears, too, you know) get their ears pierced they were old enough to make that decision theirself, take care of their ears theirself, and pay for it theirself. It's not that I think there's anything wrong with it, it's just not really something I want to contribute to. Piercings are the individual's responcibility.
Faruie, my points are that: it is painful It is permanent It may have long term consequences I don't beleive in causing pain to children uneccesarily. There is no reason to put an infant through such pain. I've also known kids who have swallow earrings. Not pretty. I've had clients whose kids have choked on them. It is very common. Also, IMO, and the opinion of many others, PERMANENT body changes, when not medically neccesary, should ONLY be done with the choice, consent and understanding of the risks of the person whose body it is. I just don't see why it is so important to do something of this nature to a baby or child, taking into account the pain, infection risk, choking risk and permanent body changes.
I had my ears pierced when I was 2 years old, and my little sister had hers done at 4 months old. I don't know, but I made up my mind that with my daughter, I was not going to pierce her ears until she was old enough to ask for them to be pierced. I mean, sure, little girls with pierced ears look adorable, but I would rather wait for my daughter to tell me she wants them, rather than simply assuming she does, or will. JMHO Not that I think any less of parents who choose to pierce their daughter's ears before that, it's just a personal decision, and with my daughter, I have chosen to wait and see if she even wants them in the first place. It tears me apart though when I'm out and I see someone forcing a crying, screaming child into the chair to get their ears pierced. It makes me stand even more firm on my decision to wait and see what my daughter wants. Peace.
I haven't been around in awhile, so I'm going to bring this post up again just to say thanks for all the opinions on this matter. I really do think it is an important issue. Like I said, I had my ears pierced at a very young age and it's true that your holes will not grow over when they've been pierced that long. I know because when I started growing my dreads (which are now, sadly to say, gone) my earrings just got in the way. Because I wanted my dreads much more than earrings, I gave them up. But my holes never went away. I haven't wore earrings for almost three years now (because although my dreads are gone I'd like to think they'll come back one day, and I haven't given up hope that my holes will close ) but my holes haven't closed. So, it really IS something like a tattoo when you get a baby's ears pierced. So, thanks again for all the posts. Although I know I would never change my mind on this matter because of what someone says (even my own mother) it is nice to hear others feel the same way. Oh, and for those parents who say they wanted earrings to show their baby was a girl, there are such things as hair bows, and if your baby is bald (or close to it like Ivy was when she was born) you can HARDLY ever go wrong with pink clothes or any color clothes that include flowers. And I recently heard tell of MAGNETIC earrings, which are alot less painful and permanent than the real thing, although I'm sure they probably still pose a choking hazard.
^^^^ haha magentic earrings..you just reminded me of this girl I knew in highschool who bought a magnetic nose ring so people would think she got it pierced and whatnot. Anyway I was standing with her one day and she started to sneeze, and instead snorted really violently (to stop the sneeze maybe?) and the damn thing went up her nose...rofl oooh that was funny. But they're definitely not a good idea for babies! Eep!
if I had a kid, I'd wait until they were old enough to take care of the earrings properly. I had mine pierced for the first time in grade 3 or 4, but didn't take care of them properly (took them out too early and forgot to wear them for three days in a row) and they closed over. I got them pierced again in grade 6 (I think it was grade 6 at least) and took care of them properly then. Since then, I've gotten three more piercings and knowing how to clean them from cleaning my ears on my own was a definite plus. Why make even more work for yourself? If the earrings do get infected, most disinfectants recommended burn pretty badly (I was told to use rubbing alcohol for my ears, wooooh that hurt with even an extremely mild infection) which isn't any fun for your kid when they didn't ask to get the earrings. Teachign independence is a good thing, learning to take care of your accessories and staving off infection are great ways to learn how to take care of your body, IMHO.
is there a cultural reason to do so, like being Rom or such? would she say the same if Ivy were Ivan? Arlo had his done at 9 as a b-day gift. he still keeps one open at 13. I occasionally pop a stud in the one he's neglecting, so it doesn't close completely (I candle his ears for him, so I ask if he wants the hole cleaned of that weird white stuff --skin oils, but hey)
I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I was 16 (the age you can go in without your parents' consent). Even then my mother was very anti. Four years later i think she has realised that earrings can be fun. But I do agree with her, and other people on here that yeah, piercing a baby isn't too cool. It is just so needless. I mean, I think wee little kids look a lot cuter when they are allowed to be kids, y'know?
