The debate: Would you pierce your baby's ears?

I am thinking of piercing my daughter's ears when she is about 4 months old. I don't see the harm in doing so, especially because if circumcision is widely practiced and deemed "safe" then what is pierced ears really equate to? I believe the method used and the proffessional doing it is important. Yes, piercing guns are harder to clean, thus making it possible for an infection. There are other options and good ones, too. A hallow needle should be used for all piercings. A piercer in your area with the right creditantionals including training with accurate sterilization methods, can be much more reliable then some girl at Claire's with a piercing gun.

Like many moms, I was unsure when to pierce our dd's ears. Admittedly, my bias was initially against having babies ears pierced at an early age. However, I kept seeing lots of babies and little girls with cute earrings in our church nursery and MDO. One day, in our playgroup of moms with little girls, one of the moms came in unannounced with her 2 month daughter sporting little gold balls in her pretty newly pierced ears. She was totally adorable and looked very feminine. Needless to say, all of the moms including myself were in envy asking her a 100 questions. She said it was very easy and her dd barely cried.

I went home and asked dh what he thought. Surprisingly, he said that really wanted our dd to have earrings since it was traditional in her family, but would respect my wishes about it. At this point, being a "white bread mommy," I was unsure how I felt about it, but knew how darling it looked. Well, I said that I would ask our ped for her thoughts at the next visit in a a week.

When I asked our ped for her opinion about having our dd’s ears pierced, she reached in her pocket and took out a picture of her six month little girl with pearls in each ear, saying,” …this is what I think.”

She encouraged me to go ahead and said it was best as an infant when mommy could care for them. She has never had a baby with a pierced ear infection, but has had quite a few older girls ages 2-5 who said they wanted it done, but failed to care for them. She gave me some ” Care Tips for Newly Pierced Ears ” since she had so many moms ask about having their infants and little girls ears pierced. She said it was much safer and sterile doing them now and recommended Piercing Pagoda where she took her dd due to their level of professional training and experince with infant ear piercing. I took her tips, followed them, and our dd now has pretty pierced ears at 3 months old :)

I'd say if any moms are thinking about it, then your mommy intuition is telling earlier is better and I go ahead now as a newborn or infant.

Still on the fence about your decision? As Aparita stated accepting a gift from her aunt for her daughter....a pair of glinting gold balls sat nestled inside... I think it’s time to take them out now."

Don't hesitate to write me an e-mail if you'd like our ped's tips for moms having their dd's ears pierced.

Angie
angietune@hotmail.com

I have two daughters and took both of them to have their ears pierced when they were just three months old. My partner gave me his full support for this decision. With our older child, I was unsure whether or not she should have her ears pierced at such a young age but the hairdresser where I have been going for several years provides an ear piercing service for baby girls from three months and suggested I should make this decision for our first baby when she reached this milestone. I was a bit nervous at first but my hairdresser assured me it was best. Baby cried for about half a minute and then quickly forgot about it and we have had no problems with them since then. When our second daughter was born, it was a much easier decision, and my partner and I are both delighted we decided that they should both start wearing earrings from a young age. It is true that the baby does cry a little after having it done but sometimes as a parent you have to be cruel to be kind and it is not only far easier for them to have it done when they are tiny but they grow up used to wearing earrings as though they are part of them. They also look very pretty. Our daughters are now six and four years and love wearing earrings. We can also taking them out for periods without the holes closing up. I know not everyone agrees with our decison but I firmly believe that little girls should have their ears pierced when they are babies and it is now increasingly popular for parents to make the same decision for their daughters.

I pierced my daughter's ears at 8 months old. When I was little mine were done, and until my ears were big enough to hold weight, I wasn't allowed to wear anything more than simple studs. As far as the fear mongering about piercing guns not being sanitary.. if you go to the right place they actually have these new ones that the earring itself does the piercing, and puts the backing on in one shot. The ladies that worked at the store measured, and marked the correct place, and used two piercers, with gloves on and sterilized her lobes. They did both ears in one shot, she barely whimpered, I cried of course... and to this day, has never tugged on them or had any complaint. No allergy, no infections. By the way, both my older son's when they decided they wanted thier ears pierced, I took them to the same store, and they had an ear pierced too. Society nowadays accepts body modifications more readily than it used to. Now my (1) tattoo and pierced ears(once) aren't so rebellious anymore. I do have a metal sensitivity, nothing to do with age relation... I was much younger than a teen when my ears were pierced. Besides, if she doesn't want her ears pierced anymore, she always has the option to "remove" her studs, and let her holes grow over. It's no skin off my butt, it's her body and her choice. But for my family, this was our choice and our tradition. I was raised true-blue Canadian, to accept other cultures, beliefs, and that's good enough for me.

I agree with the tattoo shop as the place to have it done(for all of the reasons mentioned below)...when my girls are ready. They also will not pierce children under the age of 8(ears that is of course!).

I got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 2 months old, after her 2 month vaccinations. I had always wanted a new baby girl with peirced ears, even when I was younger. She actually cried more for her vaccinations than the actual peircing itself. She barely plays with her studs now, shes so used to them.

No. My husband and I both agree that this would be a choice we should leave for our daughters to make for themselves. I was allowed to have my ears pierced for my 6th birthday at my request, should my daughters decide they want earrings I will then take them to get it done. I don't think it is my place to put holes in any one else's body because i think it's "cute". (That being said, until they are adults they will be only allowed to pierce their ears and only once! )

My family did ear piercing at 12. I developed a terrible metal allergy that made me sensitive to everything - backs of watches, the button on my jeans, etc. I read that this is actually linked to having a piercing done right around puberty! So both my daughters got it done much earlier, and neither have ever had a problem.

These opinions are all black and white. We live in a grey world. Just because one has earrings or pierces a child's ears, does not make that child brainless, unintelligent, or appearance obsessed. Just like NOT doing it doesn't guarantee the opposite. 99% of girls will want their ears pierced. Also, piercing a child's ears does NOT force a gender role. Children will associate to a gender by choice or other phenomena. Simply piercing a child's ear will not be the deciding factor here.

Personally I would never even think to get a child's ears pierced as a baby. I was 4 when my mom took me. I have learned a lot since then about it. First of all STAY FAR AWAY from "piercing guns"!!!!! They are dirty (they don't get sanitized fully, there is a replaceable needle but blood and tissue get into parts of the gun that don't get cleaned.) They are also usually operated by people with very little training in using them. I know this may freak some people out, but you should go to a tattoo shop where it is much more sanitary, and the piercer has had to go through a training process/apprenticeship before becoming a piercer. They can give you better advice on how to look after your piercing and they use surgical grade equipment that is sterilized properly and it is not as harsh as a gun. Think about it for a minute, some stool in a claire's or arden's store with some teenager with a dirty piercing gun and no training or a sanitary room with sterilized equipment by someone who is trained and most likely certified if it applies to your city. The only thing you have to get over is the fact your piercer will have a bunch of piercings and probably a lot of tattoos. Don't judge. No matter what find somewhere that is clean and where they know what they're doing. I've known someone who worked at one of those stores that use the guns and have told me that they have no training and that they have seen blood on the gun and it never got cleaned. I also have known many professional piercers. They are serious about what they do. They get checked regularly by health inspectors, they know what they are doing and will make you feel comfortable during the process

nope! My oldest is now 9 & chose to have her ears pierced for her 6th birthday, I was not excited about it to be honest...I was scared of the pain & feared infections. Well, it's all she really wanted & was a trooper(I did warn her it was going to hurt, I am not one to lie about these things). We cared for them, as instructed & all was well for the first few months until one morning she woke up with the butterfly clip in her ear. It hurt me more than her to take it out I think, she however refused to put them back in once I cleaned her up. I didn't push it, & to this day she won't get them done again...she remembers how much it hurt to get it done! We were at the mall just the other day & as we walked into a store I heard a baby screaming, poor thing was getting her ears pierced...I had to leave the store. Considering I had my own ears pierced before I even left the hospital(tradition in our culture), & that each of my girls have received many sets of earring despite not having piercings I can't bring myself to do it!!!

I have never had my ears pierced. My father didn't think it appropriate for little girls to have earrings, wear makeup or little tutus to school. His opinion was that school was for learning and not for showing off. My mom had her ears pierced, thankfully (she says) before she got married.
When I was old enough to choose, I decided not to pierce my ears after seeing my best friend with an ear infection and another friend who tore her ear after a large hoop earring got caught on a piece of furniture. Now I have 2 girls and will wait until their 13th birthdays to see if they would like to have them pierced. Then they will be old enough to take care of themselves. I've got enough things to worry about!

No, I have not pierced my now 5 year old daughters ears, I believe it is a choice that girls get to make as they get older. It gives them the sense of independence being able to decide something as big as getting their ears pierced. My Oma was 80 before she got her ears pierced as my Opa never allowed her and they were together 60+ years, so letting my daughter do it, means so much!

It's not my body- it's hers! Seems wrong to put holes in someone else's body just because it's 'cute'. When/if she asks and wants it done, then she can have it. If she really wants earrings the pain will be worth it!

As a mom, I have had 2 daughters (of 4 kids) with pierced ears from the age of 4 months as family tradition would have it. No infections to date. The only obstacle: the studs falling out from time to time as a toddler...and the hassle of running to get another set. As a pediatrician, I can tell you that if you are diligent with the hygiene and care needed within the first six weeks, the likelihood of an infection is rare. Complications such as an embedded earring backing tend to be due to a recent piercing, in which the recommendation of daily turns of the earring were not adhered to.

Agreed!! At four months i was taking my little one to get her ears pierced and my 5yr old wanted hers done too....she had hers done at 7months. It was now apart of her and she didn't even realize that you had to go and do something to get it there. Her sis now 8 ms doesn't even know it's there! As for infections both never had any, It was my responsibility to clean it not theirs. And when they are so young they dont touch and pull. When i was 6yrs old and getting mine done, i had infection after infection, cause yeah i kept touching it and was so much more concerned about it and looking good. eventually it closed up so i had to go through that painful process of doing it again. I think an 11 yr old would be more inclined to be staring in the mirror constantly in vane thinking of how beautiful she now looks than a child who had it done as an infant. My daughter has several diff styles and consistently has her gold hoops in, it has to be up to me to change the look for occasions she could care less. she is more into dresses. For the moms who want it done, go ahead and get it done, believe me they forget the pain and dont realize it's even there. it becomes apart of their ears which no one thinks about much anyway.... mom of two beautiful daughters.

Both of my daughters had their ears pierced at around 6 months old. I decided to pierce their ears at that age so that (1) they would not remember if there was any pain involved (2) before they were old enough to start tugging/playing with their ears. Both of my daughters now 3 and 5 are mini fashionistas, and they never stare in the mirror at their earrings. They pretty much forget that they are there as it has been a part of them for so long. No issues with vanity because of wearing earrings. It is a personal preference and I don't think it really matters when they get their ears pierced. If you want the tradition of getting them pierced at age 11, then go for it :) It will be a special moment for mom and daughter.