Piercing infants ears

[southerngirl]

I realise that this may be a cultural or religious issue. This is about piercing a baby's ears. I want opinions please on this..

 

Do you think that parents should get their daughters ears peirced as a baby, or wait till later when they do it on their own?

 

My mom did with me. Im trying to decide if I should do so with my daughter, who is now safely three months old.

 

I also know that my husband and his family would be supportive of it. That isnt an issue.

 

I worry though about possible infections, and if I as the mother should even inflict any pain on my baby for the sake of vanity. Or if it would be better to wait.

[annie24]

why not wait and let her decide when she is a teenager if she wants pierced ears?

[AwdreeHpburn]

hey southerngirl -

 

This is something that is totally your call. Its your child and as long as you have all the info about ear piercing to make a good decision, its only yours to make.

 

If you're looking for OPINIONS - my personal opinion is to wait and let her decide. She's going to have soooo many decisions mae for her in her young life, ya gotta leave SOMETHING for her to decide for herself, yeh?

 

BUT - on the flip side, I know PLENTY of people who have done it and have absolutely NO issues at all.

 

The babies get very used to having that in their ear. They may try to tug on it a bit the first few days but after that, its really a non-issue. And babies are no more suseptible (sp?) to infection that anyone else who gets their ears pierced.

[southerngirl]

That's what I have been thinking about.

 

It could be a very special milestone that I could share when she decides to do it. If she were 5 or 6 or 17 years old and wants to be like mommy. We could go together and pick out the perfect pair of gold earrings that she chooses for herself. But then, I think of how very cute little girls are with their earrings and how cute she would be...

 

Then I cringe at the thought of her feeling any pain, pain I had a part in!

 

Oh, its tough being a mom. I can see already its going to be tougher on me that this babe is a girl compared to my two older children that are boys.

[Jetta]

I opted to wait until she requested it herself. Kind of a rite of passing thing. But really I don't see a problem with doing it as a baby. I know some moms said it's easier because then the likelihood of infection is lessoned due to the fact a child isn't caring for it and adult (mom) is. I figure my daughter will be in about 1st or 2nd grade when she asks. Now I may make her wait until 5th. Initially I was looking forward to the day she'd ask me.

[southerngirl]

Yes please I want your opinions!!!

 

Im feeling conflicted about this LOL

[RooferGirl23]

let her grow and choose on her own. Not all people like to have their ears pierced, and when she is ready, it can be a nice mom and daughter moment.

[jengh]

I think it should definitely be up to the parents, but in my personal opinion, I would wait until she starts asking about it...

 

I remember I was in 3rd grade when I finally convinced my mom to let me get my ears pierced. honestly, it's a day i'll never forget--she held my hand the whole time and helped me pick out earrings. Then, for my birthday, she bought me a gorgeous pair of 24k heart earrings that i still have to this day.

[Locke2121]

I say wait...I actually saw a baby the other day with little diamonds in her ears! It was cute for a second..then I realized that it just detracted from her cuteness. It was so....artifical.

[AwdreeHpburn]

In that case - MY opinion is that you should wait.

 

She's a human being, not a doll. She's going to grow into a thinking, feeling, person with her own opinions and thoughts. We started letting our daughter choose her own clothes as soon as she could point.

 

I personally don't feel comfortable making a decision as big as putting holes in someone else's body for them. But that's just me....

[Thunderforce]

I agree with the other posters ... let her choose on her own!

[annie24]

I totally agree with you awdree.

[AwdreeHpburn]

I totally agree with you awdree.

 

^ thanks annie!

[RayKay]

I believe you should wait, so SHE can make the decision.

 

My little cousin had hers pierced when she was a few months old...I thought it was tacky, and she was always pulling at them anyway.

 

For me, I got mine done at 10, and I got to look forward to being excited about it, and going with my mum and having it done, it was fun and I WANTED it.

 

But body modifications should be a choice by the person in my opinion; and not something done to them when they cannot understand what is even going on.

[Scout]

Yeah, I agree you should save the moment for when she's part of the decision-making. It will be a fun mother/daughter moment. In the meantime, you could get her some cute bracelets, and heck...maybe they have clip on earrings for babies! If not...that could be your new home business, southerngirl!

[Dako]

I don't think babies enjoy piercings.

To me it's like putting hats on dogs.

[Newo Ikkin]

Either way you go about it, she has a choice. You pierce them now, she has the choice to take them out when she's older and more accustomed to her individuality. If you don't do it and wait for her, she has the similar choice. Neither way is more right than the other. As someone said above me....about her pulling at them....is there the chance of that? If you don't wanna look at the moral side of things....make your mind up by having the knowledge that you do of your little'un and whether she's gonna be a bugger about it all! x

[bigheart09]

My parents pierced my ears at 5 mos old..but usually Indian people do that at an early age....I didnt have a problem with it when i got older.

[DN]

I was mildly against it when my wife wanted to have my daughters ears pierced but she really wanted to so I gave way. Mostly because if they didn't like it when they got older they could make the decision to let the holes heal over.

 

Of all the issues that have a risen during their childhood, early teens, mid-teens, late teens and young adulthood this one was never raised by them. And my eldest daughter had her daughter's pierced when she was a baby too.

[Daddy Bear]

Why stop at earrings? Why not some red lipstick, a little mascara and eye shadow, the latest fashions in clothing, and hey, maybe some collagen in those thin lips? After all, who wants a baby that looks like... a baby?

 

Bleh.

[Newo Ikkin]

^cynic!

[sophie274]

I'm not a big fan of earrings in baby's ears - I think it look a bit strange to have what I consider an adult ornament/jewelry on a little baby. As in, babies should look cute, not beautiful/done up ...

 

Either way though, it doesn't matter much. As others have said, she can take them out if she hates them.

 

I wouldn't make the decision based on pain though. It's not a lot of pain and she will never remember it!

[shes2smart]

Where my mother is originally from, it was customary for baby girls to have their ears pierced. The receipt from my ear piercing is in my baby book. As I recall, it was dated 3 days after my birth.

 

I got a 2nd piericing in one earlobe when I was in college and wore 3 different earrings most of the time. (Hey, it was the 80's...and some of the Go-Go's wore 3 different earrings...give me a break...I was young, impressionable and still cared about such things.)

 

'Bout the time I started working full-time in radio, I stopped wearing earrings. There's something about putting on a pair of headphones and having the back of an earring drive into the side of your skull that puts a damper on ever wearing them again.

 

So, I think it's your call. It's not damaging me to have those piercings there, though they have shrunk with disuse, and for a time, I was the envy of my friends because they all wanted to get their ears pierced and their moms were saying "no."

 

The only thing I would advise you against is the type of earrings you have your daughter wear when she's young. My mother had a liking for larger earrings than I really should've been wearing and so I tugged on them. My original piericings are slits rather than holes. While it's never really bothered me, I imagine that it might bother some gals.

[insofar]

Let her choose herself when she's ready. It's a small thing but she could be a bit annoyed that you made this decision for her later on when she's perfectly capable of making it herself. With regards to fearing her feeling pain... She'll feel pain. It's a part of human existence. Besides, as you said, it could be a rite of passage for her, and you'd be taking that away by having it done as an infant.

 

Basically, let her define who she is when she's capable of doing so rather than you defining it for her.

[treefrogkate]

I second (or third or fourth? ) the posters who have written that getting their ears pierced was a "rite of passage". I remember bugging my mom about it and her telling me I could get it done when I was 12 (she was worried they would get infected because I couldn't take care of them well enough myself). Shortly after I turned 12, we went and I got them pierced, and it was a really big deal.

 

I'm always puzzled when I see babies that have their ears pierced, because I think of it as more of a "teenage thing".