Too young for earrings!

[BeeSweet]

I have a little tattoo too, now that you mention it, that hurt a lot less than the earrings. Of course I had them done nearly 20 years apart. I hope removing the silly thing won’t hurt any worse than having it put on. That’s probably something else I won’t get around to though… At least it’s somewhere the sun doesn’t (usually) shine!

Hey Franciscan, you scared yet???

 

[maryjk]

I had my ears pierced when I was ten. Mom and Dad made me wait until that time. I wanted it done a lot earlier.

My second holes had to wait until I was 18. Mom and Dad said NO. I waited until about a month after my birthday, had them done and didn’t tell my parents. They found out on Graduation day.

I have to say that I remember how much it hurt the second time. I would never get a third set of holes.

I always wear studs, small stones or small hoops. I never wear anything large or anything that hangs. And I have very long hair. So, you only see them if I have my hair pulled back or up.

I say wait. You are the parent. You or your wife would be the one to take care of them. And something that I heard from my son’s doctor’s office, earrings are a “choke-able.” Something that you would normally keep away from small children.

 

[vluvski]

Yep, you’re the parent, so it doesn’t matter what they want or don’t want.

Claire’s has some cute magnetic or clip-ons that can be a compromise, but if your argument is they don’t need earrings at all, that’s a moot point.

Also realize that the younger a girl has her ears pierced, the closer the hole is to the edge of the earlobe. Ears grow outward, so if your ear lobe is tiny when it is pierced, the hole will be way off center when she is an adult.

I had my ears pierced at 10- wish I had waited or not done it at all. I can tell they aren’t in the center of the ear lobe. I almost never wear earrings ever anyway.

 

[LilyM]

I was about four or five, and a friend of mine of about the same age had hers done with me. Never had any problems with the holes closing or infections or anything. I don’t think there’s more risk at that age than when they’re older.

But you’re perfectly within your rights to make your daughter wait.

 

[Uncle_David]

Thanks to all for the advice. It’s funny that some assumed I was the mom. I’m the dad. The four year old is the one who brings it up from time to time. I just want her to not grow up too fast and to realize how she’s Beautiful without them And mostly that beauty on the inside is more important. So I will consult my wife and we probably will wait until she (my daughter) can understand these things better. But I have no problem with earrings on kids in general.

We have twin girls. I wanted them done when they were young and I’m the conservative one (compared to my wife ). She wanted them to wait until they were 10 or so. I also thought the little ear-rings were cute on little girls. My girls had theirs done when they were 2 as a birthday present for daddy. They were so excited to show me their “surprise”.

Different strokes for different folks!

 

[LilyM]

I was about four or five, and a friend of mine of about the same age had hers done with me. Never had any problems with the holes closing or infections or anything. I don’t think there’s more risk at that age than when they’re older.

But you’re perfectly within your rights to make your daughter wait.

 

[THutch04]

I personally think clip-on’s hurt more than regular earrings.

I had mine done when I was 9, and I think it would be a lot easier around that age because at least the parent can make sure they’re being taken care of. I do remember it hurting, but I’m not sure if it would be so bad for me now, since I just got a tattoo a couple of months ago. I’m still too scared to get a cartilage piercing though (I hear they get infected really easily).

 

[Rob_s_Wife]

My girls were done at 4 and 5 weeks because I feel that’s the easiest time to do it. And there have been 0 problems.

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**If you don’t think it wise for whatever reason - then just say no and leave it at that. 2 and 4 yrs is much too young to think they have the option of arguing w/ mama - and the arguing would be a deal breaker even if I was willing. **

 

[CatholicSam]

I was 18 months old or so, and I cried only because the lady took me behind the counter away from my mom I have no idea when I’ll let my daughter get hers pierced. I agree with Martha about the ease of doing it while they’re babies. But at the same time I like the idea of letting them be older so that it’s something special they look forward to.

 

[THutch04]

My girls were done at 4 and 5 weeks because I feel that’s the easiest time to do it. And there have been 0 problems.

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**If you don’t think it wise for whatever reason - then just say no and leave it at that. 2 and 4 yrs is much too young to think they have the option of arguing w/ mama - and the arguing would be a deal breaker even if I was willing. **

Yeah, the arguing isn’t supposed to happen for another ten years at least!

 

[SeekerJen]

I was four when mine were done. My cousin and my best friend (both very close to my age) had theirs done, and I wanted to look pretty, too. 24 years later, I’m still using the same piercings and haven’t had any problems. I had a second set put in when I was 14. Those were infected almost immediately and caused so many problems that I finally gave up and let them close.

 

[ReginaNova]

I think that as parents we need to think of such issues as important lessons to our children. Having a daughter wait to have her ears pierced is a good lesson in not always getting what you want when you want it. Also, waiting teaches kids that parents know what is best for them. As a parent of teenagers, the most difficult lesson of all to teach them is abstinence, particularly in our modern culture. Teens who have had their every desire satisfied as children may be less able to abstain from such inevitable temptations as underage drinking, drugs, and pre-marital sex. As a parent, I am very conscious of “What message is my parenting decisions sending my child?”

For the record, my parents made me wait until I was 18 and could make the decision to get my ears pierced for myself. My daughter didn’t get hers pierced until she was 13. Yes, she was often the only girl in her class who didn’t have pierced ears. But what was the harm in that? Indeed, I hope she will be the only one not drinking in high school, or doing drugs, or having sex…

 

[LittleRose]

Is it unreasonable for me to not want my daughters to have earrings until they are at least 12 years old? I tell them (they are two and four) that it is redundant for a jewel to addorn a jewel. I don’t want them to think they need makeup or earrings.

It’s rarely unreasonable for a parent to do what they think is best for their children, especially when they are only toddlers. Since when to two and four year olds really know what they want or need, anyway?

 

[MommyZ]

In our family my parents used th eear piercing to celebrate when we girls got our periods, so we didn’t have a set age. If we wanted a second hole, though, we had to wait until we were eighteen. I think I’m going to do the same thing with our girls. Right now she’s only 2 and hasn’t said anything about it. We did have clip on earings, too, for dress up while I was growing up.

 

[kamz]

we let our daughter get them when she was 9 and within 3 months the earing somehow pulled itself inside of her ear and we had to go to the E.R. to have it taken out and she had to have two small stitches… it was awful and the bill was HUGE!!

She begged to try again and we let her get them for her 12 birthday and that was a yr ago and so far so good but… she had to clean them three times a day in front of me and we only use good brand earings. I wish we would have waited until she was 12, she was just not mature enough at 9.

 

[Dancelittleewok]

we let our daughter get them when she was 9 and within 3 months the earing somehow pulled itself inside of her ear and we had to go to the E.R. to have it taken out and she had to have two small stitches… it was awful and the bill was HUGE!!

She begged to try again and we let her get them for her 12 birthday and that was a yr ago and so far so good but… she had to clean them three times a day in front of me and we only use good brand earings. I wish we would have waited until she was 12, she was just not mature enough at 9.

I got earrings as a younging, mainly because everyone thought I looked like a boy…I didn’t have much hair, then…

 

[bear06]

We make our daughters wait until they are 13. I want them to make the decisions themselves (so far none of them have asked until they were about 11), be fully aware that it’s permanent (sorry, I had my earings out for years and they didn’t close) and we wanted them to be responsible enough to take care of the newly pierced ears.

 

[wifenmommy]

We did our dd ears when she was a few weeks old. It did not hurt, she just jumped a little, but did not cry. The lady who did it (by the way I used to baby sit for) told me to sit down and let her hold her. I was the baby as I had to cover my eyes when she did it!! LOL! DD was ok as she got a hug in between each piercing from!! It was super easy to clean them when she was a baby (I would do it at every diaper change) and they are still there and dd wears earrings from time to time and on Sundays for church!

 

[Red_Meg]

**Relationship Between Age of Ear Piercing and Keloid Formation **

pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/115/5/1312

We had our daughter’s pierced at age 10 when we learned about this. We have stricter rules about makeup, but we’ve never lumped earrings in with makeup. The earrings actually provide a nice “safety valve” for her desire to “dress up”-- she can accessorize with what she’s wearing without resorting to gobs of face paint…

Margaret

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

I was pacified by my moms clip on earrings. I don’t know how easy those are to find nowadays. Maybe that will help too.

Provided they are not certain collector earrings, clip-ons canbe had at the thrift shop dirt cheap.