My girlfriend and I have had this duscussion numerous times. Here’s how the events usually unfold: she argues that it’s perfectly normal for parents to pierce their infant’s ears so the (presumably female) child will look “cuter.” After stumbling around in blind dumbfoundedness for a bit, I can only muster a :eek: in response.
Girlfriend says that parents dress their child to look cute, so why not mutilate* them? I contend that there are limits that should be observed. People don’t put makeup on their infant children, do they? Actually, I’m not sure if I even want to know the answer to that question.
Call me overdramatic, but am I the only one that thinks parents shouldn’t be disfiguring their children just to make the other parents jealous? It seems to me to be the type of thing reserved for overzealous, batshit crazy stage moms who would do anything to get their child some recognition.
I am the father of a 4 year old and a 5 month old daughter. Hell no. It is an unnecessary safety issue. The piercing itself could lead to infection. Even if it doesn’t, children don’t need little bitty things stuck in their body to pick at and maybe pull out and eat.
I don’t like the idea simply because I’m squicked by the notion of the infant catching her earring on a blanket or something and having it ripped out. Plus, I don’t like the idea of causing a child pain for merely aesthetic reasons. I’d rather let the kid decide when she was older if she wanted her ears pierced.
While I wouldn’t do it, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal either way. Take out the earrings, and most times the holes close up. Calling it disfigurement is overboard in my opinion.
You shouldn’t pierce a kid when they can’t care for it, and that being an ear piercing. Childern shouldn’t be getting anything like a nose piercing or other body area. I remember a girl in grade school getting her ear ripped at recess. What happens when the youngster chokes on the earing that fell off, and went in their mouth? Young childern get ear infections a lot and a piercing would be another infectous source. Wait until a teen.
I don’t like the idea at all, both because a baby can’t take care of her ears, and because piercing guns suck.
I am of the opinion that nobody should be getting anything, even earlobes, pierced with a gun. Yes, piercing places are pricier. And it seems scarier to get pierced by a needle. But they heal SO MUCH BETTER. No, they won’t do your baby’s ears. Depending on the state and the shop’s policy they may or may not do your older kid’s ears. I’ve gotten three more piercings in my ears done that way (I had two in each ear from when I was a kid) and it’s been a breeze.
So no, I don’t think babies should get their ears pierced. I wouldn’t want to inflict even minor pain on my kid for aesthetic reasons.
I would never pierce a baby’s ears, or even a child’s. I remember how much it hurt to have my ears pierced, and I would rather wait until the kid is old enough to understand that it will hurt, and be able to decide for themselves if they 1) like the way earrings look, and 2) think it’s worth it to go through the piercing process.
I dislike it. I remember seeing a schoolfriend have her earlobe torn when her earring caught on something at recess when we were five - that’s why seeing earrings on small children makes me cringe. There’s also something distasteful about it; I suppose I’m not a fan of a lot of jewelry on small children. It looks… wrong.
I also remember how exciting it was to finally be allowed to have my ears pierced when I was 13, and how my friend and I had ours done together. It was a rite of passage moment.
I’m not a fan of earrings on babies–mostly for the reasons other people have given.
On the other hand, it is common in some cultures, and I don’t think of pierced ears as rising to the level of mutilation neccessary to cause public outcry.
But making one’s baby “cuter” is not a good enough reason to be for it.
I think it looks creepy and is hazardous. I think it’s an aesthetic choice a person should be allowed to make for him/herself at an age of discretion. JMO, YMMV.
I have a 15 month old daughter, and no way will I be piercing her ears until she’s old enough to request it and realize there is some responsibility necessary to care for the piercings while they heal.
It bothers me that so many people around here pierce infants’ ears. And where do they get it done? Some place in the mall by a minimum wage employee with a piercing gun. Piercing guns should be banned. Getting their ears pierced with a gun exposes your child to bloodborne pathogens. Going anywhere other than a reputable piercing studio to have needle piercing is irresponsible. And, I feel this should be something the child wants, not the parent.
I’m going with it’s a cultural thing, seen it for at least 40 years in the Mexican community I grew up around. I tend to side with the; it’s a reversible thing and not a big deal as long as Mom keeps the ears clean. As far as the piercing pods at the mall go, my boyfriend’s Mom originally pierced my ears with a potato, an ice cube and a sewing needle. It was not a pleasant experience.
Now if she suggests a dragon tat wrapping around the child’s left arm, torso, and right leg I think I’ld draw the line or at least suggest waiting until the kid was old enough to voice an opinion. I’m just conservative that way.
My FATHER’S ears were pierced as a baby. Both of them. In the 1940s. Let to grow closed when he was three. He is Romanian and its a cultural thing - done for luck. I don’t know if girl babies were also done.
Never knew any specific reason. Here the question might be, why not?
I’ve never met a woman who objected to it having been done to them. Including all of the women in the family, from grandmother thru great granddaughters. It is done the day they are born. I doubt they have any bad memories of it.
