“Since when did shrapnel become a fashion accessory?”
- Bill Engvall
Wow. I finally took mine out, a year after it started bleeding again. Of course my dogs jumping on me may have had something to do with it. Ye-ouch! It never really did heal. That was a year ago; I may try again now that the scar tissue has gone down.
I have three tattoos. My 12 and 10 year old daughters know about all of them, and I never had any problem explaining them. I was 24 when I got the first one, sober, after spending several months deciding what and where to get it.
As for piercings - I do not like the facial piercings myself. But, to each his own. It’s the scarring that concerns me more than anything else. I have already thought about this with my girls. I am hoping the “fad” is over before they want one. But, if either of them decides they want a piercing, there will be a compromise made on where they can get it. I’m leaning toward belly button, and they will be taught how to take care of it properly, and they will be brought to a professional - the same person who did my body piercings (nipples), which my girls do not know about.
For the record, I am thirty, a network engineer working for the government, married with two kids, and nipple piercings hurt like hell when you get them. Now, they’re fun. 
http://www.bme.freeq.com/
For anyone who thought that piercings are getting out of hand. FYI, there is a picture of my hand on that site, but you can no longer look at it for free. 
The point of youthful rebellion is not to look different from your peers but different from your parent’s generation. James Dean’s look was was rebellions (and frightening when it was poorly copied by Charles Starkweather) but today his dress would be rather ordiniary.