Ear piercing?

[lurknomore]

We told DD 10. I had mine done the first time at 6. One of them ripped almost out and I had to let them close up. When re pierced, they had to above the first holes. The other one ripped into the first hole and now they are uneven. I hate them. I'm sure that wasn't necessarily because of my age, but I also remember them being infected early and often the first time.

I also know from lurking on ML that the current trend in places is a reputable tatoo shop. No more mall piercings.

[rootbeerfloat]

I don't know what the norm is (if there even is one), but DD has asked, and we told her she could have it done for her birthday. She'll be 5 in October. I never had a specific age in mind, but I wanted her to know that it might hurt, that she'll have to keep them in for a bit, that we have to clean them, etc.

She has friends at school with pierced ears (more likely done when they were infants), but I really think watching The Parent Trap pushed her over the edge, lol.

[Deleted]

I'm going to go against the grain (or what I think is against the grain) and let my DD get hers done in elementary school or when she asks for them, whichever is later.

If she wants them in K or 1st, I'm okay with that, provided she lets me take care of them with her (at 3, she will barely sit still to let me brush her hair some days.)

I got mine done at 7 and remember the pain clearly. Both of my sisters were younger (4-ish) and don't really remember it at all. So that's one advantage to doing it younger. But I won't bring it up until she does because it DOES hurt and I want her to want it, not me talking her into it.

[lurknomore]

Aug 25, 2014 21:26:19 GMT -5 @domerjen said:

Aug 25, 2014 21:22:02 GMT -5 lurknomore said:

I also know from lurking on ML that the current trend in places is a reputable tatoo shop. No more mall piercings.

I heard that pediatricians sometimes do it, too!  I'd probably trust the tattoo guy to get it straighter though, since aesthetics is their job.

Yup our pedi does it too. But your thought seems to be the current line of thinking. And frankly although a pedi might be a little more sterile, my guess is that they would do a worse job than the mall just due to the infrequency.

[h]

Lots of the girls in my oldest's grade at school seem to have been getting them pierced in the last year or so at 6-7 years old. My niece just got hers done for her 7th b-day. My middle son is 4, and I haven't noticed pierced ears on any if the girls in his class yet.

[brooklyn]

My mom made me get mine done at a pediatrician's office, and she did them crooked. I would absolutely take my kid to a tattoo/piercing parlour to get them done.

[Deleted]

I got mine done at three. I had asked for them. I vaguely remember getting them done, and being given a nice pair of earrings as a gift from an uncle.

We'll take DD to get them done when she asks for it. If that's when she's 3, that's fine. If its not until she's 10, that's fine too. I don't see ear piercing as a big deal, although I would probably have her wait until she's at least 13 before I let her get her second holes done.

[shell24]

We let my DD1 do it for her 6th birthday. Most of the girls in her kindergarten class had them done (and were at the beginning of the school year) so must have been 5 or younger.

She was old enough to remind me every day to help her clean them. She even counted out 6 weeks and marked the day she could change them on our calendar .

Social norm aside, I would wait until they are old enough to be mostly responsible for them.

[bowies]

I remember getting mine done at 8 at a jewelry place in the mall (like a Zales). I don't remember if I asked for it or not. I lost interest quickly and they closed up about a year later. When I was ready for a redo in middle school my mom took me to Claires.

There's a tattoo parlor in our local mall. I wonder if they took over the business from the Piercing Pagoda.

[statlerwaldorf]

Dd asked to get hers done just before she turned 5 after her bff got hers done. We ended up doing it a few months after turning 5. She had to earn it over the summer. I wanted to get them done before school started in case it interfered with her sleep.

She did really well. She has let me clean them without any issues. I wouldn't do it when she was 3 or a young 4. She was so dramatic after her 4 year old shots. I can't see her letting me clean them at that age.

[bunch]

I had mine done at 4 by request, so that probably colors my opinion. If dd1 asked for them now, I'd probably consider it.

[matildasun]

I am glad you asked. Ada has been talking about earrings for the past month. I was thinking about doing it for her fifth birthday, but wasn't quite sure. This post is making me at least consider it.

I had to wait until I was ten, because I was waiting to have surgery on my ears (my head needed to grow more before they could do it. I am not sure if it was held out as a treat until after surgery, had to wait until after surgery, or my parents just didn't want earrings to draw attention to my ears that stuck out.

[GotWine]

My DD has started to take notice of earrings and wanting to wear them. I wasn't planning on getting them done until she can take care of them herself. Her cousin who is almost 4 has her ears pierced and I think that's one of the motivators. I'm hoping the novelty will wear off soon and she'll stop talking about it.

[dragonfly08]

No idea on the norm.  Some of my girls' friends have it done, some don't.  My own kids are turning 8 this week and 11 in October, and neither have pierced ears.  DH and I always agreed they had to be at least 8, and completely willing/able to participate in caring for them.  DD #1 has asked several times but by the next week changes her mind so we won't let her do it.  If she reaches a point where she's committed enough to stay that way for a decent period of time, we'll reconsider.

[statlerwaldorf]

We were waiting in front of the elementary school today and dd was pointing out all of the kids with earrings. More girls than not had them. I would guess about half of the kindergartners. I don't remember a lot of kids having them last year at preschool.

[quickstepstar]

I got mine done at 10. I don't remember the pain at all. I would get my girls' done around that age if they ask for it.

[mrssandro]

Once DD asks me to get them done I will take her. She is 5.

I would have taken her at 3 if she asked.

[mellimel19]

Not sure what the norm is, but I'll let DD get hers pierced when she asks for them and is old enough that she'll allow me to clean them (or clean them herself) daily without a hassle.

[curbsideprophet]

To my knowledge DD has not asked yet. Not sure DH and I have decided on an age, but pretty sure it will be older than three. It is not something I want to deal with any time soon.

[kangaroo11]

My mom made me wait until 16. Lol At that point, I'd quit wanting them. None of the women in my family have pierced ears. Not sure what we will do for DD.

[DarcyLongfellow]

My DD1 is 5, and she just started kindergarten.

Only one of her good friends has her ears pierced -- the little girl got them done in Pre-K as a present for her 5th birthday. I didn't notice any girls in her kindergarten class having pierced ears, but I wasn't really looking (and I've only seen the whole class twice!).

My DD1 hasn't ever mentioned ear piercing. I'd probably be okay with her piercing her ears in early elementary, but I'd prefer she wait until 4th or 5th grade. I just want to make sure she can take care of her ears (when I got mine pierced they got infected) and be careful with earrings. I know she wouldn't be wearing dangly earrings or anything, but I'd hate for her to have to be careful of her earrings when climbing on a playground.

[degal99]

Aug 25, 2014 22:42:33 GMT -5 @roseyposey said:

We'll take DD to get them done when she asks for it. If that's when she's 3, that's fine. If its not until she's 10, that's fine too. I don't see ear piercing as a big deal, although I would probably have her wait until she's at least 13 before I let her get her second holes done.

This is pretty much how DH and I feel.

[turtlegirl]

I don't have girls - so I haven't thought about it for my own kids yet.

I got mine done the summer after kindergarten at a random booth at the State Fair - probably oh so hygienic, lol. I got a second hole done in early high school and a third whole in college. No issues with infections or anything anytime.

I think they have all pretty much closed up now. Since I've had kids I haven't worn them regularly (only for special occasions like weddings, etc). I can still get earrings in my first hole with a little effort, but haven't tried any of my other holes in years.

[mrsGreeko]

My oldest asked for pierced ears and had them done on her 6th birthday. She is 8 now and really isn't all that into earrings. I never wear earrings (5 holes total in my ears) so I can't imagine why she doesn't wear them either.

My middle is 5 and so far hasn't expressed any interest in them.

[mrsg123]

Dd is 5 and has wanted them since probably that age. We told her 10.

[Deleted]

As soon as the girls are old enough to want them for themselves AND take care of the piercings I am fine with it. We aren't setting an arbitrary age, but I think DD1 would be capable of caring for her ears with minimal help this year or next if she wanted them pierced. (So far she has made no noise about it though.)

[Marmee]

It's just not a big deal to me. DD2 asked at 5 & I took her to the mall & got them that afternoon. DD1 was 7 at the time & decided she didn't want to be shown up & got them at the same time. I literally did nothing. I showed them how to clean and left it up to them. They may have cleaned them a few times..lol. They take showers, it was fine. They never had a crusty issue or anything. No infection, no pulling out, no nothing. Plus at the mall they did both sides at the same time which was nice, That was 2 yrs ago...DD1 barely ever wears earrings, DD2 usually does wear studs. I never thought it was some big things & it's proven not to be. I'll take DD3 & 4 when they ask too. DD3 is 5 & never shown a tad bit of interest. I had mine done by my Pediatrician as a child...I was 5 & it was a nightmare (lots of pain, crusting over, etc) so much so I took them out. I had them re pierced at the mall at 7 & never had an issue. I looked at the piercing studs & compared them & back in 1981 the Pediatrician pierced with a much thicker gauge stud than the mall. That must have been why it was such a different experience.

[ryry]

DD1 mentioned it once (she's 3.5). I would be willing to let her get them done when she turns 4.

[suburbanzookeeper]

My daughter has mentioned them once or twice in passing but hasn't asked for them officially yet. I don't want to deal with the drama of having her take them out for soccer, so we're putting it off as long as possible. I had mine done when I was 5.

I did a body piercing apprenticeship between high school & college, so I'm firmly in the needle/professional piercer camp. thestudio.painfulpleasures.com/piercing-ears-with-needles-vs-guns

[Willis Jackson]

Aug 26, 2014 17:15:55 GMT -5 suburbanzookeeper said:

My daughter has mentioned them once or twice in passing but hasn't asked for them officially yet. I don't want to deal with the drama of having her take them out for soccer, so we're putting it off as long as possible. I had mine done when I was 5.

I did a body piercing apprenticeship between high school & college, so I'm firmly in the needle/professional piercer camp. thestudio.painfulpleasures.com/piercing-ears-with-needles-vs-guns

I'm surprised to read in that link that needles are less painful. I had my ears pierced with a needle by a doctor and it hurt like hell. I had second holes added with a gun and barely felt it.