i ahve a little boy soi its not really an issue for me but imho i can't stand it on little girls or babies.. i think its looks cheap and tacky, and actually i associate it with chavs and travellers (not trying to offend travellers but i believe it is actually part of their culture to have babies ears pierced), not for me. once girls are about 6/7 i thnk it looks ok, but if i were to havea daughter she wldn't be getting it done til at least 12/13. i can't see why (other than religious/cultural reasons) someoen wld want to o this to their baby, i mean, personally i ahte taking ds to his injections because i know they hurt him, and the only reason i do is because i knwo they're for the greater good and benefit him in the long wrong, what are the benefits of ear piercings other than vanity. my mum had mine done when i was 5, i didn't want them done, but she did it anyway. they used a spray to nmb my ear, but it went across half my face (i know tehy don't do this anymore) problem is, the spray ahd lanolin in which i'm allergic to, so y face was blistered and sore all for th epoint of my mums shallowness, she then took me somewhere else to get the other one done who just did it without any thing, i don't remember that hurting in all honesty, but to this day i don't where earings, but the holes have never closed, once when iw as 17 and hadn't worn earings since they were pierced so 11/12 yrs, but they went in fine. occasionally i do wear them, but i mean like once a yr, and i can only ever use them for one hour tops as my ear starts getting sore (the one they sprayed) and red, and statys like that for a good week. so now i have permanent useless holes in my ears, oh joy! can't see the point or the benefit to the child, other than 'everyone' ooing and ahhing, which surely they do anyway?
Oh lord no way! My mum said when I was born there was a woman who actually went round the hospital asking ladies if they wanted their babies ears done. Eeeooo!
Cultural reasons = yes, but it's not in my culture, thank you, so no!
I have my ears pierced, I had them done first of all when I was either 10 or 11 at the very start of the summer hols so I could take them out for PE by the time I went back to school. I had them done once again in each ear and once at the top. My original piercings are a little stretched too, to 3mm, so it's not as though I'm anit-piercing. I'm not anti-tattoos either, I think if Jak or any of my subsequent children want one, we'll discuss it and make sure they know what a tattoo entails. A child's body belongs to them, not its mother, all we have to do is look after them and protect and nurture them. I think it's an individual's decision whether they want extra holes in them. They don't look cute, sorry.
just wanted to say that I have 2 boys so it's not an issue for me but I had my ears pierced when I was 6 mths old and never had any problems to date,if I had a daughter I would definitely have her ears pierced.Not hoops obviously but tiny studs.I think it looks pretty,but thats just my opinion.
i had mine done at about 3 years old, i screamed so much the lady refused to do the other, i did get both done in the end as my mum refised to leave the shop with just one of my ears pieced!!
i have a little boy so for me it isnt an issue, if i had a girl i think i would wait until she aked if at all and then take her, i dont like the idea of inflickting uneccessary pain on a baby myself, i have no problems with others doing it but wouldnt myself x
I was allowed my ears pierced when I went to high school (age 11) which I think is pretty reasonable. I have a 7 month old baby girl and I cannot imagine - no matter how momentary - putting her through any pain that wasn't absolutely necessary. The injections were bad enough! It is of no benefit to the baby so I wouldn't put them through it.
Besides, babies are cute enough, they don't need jewellery to look gorgeous xxx
I am with Mr & mrs P I used to think it was cute, but I don't think I could hurt my lo just for her to look cute, as it happens I have a boy anyway so not an issue but I wouldn't be doing it if I had a girl.
If I had a girl I would think about age 6 and up ideally and def not before school age, and only studs NOT hoops...children are children , they shouldnt try and look grown up with big earrings...
I was 19 nearly 20 when had my lo....my mum friends are older so I dont really know.
I think if you do have lo's ears pierced either do it young so they dont mess with them or wait til they're old enough to understand to leave them alone, i cant imagine piercing a 2 year olds ears poor thing...
I'm totally against it as well. You can't do something that will be permanent on a childs boby, even if it is just a small hole in their ear.
A few years back I was in a doctors waiting room with dd1 waiting to get her BCG done and I got talking to another mum, she was quite young and had a small baby. When I said that we were there to get BCG she said that she wasn't going to let her lo have it or any more injections than she'd already had as it was too upsetting to see them in pain.... meanwhile her very young baby had its ears pierced!
I have a 12 month old daughter and hopefully will be able to hold her off having it done until she is leaving primary school going to high school. This is my aim anyway as I think I was around 10 when my mum let me have mine done and I remember going to have it done and feeling so happy about it as I had wanted them done for a while but my mum had made me wait until she thought I was old enough to know that I wanted the earrings so would have to have the pain.
I would not put my little girl through any pain I can avoid. In my opinion I think it looks awful in babies and dont particularly like it in primary age children either although I find this slightly more acceptable than in babies. To be honest I feel like the likes of Claires Accessories shouldn't be allowed to carry out any peircings on a child under 6. If a culture dictates that a baby should be pierced then there should be specialist places where they can take there children to have it done that are not on the high street. I do feel piercing a child under 6 when they cannot fully understand why they are going through the painful process of peircing is very unfair to the child.
I work in a primary school and the children are not allowed to wear any earrings and if they are newly peirced and connot be removed have to be covered by plasters in school time. At the high school we are connected to the children can wear one set of small studs for school which must be covered or removed for PE.
I agree with heidi, I think it looks cute..... And I'm 33 so I dint think it's an age thing. My daughter is 6 and half months old and I had her ears done when she turned 6 months ...... My other 3 daughters (aged 14, 10 and 8) all had theirs pierced before they were a year old too ... I keep them clean, turn them regularly and none of them have ever had any infection.. I myself was only 4 weeks old when my mum got mine pierced and never suffered either whereas she herself was a mum of 3 before she got her own pierced and suffered infection after infection till she let them close up !!!
Just wondering what makes it ok just because it is a cultural/religious thing? Culturally some women are fed until they cannot move to show wealth, other cultures little girls are married at 9. I think that is not a good excuse IMO. I don't care what culture people are from, it doesn't make certain things ok. Although ear piercing isn't as extreme as the other examples, I still think it is only for selfish reasons 'it looks cute' that it is done. I was 13 when I got mine done and the butterfly went down my ear and I had to have it surgically removed ( I will let my little girl have it done as a reward for something at about aged 10. I too think it looks chavvie.
I don't like it, I think the child should be old enough to make the decision and understand the consequences, personally its always looked odd to me and don't shoot me, but I think chav to. But each to thier own...
But I'm not a fan of it on adults either really, my Dad always told me I wasn't allowed to have my ears peirced till I was 18! Because I respect him I listened and by the time I'd reached 18 I didn't want them done anyway after seeing a girl at school get hers ripped out! Ick. Thought it was weird having holes in your body, but thats me, but I do have tattoos lol so don't mind decoration!
AkaladyK - Agreed, I think we make far too many allowances for culture in this country. You are allowed to walk into a shop wearing a burkha but not a baseball cap.....madness...claire's accessories are allowed to pierce a babys ears...ridiculous!!
I had mine pierced when I was 2, apparently because it was all the rage in the 80's lol!
If my daughter decides she wants her ears pierced then I will let her, but only once she has left primary school. Tbh, I don't know of any girls who had them done early who have complained or disliked them but it's not something I would decide for T, she will have to wait until she is old enough to make an informed decision for herself.
i was allowed to get mine pierced when i was 9 for my birthday, i think i had been asking for almost a year and was so happy when i finally got it done i then went out at 12 and got my second done without my parents say so my mum ended up trying to get the place done for piercing my ears, i then got another 2 done in my ears at 15 and my tongue done at 15 almost 16 then i got my belly button done at 17 and first tattoo at 18 i have still got all my piercings apart from my bellybutton which fell out after having dd1 i also now have 3 tattoos.Before i was a mum i thought piercings on babies looked cute but once i became a mum i decided if lo asked before school in the summer before school i would get it done before she started school so they had healed and could take them out for pe then that would be fine but i would like her to wait longer than that.i will wait until she asks as long as she is 4 or older i dont think i will have a problem she is 2 and half now and has said she likes earings and wants some like mummy but i told her she must be bigger.And only studs for a few years while she learns to take care of them properly.
To all of you who have said you have a boy so it doesn't apply (me included!) - I taught in a school in Birmingham where half the boys in my class (age 7) had at least one ear pierced!
interesting replies especially the poster that is 33 and agrees its cute ,i honestly thought it was an age thing ..but i suppose it is a mix of age,where you live etc and i suppose if your lo is 4 starting school and the only one without her ears peirced because the place you live they all have it done young then someone would do it for that reason ....
i however still think its cruel ...i worry about how much jabs hurt let alone unnecessary pain just so they "look cute" ..i wont start on the race culture thing because i can see it becoming a row which isnt the intention ...i agree that claires accessories should have an age limit however then u would get some manky idiot in the market setting up an ears peircing for cheap and risking an infection!! ....ooh and one last thing just because u keep you baby clean doesnt mean it wont get infected ...it might not be a sterile peircing in the first place
It has been very intresting to read how many ppl r not for it!that is all fair and good but really don't thinks its fair to say it a chev thing to day(think that's the word used!) I am in no way this kind off person!!!yes I may b 22 but I don't think its a age thing ether!u ether like it or u don't not coz of age or chavvy or neddy!! For all the ppl that don't like it I would not start branding use so please don't asume ppl that do like like it are sertin way coz most prob r not!
I am not saying you are a chav, but I personally think it looks chavvy. Its just a stereotype I have in my head.
I have my tongue pierced, speak with a cockney accent, love my hoopies, my friends all say I am a chav but I find it funny....I might look that way but I have a criminology and law degree and do quite well for myself. Doesnt mean I dont look chavvy on occasion, I probably do. So does Alex Gerrard etc. I still think earrings on little girls looks cheap and chavvy.
I think women who wear extemely low cut tops with thigh high boots look tarty. They might be virgins, who knows, who cares....they still look like tarts. Everyone has stereotypes. It is how we as humans catagorise on first looks, it is after speech, communication, body language etc that our first impressions etc are subject to change. It is how we work out instinctivley what is danger, companionship etc in an instance.
Plus I think if it is done when they are too young to speak how can they tell you it hurts or digs in when sleeping.
BTW not an attack on you, just defending that I do have stereotypes (and I dont believe anyone who doesnt)
At the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own opinion . Everyone has developed natural stereotypes from their experiances so dont think akalady was making any personal attack.
I do agree though . I also think its tacky , chav and cruel. It is essentially an assault on a person who is unable to consent. It should be illegal full stop. In other countrys i accept it is their culture to do so BUT it is not here so it should be banned.
I really really wanted my ears pierced as a little girl . My mum said no. At 5 my eldest brother ( he was 22) took me and got them done. My mum flipped and rightly so. If i have a little girl in the future i would like to think they would be done as a 'coming of age' type present , from primary to high school. I will kill anyone ( including my borther) if they get them done any earlier. No offence intended to anyone. x
[Modified by: Blue xStarx on March 25, 2010 09:02 AM]
Akaladyk I totaly understand what u mean!I would prob do the same sometimes but just wonted to let everyone no I was not a chav as not only chavs that like it (I think english call it chavs and its just the way ppl dress ect?I think! But am from glasgow and its neds here and I would be afended if ppl thought I was one as I think is diff from chav?!) So that y had to right that I am not. But in saying all that reading all the coments has really made me think about it a lot more!so thank to everyone for all ur views on it!
Replies
Cultural reasons = yes, but it's not in my culture, thank you, so no!
I have my ears pierced, I had them done first of all when I was either 10 or 11 at the very start of the summer hols so I could take them out for PE by the time I went back to school. I had them done once again in each ear and once at the top. My original piercings are a little stretched too, to 3mm, so it's not as though I'm anit-piercing. I'm not anti-tattoos either, I think if Jak or any of my subsequent children want one, we'll discuss it and make sure they know what a tattoo entails. A child's body belongs to them, not its mother, all we have to do is look after them and protect and nurture them. I think it's an individual's decision whether they want extra holes in them. They don't look cute, sorry.
i have a little boy so for me it isnt an issue, if i had a girl i think i would wait until she aked if at all and then take her, i dont like the idea of inflickting uneccessary pain on a baby myself, i have no problems with others doing it but wouldnt myself x
Besides, babies are cute enough, they don't need jewellery to look gorgeous xxx
If I had a girl I would think about age 6 and up ideally and def not before school age, and only studs NOT hoops...children are children , they shouldnt try and look grown up with big earrings...
I was 19 nearly 20 when had my lo....my mum friends are older so I dont really know.
I think if you do have lo's ears pierced either do it young so they dont mess with them or wait til they're old enough to understand to leave them alone, i cant imagine piercing a 2 year olds ears poor thing...
A few years back I was in a doctors waiting room with dd1 waiting to get her BCG done and I got talking to another mum, she was quite young and had a small baby. When I said that we were there to get BCG she said that she wasn't going to let her lo have it or any more injections than she'd already had as it was too upsetting to see them in pain.... meanwhile her very young baby had its ears pierced!
I would not put my little girl through any pain I can avoid. In my opinion I think it looks awful in babies and dont particularly like it in primary age children either although I find this slightly more acceptable than in babies. To be honest I feel like the likes of Claires Accessories shouldn't be allowed to carry out any peircings on a child under 6. If a culture dictates that a baby should be pierced then there should be specialist places where they can take there children to have it done that are not on the high street. I do feel piercing a child under 6 when they cannot fully understand why they are going through the painful process of peircing is very unfair to the child.
I work in a primary school and the children are not allowed to wear any earrings and if they are newly peirced and connot be removed have to be covered by plasters in school time. At the high school we are connected to the children can wear one set of small studs for school which must be covered or removed for PE.
Just to add my twopenneth!
xxx
infection.. I myself was only 4 weeks old when my mum got mine pierced and never suffered either whereas she herself was a mum of 3 before she got her own pierced and suffered infection after infection till she let them close up !!!
But I'm not a fan of it on adults either really, my Dad always told me I wasn't allowed to have my ears peirced till I was 18! Because I respect him I listened and by the time I'd reached 18 I didn't want them done anyway after seeing a girl at school get hers ripped out! Ick. Thought it was weird having holes in your body, but thats me, but I do have tattoos lol so don't mind decoration!
Nowt as strange as folk xxx
If my daughter decides she wants her ears pierced then I will let her, but only once she has left primary school.
Tbh, I don't know of any girls who had them done early who have complained or disliked them but it's not something I would decide for T, she will have to wait until she is old enough to make an informed decision for herself.
i however still think its cruel ...i worry about how much jabs hurt let alone unnecessary pain just so they "look cute" ..i wont start on the race culture thing because i can see it becoming a row which isnt the intention ...i agree that claires accessories should have an age limit however then u would get some manky idiot in the market setting up an ears peircing for cheap and risking an infection!! ....ooh and one last thing
For all the ppl that don't like it I would not start branding use so please don't asume ppl that do like like it are sertin way coz most prob r not!
I have my tongue pierced, speak with a cockney accent, love my hoopies, my friends all say I am a chav but I find it funny....I might look that way but I have a criminology and law degree and do quite well for myself. Doesnt mean I dont look chavvy on occasion, I probably do. So does Alex Gerrard etc. I still think earrings on little girls looks cheap and chavvy.
I think women who wear extemely low cut tops with thigh high boots look tarty. They might be virgins, who knows, who cares....they still look like tarts. Everyone has stereotypes. It is how we as humans catagorise on first looks, it is after speech, communication, body language etc that our first impressions etc are subject to change. It is how we work out instinctivley what is danger, companionship etc in an instance.
Plus I think if it is done when they are too young to speak how can they tell you it hurts or digs in when sleeping.
BTW not an attack on you, just defending that I do have stereotypes (and I dont believe anyone who doesnt)
I do agree though . I also think its tacky , chav and cruel. It is essentially an assault on a person who is unable to consent. It should be illegal full stop. In other countrys i accept it is their culture to do so BUT it is not here so it should be banned.
I really really wanted my ears pierced as a little girl . My mum said no. At 5 my eldest brother ( he was 22) took me and got them done. My mum flipped and rightly so. If i have a little girl in the future i would like to think they would be done as a 'coming of age' type present , from primary to high school. I will kill anyone ( including my borther) if they get them done any earlier. No offence intended to anyone. x
[Modified by: Blue xStarx on March 25, 2010 09:02 AM]
But in saying all that reading all the coments has really made me think about it a lot more!so thank to everyone for all ur views on it!