Ear Piercing.. - Aurora,IL

This is a controversial topic on MP.

My personal opinion.... I do not " own" my daughter , therefore this decision is not mine to make.

Her body = her decision

I'm in agreement with eat piercing when a child asks for it and as as milestone in her life.

I hate seeing newborns and babies with pierced ears. Let them make that decision. Enjoy them when they are babies without making choices that should be their choice to make.

Best wishes

Honestly, I say wait until the child is old enough to ask for it. Why make that decision for him/her? I asked to get my ears pierced for my 5th birthday. I took care of my piercings myself under my parents' supervision. I don't like to see babies with their ears pierced because it wasn't their decision.

The "best" age will depend on a host of factors, including your family culture. One of my best friends got her daughter's ears pierced at about 1 month, because her husband is from Ghana, and in his culture it is a sign that you value your baby girl.

My daughter was 12. I wanted to wait until she asked for it and could handle keeping her hands off, keeping the piercing clean, etc. I researched options and went to a reputable piercing studio in our local area. There it was done quickly and with relatively little pain using a needle, and the earrings that were used are great - the fronts insert into the backs, which go through the ear and have an opening into which the front attaches and have a ball in back of the ear. Very comfortable for sleeping. Plus this studio was meticulously clean, and rigorous in their standards for sterilization.

This did cost more than going to a mall store and having it done with a piercing gun. But the piercing guns cause more trauma (you're punching a thicker stud through the ear), and the studs have pointed ends which can be really uncomfortable to sleep in. Plus if your child has long hair, the stud-plus-back combination is much more likely to get tangled in it. If your child has sensitive skin (mine does) you're going to need the more expensive studs, and by the time you add it all up, you may find that the piercing studio isn't really that much more expensive. And a final consideration is that at a reputable piercing studio the people who pierce ears are well-trained, certified, and experienced. At the mall, you run the risk of getting the under-trained minimum wage youngster.

I had my daughters done at 3 months. GASP! She didn't cry or make a peep. Now my cousin just did her 6 year olds and WOW you would think someone kicked her puppy! She screamed and didn't want to do the other side. It's a personal choice, there is no right or wrong time, it's a matter of how you feel about it.

As for the age, that is completely up to you. I, personally, could never pierce a child's ear without them saying they want too. Some grow up to just not like it and that is not my body to make that decision.
As for the place, contradictory to what many are saying, please take her/him to a reputable (which does not always mean cheapest!) tattoo shop in your area and ask the piercing professional there to do it. There are a plethora of risks associated with the guns Claire's, Walmart, or any local piercing pagoda has which include
-Risk of infection as they cannot clean the 'guns.' They rub alcohol on them, but that is nothing compared to what a piercing professional does. They put needles in an autoclave which sterilizes the instrument COMPLETELY. The infections from piercing guns can go anywhere from a simple easy fix, to MRSA, and even HIV. The stats vary depending on how highlu populated the area is, but that still isn't a chance I would ever take.
-Untrained young adults. These people often practice on teddy bears or something on the like. A professional often apprentices anywhere from 2-4 years under another professional. 2 weeks on a teddy bear, or 2-4 years working with a professional on real people?
-Healing is much easier with a needle piercing than a gun. The needle is sharper, hurts less, and heals much easier. They also use 316L Surgical Stainless Steel or Titanium, which means you also avoid the possiblity of your child being allergic to nickle because sometimes 'nickle free' jewelry still have nickle in the saudering of the post and the jewelry. My mother can't wear even high grade expensive earrings because of that. I have 6 piercings and the two that I had done with a gun years and year ago I had problems with til about 4 years ago when I started stretching them.

If you do choose to go to a professional, ask the piercer to use a labret (Pronounced la-bret) stud. They are the studs used for lip piercings and are much more comfortable because they are not a sharp 'starter' earring. You can get cute fronts as well, so she/he won't be stuck with 'boring' jewelry. The gauge to get them pierced is 18 and don't use anything but sea salt soaks, such as H2Ocean. The commercial 'ear cleaning' solutions have hydrogen peroxide in them which can be very detrimental for piercings. Do not touch or turn the jewelry/piercing either. After a 6 week wait, you can change the jewelry and wear regular earrings.

If you have any questions I would be glad to help, body modifications is a passion of mine and I am studying myself to be a piercing professional.

I took my daughter at 3 1/2 mths to a jewelry store.

I personally think the younger the better because they notice them less once they are handsy and are less likely to pull them out, if she doesn't want them once younger the holes will most likely close easily.

Under 6mo... Ideally before they can touch their ears/ still have the arm up = turn head reflex. So that by the time they can reach their ears... The earrings are completely unremarkable / uninteresting/ boring. So they don't get tugged, contaminated, pulled at/off.

Teen & fully capable of managing 100% of care.

With both... A licensed piercer. NOT some place at the mall with minimum wage teens and a gun... But hospital sterile / thousands of piercings a year/ 6 figure salary professional piercer. 2nd best would be a med-pro... But while the field is as sterile as a good piercing studio.., the experience just isn't there.

Best age is when the owner of the ears wants it done. For lobe piercing, Claire's and similar places are fine. For cartilage piercing, you need to go to a piercing salon. The guns they use at jewelry counters can crush cartilage - cartilage piercing should always be done with a needle.

I say around 9-10y. I got them when I turned 12y.
My daughter who is 6y keeps asking. Hubby keeps asking.
My 2 nieces each got them at around 6m. Both do not like to wear earrings.

You will get lot of different answers to this question. People on here feel strongly about it.

You decide what works best for your family.

I had my daughter's done at the doctors office the first time. She is 15 now and got her second hole on her birthday this year and we went to Claire's.

i got my daughters done at 2 months (a week after her first shots) at the piercing pagoda. she cried for about 10 mins. shes 6 now and wants another hole but i told her that she will wait till shes much older. shes never had an issue with her ears. never pulled or took them out.

parents feel very strongly about this. some say it should be the childs choice where others just get it done when they are babies. theres no right answer. if you and your husband (if theres a husband/boyfriend etc) agree then do it. if she doesnt like them later on then she can take them out.

For us we let our kids (boys or girls) get their done when they asked. For my younger son it was age 3, my older waited until 7 to ask.

We just got it done both times at claires and had no issues.

A licensed nurse or doctor with the appropriate training, equipment and insurance to do piercings. I have no issues with a baby getting ear piercing as long as they've at least had their 4 month vaccinations (or later if given on a modified schedule) as long as the parent takes fully responsibility for the care of the healing AND both parents agree to get the piercing done. If you choose to do it as a baby, don't do it after age one. After that wait until the child is not only old enough to ask, but really can take care of them on his/her own but expect to be in charge of supervising the healing process and aftercare.

I got my daughter's ears pierce at Claire's in the mall when she was 1 years old. She cired for less than 5 seconds. It was nothing. So fast. She had no infections ever. I kept them cleaned and turned the studs twice a day.

I agree that the person should be old enough to come to you and ask for it themselves. My two girls have pierced ears. They were both around 6 yrs. old. My oldest just got the top of the ear done (cartilage). I don't know about tattoo/piercing establishments. We went to (of all places) WalMart.... don't laugh or gasp. Each time, they used a brand new gun (watched them remove it from the sealed bag/container and they are one time use guns. The earrings were in a sealed container, as well. They are certified to do the piercings and we have never had a problem at all. Just my opinion. Why pay upwards of 60 dollars for a general piercing when you can pay 20 or so (cost of the earrings, basically)....