That is the question!
Obviously Teagan is a girl – sure you can tell in this picture because she is wearing PINK! If you know me though, this little lady doesn’t wear pink all that much!! ;o)
Before I was a parent I thought a lot about piercing ears of babies but I never knew exactly what my decision would be if I ever had a girl. I still do not know!
On one hand I think it is adorable to see little earrings and often think that the younger you are the less traumatic it could be.
On the other hand it seems unnecessary and mean to the poor little baby!!
Let me also go back in time and tell you this – my mom didn’t let me get my ears pierced until I was 16 and that was after my grandmother took me to the salon with out my mother’s permission!!
My mom’s rule: Keep your room clean for 1 year and you can get them pierced – HAHA!! RIGHT!!!
So what are your thoughts, experiences, judgments on piercing the ears of baby girls?
I am not a girl mom…but my personal preference is to wait. I won't say anymore in case you do pierce her ears because my foot will be inserted in my mouth! Seriously though, your choice!
lol – I wouldnt be upset with your thoughts. From a nursing point of view…how dangerous is it?
We pierced Paige's ears at 7 months. Best decision ever for us. I had a bad experience (3x) at 9, 10, and 11 getting my ears pierced and I wanted to avoid that for Paige
Also, I pierced ears at Claire's…I prefer piercing at this age and NOT the toddler age
We will wait until Mackenzie is old enough to care for her own ears. I got mine pierced when I was 10. They were always infected though because we didnt know at the time I was allergic to anything other than 14k gold posts. I'd hate to have that problem with my daughter.
But my cousin pierced her daughters ears and they are cute.
First, some say moms shouldn’t pierce their baby girls ears ears because it is cruel. On the contrary, moms are doing them a favor to pierce your dd’s ears. Some pediatricians do it in their office or have a trained nurse perform the procedure for mom. If they are doing it, it can’t be deemed cruel.
Second, I grew up too with a “white bread ”WASPY” mother who didn’t pierce her ears until she was well
into her 30s, having been told by my grandmother that only gypsies had pierced ears. At two my mom said I
was asking, and asking for them. My best friend had hers done as an infant. I can remember having them
done so it wasn’t a good experience either at this age. I told my mom later how I wished she would have
pierced them for me soon after birth.
Third, I know a lot of people have strong feelings when to pierce a child’s ear. “Let them decide” is being replaced by parental decision when mommy intuition knows, “earlier is better” from either personal or friend’s experiences of unpleasant childhood ear piercing. I think it just depends on your own personal choice whether or not you wish your baby or little girl to have pierced ears.
Fourth, cultural traditions and perceived gender of their child are important. Cerebrally, as mothers of
girls of all ages, we know it celebrates their femaleness and femininity. After all, they are little
girls, right? Growing up I remember many of my little girlfriends were not allowed to get their ears pierced. I could never understand it…but when their parents did finally let them, it always seemed they’d get infected because they were constantly touching them or trying to change out the earrings before they were supposed to. Many said it was painful, but all cried having a great deal of angst leading up to and including the actual ear piercing.
Fifth, I never pictured myself piercing my baby’s ears, but we did it at 6 months while I was breastfeeding. She barely shed a whimper. I’d say you’re thinking about it, then your mommy intuition is telling earlier is better. Our ped encouraged me to do it when mommy could care for them. She gave me some info how to find the right person, place, type of earrings and post care instructions. This was very helpful in making it a good experience for us.
Lastly, if any moms are on the fence “to pierce or not to pierce,” drop me an e-mail if you’d like our ped’s
thoughts for moms having their dd’s ears pierced.
What should you do? Well, it is a personal decision, but I'm glad I gave her the "gift of pierced ears"
as an infant and will thank me later.
Angie
angietune@hotmail.com
First, some say moms shouldn’t pierce their baby girls ears ears because it is cruel. On the contrary, moms are doing them a favor to pierce your dd’s ears. Some pediatricians do it in their office or have a trained nurse perform the procedure for mom. If they are doing it, it can’t be deemed cruel.
Second, I grew up too with a “white bread ”WASPY” mother who didn’t pierce her ears until she was well
into her 30s, having been told by my grandmother that only gypsies had pierced ears. At two my mom said I
was asking, and asking for them. My best friend had hers done as an infant. I can remember having them
done so it wasn’t a good experience either at this age. I told my mom later how I wished she would have
pierced them for me soon after birth.
Third, I know a lot of people have strong feelings when to pierce a child’s ear. “Let them decide” is being replaced by parental decision when mommy intuition knows, “earlier is better” from either personal or friend’s experiences of unpleasant childhood ear piercing. I think it just depends on your own personal choice whether or not you wish your baby or little girl to have pierced ears.
Fourth, cultural traditions and perceived gender of their child are important. Cerebrally, as mothers of
girls of all ages, we know it celebrates their femaleness and femininity. After all, they are little
girls, right? Growing up I remember many of my little girlfriends were not allowed to get their ears pierced. I could never understand it…but when their parents did finally let them, it always seemed they’d get infected because they were constantly touching them or trying to change out the earrings before they were supposed to. Many said it was painful, but all cried having a great deal of angst leading up to and including the actual ear piercing.
Fifth, I never pictured myself piercing my baby’s ears, but we did it at 6 months while I was breastfeeding. She barely shed a whimper. I’d say you’re thinking about it, then your mommy intuition is telling earlier is better. Our ped encouraged me to do it when mommy could care for them. She gave me some info how to find the right person, place, type of earrings and post care instructions. This was very helpful in making it a good experience for us.
Lastly, if any moms are on the fence “to pierce or not to pierce,” drop me an e-mail if you’d like our ped’s
thoughts for moms having their dd’s ears pierced.
What should you do? Well, it is a personal decision, but I'm glad I gave her the "gift of pierced ears"
as an infant and will thank me later.
Angie
angietune@hotmail.com
My 5 yo doesn't have pierced ears yet. She has never even asked for them. If and when she does I hope she is old enough to take care of them the majority of the time.
My 5 month old will not be getting her ears pierced either. I will let my girls decide. It is their body they need to make some decisions about it and ear piercing is a less harmless one. Also I see it as a step onto teenagehood.
I got mine pierced at 13. They did not get infected. But now I almost never wear any earrings. Maybe why its no big deal in our house.
The decision is up to you for now. She really cant say. If you really want them just so she isn't mistaken for a boy I would suggest some bows headbands etc. Or not. The people who really matter already know she is a girl and who cares what the people on the grocery store think. Not likely that you will see them again anyways.
Personally, I think it should be a decision that she gets to make on her own when you decide she's old enough. It is her body and I feel like it is her decision to make. I understand the pain thing, but when you are so excited to do it you don't mind so much and it's pretty quick anyways. That's just my opinion though and my in-laws were shocked that we didn't do it with Marley when she was born!