children in earrings

I hate it, and it caused me a problem because my son had his daughter's ears done, and his much younger sister (8) then asked me if she could have hers done and I said no.....
Also on visiting Algeria with my husband, the family were all for piercing her ears as part of their cultural tradition ;thankfully hubby respected my feelings on the subject..

I have never had my ears pierced, nor had a tattoo. To me the whole idea is barbaric, I cannot get into the mindset of friends and family members who are perfectly reasonable people who have had this done. My Dsis thinks I am the weird one and having discovered that I owned no earrings at all bought me a pair of very pretty clip-ons - gold filigree with a pearl in the middle. Next time we were out together she asked if I liked the earrings and if I was wearing them. I said they were lovely and invited her to guess whether I was wearing them or not. She had the grace to blush when she realised that my ears are never seen under my chin length bob.

In countries like Spain and South America it is routine to pierce babies' ears. I was told by an Argentinian friend that it is considered unlucky to ask the sex of a baby - a pierced ear tells you.
We can't argue about some cultural practices but to do it just to look pretty is dreadful. I read in a paper yesterday that a range of deodorants is coming out aimed at 6 to 10 year olds. Why do some people want their children to grow up so quickly?

If a stranger attacked a child and put holes in their ears they would be arrested. A parent can do this to a child or a baby and it is completely acceptable in the eyes of the law. I feel sick at the thought of putting a little child in so much pain and discomfort.

GD (now 10) mithered her mother so much that DiL crumbled and let her have them done when she was almost 9. The deed was done at the beginning of the summer holidays to give the holes time to heal before school restarted. The tiny studs were unobtrusive but eventually, fickle GD decided she didn't want them after all and let the holes close up. She says she will have them re-done when she gets a bit older!

I was well in my 40s and had it done at a local salon with a "gun" designed for the purpose. It was very quick and just "shot" the stud into my ear lobe. It burned a lot at the time but with no real pain.

My DD had hers done while still at school but I cannot remember how old she was? somewhere between 12 and 14 I think. It was with my permission though and at an age when it was becoming appropriate to want to dress up a bit at times. I would never do it too a younger child though.

Barrow couldn't agree more. I was 21 when I had mine done DD was about 18 I think!

No-one should be allowed to have a piercing until they are 18 (same with tattoos), then they are able to make the decision themselves.

There was a picture in the newspapers yesterday of a mother (in Brazil I think) holding down her 3 yr old whilst someone gave the child a tattoo on its arm!

I also dislike seeing small children, usually little girls, dressed in tarty clothes

Re the chewing it off, perhaps she could just have little patterns painted on her fingernails which would not affect the chewable part.

I think nail varnish is fine on little girls (and boys too sometimes ) because it's only temporary and, really, just part of playing.

I don't like the look of piercings on very young children. Best wait to their teens.

PRINTMISS my granny did hers that way. Luckily hers were ok. Not to be recommended!

Hate it. My daughters were around 16 before they had their ears pierced and I must have been around 35.

Luckily my daughter was never dream of having her daughter's ears pierced!

I think you have to keep quiet or it will offend the Mum! I must admit do agree not necessary for little ones to have piercings imo and nail varnish way too young, maybe toes if they want to be like Mummy on holiday or something but not fingers as you say they will chew it off!!! let them be little ones for goodness sake!!

never had my ears pierced til I was around 16 or maybe older!!

plenty time enough!!

I dislike it on young children, and nail varnish, why do they have to make them appear grown up when they're not?

I feel so sorry for the babies who have it done because most people don't realise how incredibly painful it can be. I finally had my ears pierced when I was 45. Why did I wait that long? Well I'd asked my mam if I could have them done when I was 15 and she'd said no. It took me 30 years to summon up the courage to do something she'd said I couldn't do

I couldn't believe how much it hurt. I cried so much when he did the first ear that he asked if I was sure I wanted the second one doing. I had to have it done because I could't just have one done, could I? So I sobbed hysterically for ages and I'm sure the sounds frightened away some of his waiting customers.

I didn't keep my mouth shut when my DD had DGD's ear pierced. She knew what my attitude would be and tried to keep me from finding out but DGD told me on the phone lol. DD put up with a tirade from me because, as she said, she knew it would happen. In fact she was scared about me finding out because she knew I'd go mad. Unfortunately the thought didn't scare her enough. DGD was 3 years old and DD's excuse that she wanted it doing was no excuse.

To be fair DD takes care of the earrings and ears properly and DGD is only allowed to wear small studs but I still hate them.

I have nothing against body piercing....just not in small children. My rule was that DDs had to be able to keep piercings clean and change rings with no help from me. One DD went on to have her ears pierced several times plus her eyebrown and tongue. The other DD had her ears and belly button done although she had to remove the later when pregnant and never had it redone.

I have always gone with DDs to check cleaniness etc but tbh I'm not very good in those situations and when DD1 had her tongue pierced they had to get me a chair and a cup of sweet tea because I nearly passed out .

I have never had my ears pierced, although my daughter and grand-daughter do have pierced ears, both had theirs done in their late teens. My grandson was forbidden by his father to have his ears pierced, and I think will never bother now, a passing phase. When I worked as an assistant in a school, I could deal with most things, but young girls with really sore bleeding/weeping ear lobes was something I had to refer to the welfare assistant, as for some reason I just could not cope with those! Once a young boy (it was a junior school) decided to sharpen a safety pin on the wall and pierce his ear with this whilst at school - he was in a great deal of pain, and the welfare assistant merely put TCP on the ear lobe, and told him he might lose his ear. Wouldn't be allowed to do or say that today.

My mother always wanted me to have my ears pierced but it wasn't till the 80's when multiple earrings became fashionable that I finally took the plunge at nearly 40. I think my daughter was about 11 when hers were done (she thought that if I'd survived it she probably would). She was more of a problem as she turned out to be allergic to all metals except gold and silver whereas I could stick anything in my ears. A girl I used to work with gave me graphic descriptions of what it was like to have a cold with a nose stud, so I was never tempted although I've always rather fancied a pierced eyebrow.

Isn't there a risk of Hep B&C with piercings and unsterilised equipment too ... yes a quick google shows there is.

The thing that would worry me about a nose piercing is if you don't wear the jewellery and the hole just looks like a big old blackhead

My daughter is 34 this year and from about the age of 12 asked to have her ears pierced. I agreed when she was 14; however, when I took her along to the jewellers I was told that the government had introduced a law and they really shouldn't do it until she was 16. As I was with her they agreed to do it (she hasn't worn earrings for quite a long time now). My question is - what happened to this law?

I hate to see babies with their ears pierced. The early sexualisation of children has been mentioned: there is an interesting article in one of the Sunday papers today - the things they describe are quite horrendous. We simply must stop this treatment of our youngsters.

Ear piercing of minors is abuse in my book. It should also be an offence to dress minors like little streetwalkers.
GD was invited to a pamper party, DS collected her and cleaned her face with baby wipes before leaving the building.

Oh yes - I can remember having to interview a teenage lass who had a cold and there was snot dripping out of her nose piercing - totally gross.

But it would be misery when you have a streaming cold!

"Actually I'd love to have my nose pierced - but my (adult) kids and OH would disown me. I might one day"

Why not - they do it to bulls all the time...

I agree with most its unfair to inflict ear piercing on a child who is too young to consent, and the tarty clothes are dreadful.

Wasn't someone on GN posting about having seen some little girls clothes with the words "Future Footballers wife" on them. I am sure the parents would say it just a bit of fun but I can't help thinking that somewhere those parents might just think that kind of life choice is what they would want for their children.
As for pamper parties for little girls and a limo that is just parent's showing off. Then there is the dressing up of these little girls! God forbid we should go down the road of the child beauty pageants as in the USA. I know there are some of these in the UK but its not as bad as in the USA.

Do others remember that awful TV program "Painted Babies" about the American beauty pageants circuit. It was really horrendous, lots of dreadful pushy mums.
Sometimes I just despair!