Should It Be Legal to Pierce Your Infant Child's Ears?

There can be a medical reason for braces, though. I've got an overbite and I don't mind it so never got braces but if I ever played contact sport I could easily get my front teeth knocked out. People can also get jaw problems and chronic teeth problems (the latter from not being able to clean their teeth properly when they're not straight).

Yeah, some people get them for purely aesthetic reasons but that's not always the case.

The Rumor:

There can be a medical reason for braces, though. I've got an overbite and I don't mind it so never got braces but if I ever played contact sport I could easily get my front teeth knocked out. People can also get jaw problems and chronic teeth problems (the latter from not being able to clean their teeth properly when they're not straight).

Yeah, some people get them for purely aesthetic reasons but that's not always the case.

Why would having an ovebite make it that easy for your front teeth to get knocked out if you played contact sports?
I have an ovebite and nobody's ever told me that unless I get braces I'm going to get my front teeth knocked out.

Mr W. H.:

There's no valid medical reason for wanting straight teeth. On the contrary, some doctors are against braces because they prevent the natural movement of face bones and create tension in face and neck muscles.

Some doctors aren't. And everything the Rumor. said. My ex had an extreme underbite that caused her to grind her teeth horribly (which would have lead to destruction of the teeth) and that's why she got braces.

dru is by your side.:

Some doctors aren't. And everything the Rumor. said. My ex had an extreme underbite that caused her to grind her teeth horribly (which would have lead to destruction of the teeth) and that's why she got braces.

So? It's true that people can get braces for reasons other than cosmetics, but that doesn't mean most of them do any more than the fact that people can also get plastic surgery for valid medical reasons means most people don't get plastic surgery simply because they want to improve their looks.

Mr W. H.:

So? It's true that people can get braces for reasons other than cosmetics, but that doesn't mean most of them do any more than the fact that people can also get plastic surgery for valid medical reasons means most people don't get plastic surgery simply because they want to improve their looks.

Okay, I never had braces so can someone explain what they do to me if a child refuses? Do they drug them and force them on while the child is passed out? Or do the parents talk the child into it? 'Cause I just looked it up and found a few articles that said parents shouldn't force it and I agree.

If it's not for medical purposes then it shouldn't be forced.

Mr W. H.:

There's no valid medical reason for wanting straight teeth. On the contrary, some doctors are against braces because they prevent the natural movement of face bones and create tension in face and neck muscles.

While there's no dire medical need for them, disfigured teeth can be uncomfortable and braces prevent things like speech impediments, sleep apnea and any sort of gum disease or tooth decay that's a direct result of overcrowding. Aligned teeth make it a lot less painful to chew, they take away jaw pains and prevent people from grinding their teeth.

These are reasons for wanting straight teeth and investing in braces, but they're only necessary in the event that there is misalignment and that misalignment could trigger any of those issues.

dru is by your side.:

Okay, I never had braces so can someone explain what they do to me if a child refuses? Do they drug them and force them on while the child is passed out? Or do the parents talk the child into it? 'Cause I just looked it up and found a few articles that said parents shouldn't force it and I agree.

If it's not for medical purposes then it shouldn't be forced.

I'm pretty sure parents are supposed to try and talk their children into it, but with a lot of medical procedures, the child is still under the parents judgment. If a parent really wanted their child to have braces to the point where they forced them to do it, there wouldn't be any sort of legal consequence.

dru is by your side.:

There's a medical reason to get braces. There's no medical reason to pierce a child's ears.

Some children don't want braces though. Quite honestly, unless in cases of extremely bad teeth, braces are just there to straighten them. I declined braces, but some parents still make their children get them, even when the children are able to voice their own opinions.

sunflowers.:

Some children don't want braces though. Quite honestly, unless in cases of extremely bad teeth, braces are just there to straighten them. I declined braces, but some parents still make their children get them, even when the children are able to voice their own opinions.

And like I said above, if it's purely for aesthetic reasons and there will be no overall improvement to quality of life then I don't think a child should be forced.

Valencia Laekin:

If a parent really wanted their child to have braces to the point where they forced them to do it, there wouldn't be any sort of legal consequence.

But how do they force them is basically what I'm asking? Is it legal to knock the child out and force them because you can't put on braces if they're trashing around, I assume.

dru is by your side.:

But how do they force them is basically what I'm asking? Is it legal to knock the child out and force them because you can't put on braces if they're trashing around, I assume.

That would seem to be the only solution for that predicament.

Valencia Laekin:

That would seem to be the only solution for that predicament.

Yeah, I don't think that should be legal at all.

dru is by your side.:

But how do they force them is basically what I'm asking? Is it legal to knock the child out and force them because you can't put on braces if they're trashing around, I assume.

Do you know any kid who genuinely likes being vaccinated or going to the doctor/dentist in general? I don't, they're simply forced to go by their parents through a variety of means (from subtle seemingly innocent "if you're a good girl/boy and don't cry when we go to the doctor's, I'll buy you that toy you want" to bullying and scaring kids into going). I was a really sickly kid so I often had to have injections regularly and until I was around 7 and I started to understand that I was sick and it was dangerous not to take medicine, my parents did sometimes have to hold me down because like any normal human being I cried, screamed and did anything I could to avoid intense pain.

dru is by your side.:

Yeah, I don't think that should be legal at all.

I see where you're coming from with that, but what it really comes down to is the fact that children, legally speaking, cannot make decisions for themselves until they've matured. Should parents listen to their children? Absolutely, because not paying mind to the wishes of the child is definitely going to be a setback on that relationship, but the bottom line is always going to be the parents decision.

I understand the logic of that- giving parents authority over their children- but it really leaves no safeguard for bad parenting.

It'd be nice if there were accessible mediation.

^
Then, according to your argument, a parent can force a child to get breast implants, tattoos, facial piercings, or any other thing they want because they want a "pretty" kid. Parents do not have the right to abuse their children mentally or physically. I think forcibly drugging a child to make them more aesthetically pleasing falls under both.

^
My argument is to be used within reason. A doctor wouldn't give a child unreasonable plastic surgery such as breast implants. In fact, for so much as requesting it, I'd bet you twenty that the doctor would have social services on the phone in seconds.

Braces and breast implants are two different things mediated by the sensibility of the parents and the doctor. Braces can be used for medical purposes, because straight teeth do more for a person than just look pretty. Breast implants are breast implants.

"Abuse" is also a little ambiguous, because it's turning more or less into a moral debate. If you're saying that all parents who put their children under to get braces are "abusing" them in the same sense that they would be if they were doing just that for breast implants, I fail to see the comparison because one can be used to prevent unnecessary suffering.

I assumed my argument insinuated that parents have authority over their children within reason, but if not I'd like to clear that up right now. There are social services that oversee the decisions of parents with the ability to intervene.

Valencia Laekin:

"Abuse" is also a little ambiguous, because it's turning more or less into a moral debate. If you're saying that all parents who put their children under to get braces are "abusing" them in the same sense that they would be if they were doing just that for breast implants, I fail to see the comparison because one can be used to prevent unnecessary suffering.

I think forcing drugs into someone's system to force them into an unnecessary medical procedure is wrong. And I think forcing your child to ingest unneeded drugs is abuse.

Unnecessary suffering would fall under health causes, correct? Even if it's for mental health reasons.

And a parent could believe that giving their daughter breast implants will give her more opportunities in life.

It would depend which medical procedures you mean when you say "unnecessary". Braces wouldn't fall into this as they do correct faults. And "unnecessary drugs" needed to anesthetize them for medical procedures?

Breast implants are solely cosmetic, and I know that in cases with children and cosmetic surgery that is strictly cosmetic they have some say in the procedure taking place (ex. something that causes them intense psychological strife like teasing or bullying [again, within reason... A child or their parent couldn't say that they're suffering intense bullying because they don't have breast implants and therefore need to get them])... I don't know how this would work for tattoos, but I'm fairly certain that parlors would refuse customers under those circumstances.

I didn't even bother to look at it like that, but you're right. There might be an honest belief in surgery fulfilling some sort of mental issue, but the belief that breast implants will give someone more opportunities in life is completely theoretical without any statistical backing, whereas braces have been proven to correct misalignment and correct things like sleep apnea. Were any social worker or doctor to take a look at a case like that, I'm almost positive they would deny the parents the right to do that to their child.

Not all procedures are unnecessary and as much as we all hate seeing children cry, we can't afford them complete and total reign over their lives. (In that regard I'm talking about vaccine and braces. Necessary medical treatments and procedures that aren't appealing to children.) In terms of piercings and tattoos and unnecessary plastic surgery I more or less agree with you. I think that those decisions (the decisions for superficial surgery/piercings/tattoos) should be left up to the individual.

Valencia Laekin:

It would depend which medical procedures you mean when you say "unnecessary". Braces wouldn't fall into this as they do correct faults.

If it's not unnecessary then I think it's appropriate to force the decision. I said that.

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whereas braces have been proven to correct misalignment and correct things like sleep apnea.

Which means there is a health reason which fit into what I said above. I said I'm only against forcing it when the sole reason is for aesthetics, meaning simply to make the child look better.

dru is by your side.:

Which means there is a health reason which fit into what I said above. I said I'm only against forcing it when the sole reason is for aesthetics, meaning simply to make the child look better.

I'd just like to make sure we're differentiating between downright "abuse" and uncomfortable procedures that are necessary. Just as we spoke about before, braces cannot be compared to breast implants.

As long as we're differentiating between necessary an unnecessary procedure then it would appear that we are on the same page!

Valencia Laekin:

I'd just like to make sure we're differentiating between downright "abuse" and uncomfortable procedures that are necessary. Just as we spoke about before, braces cannot be compared to breast implants.

As long as we're differentiating between necessary an unnecessary procedure then it would appear that we are on the same page!

It would.