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

I think that ear piercings for infants is perfectly normal. The main fact is, is that many peers around me have had their ears pierced as infants much like myself. To me, I think it's a cute addition and chances are, when your infant grows up, they would ask to have their ears pierced if they didn't have it as a child.

On my seventeenth birthday, I had gotten my second ear piercing but before that, I had my first piercing at around my first year or lower...somewhere between 11 months to a year.

@ Grotesque.
I don't think removing someone's right to consent to a purely cosmetic surgery with no benefits but with risks is "normal".

I believe that the child should have a choice, being that they will feel the pain, not the one making them do it. At least let them agree to it, you know?

Well sometimes the reason for infant ear piercing is it's someone's culture or family beliefs or something like that. Or maybe the parents got ear piercings as an infant so they think its okay to do the same thing to their own child.
Personally, I don't support infant ear piercing, the baby will feel painful, and I don't think that's fair. Plus it will be easier for infants to get ear infections. If I ever have a child I will not pierce his or her ears until they are older and when they want to or not : )

I think that the whole piercing of ears in more of a norm nowadays and the chances of the child not getting their ears done at one point or another is pretty slim to my understanding. The point of them getting it done when they are infants was so that the baby didn't remember it getting done or fiddle with it like a toddler would.

@ RavenXgirlXlove
Babies fiddle with their earrings, too. Two of the leading health problems from infant ear piercing I found were choking and infection from pulling on/touching the ear.

I don't care if you get your child's ears pierced or not but for the love of god don't go to claires to do it.

dru in flight.:

@ Jenni
A child can have that type of piercing with consent, though. A lot of girls I know got eyebrow rings, belly rings, and tongue rings in high school. I couldn't find my ID when I got my lip ring (I was 19, I think) so my mom had to sign forms for me.

I agree with you. I think a child should articulate their choice for a piercing.

After all, we'd all be pitching a fit if someone pierced their baby's eyebrow.

Sorry for two posts but..
I know a woman who pierced her sons nose and he looked pretty rockin'. People threw total bitch fits, but there's no law saying she can't do it. I wouldn't do it, but to each their own I suppose.

Marilyn.:

People threw total bitch fits, but there's no law saying she can't do it.

That doesn't make it right, hence the title of the thread. Should there be no law saying she can't do it?

@ Marilyn.
I believe in to each their own only when it doesn't hurt someone else and, in this case, that isn't the case. To each their own really means to each person their own choices and in this case it is someone else's choices being forced onto an individual who can't think for themselves--doesn't seem to that infant they get a choice.

I guess to answer the question being asked, no I don't think it should be illegal to pierce your child. I do think, though, that the parent should be well educated on the risks to the child's health before allowing the piercing to happen.

I know some parents do it because people keep getting there child's gender mixed up. I also know some parents that do it because they want to, for a lack of better words, play dress up with their child and make them wear earrings and other jewellery.
I don't necessarily agree with it, but I don't see anything wrong with it either. I think its up to the parents discretion, if they know the risks of it, then its fair game.

@ StarxDust
Since both boys and girls can have earrings I don't see how it would keep the genders from getting mixed up. (And that reinforces horrible gender stereotypes, which I'm against forcing onto children, so I'm against that as well.

What about the baby? it doesn't know the risk and it's the one who will suffer the consequences? If I know the risks of piercing my adult boyfriend can I pierce him without his consent?

flyingf0xes:

@ miserable dru.
well, piercing an infant's ears doesn't decide if that child wears earrings. or if their ears even stay pierced, they can and will heal together. just because you have them pierced does not force you to wear earrings.

in reality - no piercing is actually permanent. i know, as someone who has had 2 healed piercings disappear, it's not completely permanent.

Just saying...getting your child's ears pierced as an infant and having them wear earrings for the years in which they still don't have a say leads to them staying open, indefinitely. I had my ears pierced when I was an infant, and even when I was a teenager and even after not wearing anything in my ears for years, there is still a hole and I can still wear earrings any time I decide to put any in.

They don't close up. Not after years and years of being in. Which is often going to be the situation for a child being pierced as an infant. If the parent wants their ears pierced young, they'll likely keep earrings in their ears as long as the child does not have any say in whether they wear earrings, and they won't ever close up.

On a personal note, I just had a baby and my family are talking about getting her ears pierced when she's able to come home. I'm not really decided on the matter. I don't want to force anything on her, but at the same time, it is a common, traditional practice around here.

@ Isis
i had my ears pierced as a baby, and now, after 2 or so years of not wearing earrings, i had to repierce them. they do never completely heal away, there will always be a mark, yes, but it depends more on your body and many other factors on if you heal up or not.

@ flyingf0xes
I had to repierce the backs of mine after a few years, but I've never had to full repierce anything, including the cartilage piercings I wear about once a year, if that.

@ dru's war paint.
it depends on the location, as well. i mean, my septum will always be in my nose, jewelry or not, but my nostril healed up completely. it just depends. also, the way you care for it matters too.

I think it should be illegal to pierce a baby's ears. Especially because most of the time they're done with piercing guns, which are dangerous. It's just not fair, and completely unnecessary.

Should it be legal to pierce your infant child's ears? No

And what about facial piercings? Um No if it's an infant.

Why or why not? Do you think there should be an age limit? I think 13-14 might be an appropriate age, maybe depends on the maturity. What if when he/she got older they didn't want the piercing, now he/she has a hole in his face, that will probably leave a scar.

About the braces I think the kid should have all his adult teeth first, otherwise he might get crooked teeth again. I had braces and didn't have any problems, and I like my teeth much more now that they're off.

I had my ears pierced when I was 5 because I said I wanted them.

I wish my mom had pierced my ears when I was a baby. I cried like I was a baby again when I got them pierced and I refuse to ever get anything pierced again. It still got infected after awhile, so really…

But yeah. To me, while babies are aware of the pain, when they get older, they won't remember it.

I remember it because I was 5, and I am never, ever getting anything pierced again.