What age to pierce ears?

[Texas Proud]

OK... DW and I are having a discussion about daughter getting ears pierced...


So, decided to get the opinion of the forum on this...

If you have a daughter, when did you allow it?

If you do not and female.... when did you get them pierced?

If neither.... well, what do you think

 

[Meadbh]

I don't have a daughter. I had my ears pierced when I was about 35, reluctantly, because I was sick of losing earrings.

IMHO this body modification, like others, requires informed consent from an adult.

 

[Walt34]

IMHO this body modification, like others, requires informed consent from an adult.

+1.

I don't have a daughter, which is probably a good thing because if I did she would have been put into a convent when she was oh, eleven.

 

[W2R]

We told our daughter she had to wait until she was at least 14, and that it had to be done by someone we approved of. We were concerned that if we did not specify that, she might have had them pierced by a friend or other unqualified person. We also told her hideous stories about infections and so on.

I have no piercings or tattoos and never plan to get any.

 

[W2R]

+1.

I don't have a daughter, which is probably a good thing because if I did she would have been put into a convent when she was oh, eleven.

If I had had a son, he would have been wrapped in pillows and bubblewrap until he was too old to play football.... No matter which you get, raising kids is difficult!

 

[Sue J]

When I was 12 or 13 all my friends were getting their ears pierced. I asked my parents if I could get mine done and they said I had to wait until I was 16. I was disappointed but it was not a big issue. By 16 I was a non-conformist and didn't want my to pierce my ears.

So now I'm 59 and still have not pierced my ears. I realized that I'm not one to wear accessories and that if I had pierced my ears I'd forget to wear earrings or wear the same simple pair for years.

We had 2 boys so didn't have to deal with this. We did have to decide on a real set of drums and drum lessons at age eight, but he was very good at it and it all worked out well.



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[ABQ2015]

I don't have children. My parents made me wait until I was 16 to have my ears pierced and we went to the doctor's office. I think a nurse pierced them with a piercing gun. Of course this was in a small town and many years ago. There were no stores in the mall where you could go to get your ears pierced at the time. Most girls were letting their friends or older sisters pierce their ears with needles.

Where I live it is very common for infants to have pierced ears. I don't approve of it but I am old fashioned. But I think that 10 to 12 is a reasonable age depending on the child. Basically when the girl (or boy) is mature enough to be trusted to clean and properly care for the pierced area so it does not become infected. My parents were way overly conservative about everything e.g., dating, makeup, the silly arguments about fishnet hose.

 

[Gumby]

Why limit it to daughters? The majority of my eight nephews (all in their 20s) have pierced ears. I don't recall when they did it.

 

[freebird5825]

Female, no kids...I had mine done when I was 18. A friend of a college roommate who had gone through cosmetology school (licensed) did them with a well sanitized (boiled) needle and thread in our off-campus apartment. I had 2 shots of vodka beforehand for medicinal purposes.
She put 18K gold studs in and gave me a tube of antibiotic cream and instructions to wash my hands, rotate the studs daily, and apply antibiotic cream for 2 weeks. Everything was fine.
I wear only stud style earrings, nothing heavy that will elongate my earlobes over time. Once in a while I will change the studs out for a pair of lightweight hoop or dangle earrings for a few days.

 

[MichaelB]

My daughters had their ears pierced when they were babies.

 

[HFWR]

60?

 

[LOL!]

My 20-something daughter never wanted to have her ears pierced, so she never has. OTOH, she had her nose pierced when all her roommates decided they all needed to have their noses pierced. Go figure.

Either way, she never asked for permission, so I'm in the "I don't know and I don't care" camp.

 

[Sarah in SC]

All my girlfriends in seventh grade had them done around the same time, at some shop in the mall.
I haven't worn earrings in years, though, and may not even be able to at this point.

 

[athena53]

This was the subject of a battle royal with my parents. They're 3rd-generation Americans and piercing your daughter's ears was something they did back in the old country. (I was born in 1953 and wanted my ears pierced when I was about 13.) They finally gave in when I was 14. You'll cringe when you read this but at the time you could buy "self-piercing" earrings by e-mail- thin gold hoops with a tube on the end that went to the front of your ear and a needle end on the back portion. You tightened them gradually over a week or so and eventually they broke through. Parents told me I could use those and probably figured I'd give up. They underestimated my stubbornness. I love jewelry so for me it was a reasonable decision, although when I got into reading feminist literature in my late teens I realized this was in the same category as foot-binding and those rings women in some African tribes use to extend their necks- how far do you go to meet cultural definitions of beauty?

In college, I had one of those off-the-wall, leftover hippie professors who said that he and his wife let their daughters get their ears pierced at puberty. I really liked that- it had a primitive vibe to it and turned it into a rite of passage.

I'll be interested to see how DS and DDIL handle this with my granddaughter- she's only 3 months old now. I'm going to stay neutral. They're wonderful parents and whatever decision they make is fine with me.

 

[Lsbcal]

If she wants to grow up very fast then I'd delay the glorious moment as long as possible. Sort of bait for good behavior.

DW got hers done in her 20's. She's had trouble with one ear probably because it was done by a dumb amateur. Not a real problem but I'm sure she wishes she had it done by the doc or someone very competent.

I hope your daughter is not the rebellious type. There are too many people getting weird tattoos and piercings. Probably will lead to many regrets in future decades.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I voted 15-16. I don't have a daughter and I don't have pierced ears myself but practically every female I know does. I would be somewhat dismayed if my son pierced his ear(s) as I just don't like the look on men. I don't think he would ever do it as he is something of a hypochondriac about health matters, and I am sure he would research it and worry about pain and infection, etc. And he certainly does not care about looking stylish or making any fashion statements.

 

[splitwdw]

I voted 14 to 15. I figure by then their old enough to take care of them. I had mine pierced at 35......my wonderful husband bought me a pair of diamond earrings. He thought I had pierced ears. lol

 

[Calgary_Girl]

I had mine pierced at 10. Oldest daughter had hers done last year for her 7th birthday and youngest daughter had hers done at 3 (ripe old age of 4 now). No issues with infections, etc


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[MBAustin]

I think we told DD she had to wait until she was 13 but truthfully I don't remember. Wanted to have a better probability that she would take care of them while healing. I've never had my ears pierced and never really wanted to. I had a friend who got hers done before she got married because her fiancé wanted to give her diamond studs to wear for her wedding day. DH never offered...

 

[outdoorgirl02]

I had mine done when I was 13. My daughter said she wants to wait until she is 10 even though her 2 closest friends both have their ears pierced (they are 6 years old).

 

[ziggy29]

I don't have kids but I suspect I'd say probably about 14.

 

[Texas Proud]

Why limit it to daughters? The majority of my eight nephews (all in their 20s) have pierced ears. I don't recall when they did it.

I guess you do not have to... but my 16 YO son has not even said anything about doing it... and I do not think he wants to...

 

[Texas Proud]

If she wants to grow up very fast then I'd delay the glorious moment as long as possible. Sort of bait for good behavior.

DW got hers done in her 20's. She's had trouble with one ear probably because it was done by a dumb amateur. Not a real problem but I'm sure she wishes she had it done by the doc or someone very competent.

I hope your daughter is not the rebellious type. There are too many people getting weird tattoos and piercings. Probably will lead to many regrets in future decades.

I actually have a very good daughter... not rebellious at all.. very proud of her in fact..

But, she is subject to peer pressure... and lots of her friends are getting it done.... but also a lot of her friends have I-phones and I have told her she is not getting one ever (at least from me)....

 

[Texas Proud]

Oh, BTW... my mom is 94 and does not have pierced ears... I kinda use that against her

 

[Dreamer]

I had my ears pierced around 13-14 yrs old. Can't remember the exact age. I do remember the self-piercing earrings and used them. I think that I pierced them too low and ended up going to a doc and had them pierced again higher. Never had any infections. I let my DD have hers pierced when she asked to have them pierced. I told her that it would hurt, so that she would be prepared. She was always such a wimp about shots and would cry loudly. I took her to an earring store in the mall. She never let out a whimper. I don't remember the age, but probably 7-9 years old. She never had a problem with infection. My granddaughter had hers pierced at 5 years old and hers have not been infected either. I would never consider having a child's ears pierced if she did not want them pierced. I have only 1 piercing in my ear. My mother who died in 1991 had 4 or 5 in each ear!