Ear piercing for boys - For or against?

aliasojo

robpw2 wrote: »

apparntly when i was at school if you had your right ear piereced you were gay you left you were straight lol

Same thoughts where we were in Edinburgh.

I don't particularly like boys/men with an earring (a pair is just a no-no imo ) but in the whole scheme of things it's harmless and fairly reversible.

As said above, pick your battles. If son sees you being amenable to some of his wants, he may not rebel or kick off too much when you put your foot down about others.

I'd have an opinion about the type of earring he wants though...no hanging skull and crossbones stuff for example.

lostinrates

meritaten wrote: »

well, I am not sure why the horses would object - or that health and safety would be an issue. Been puzzling this for a few minutes.........my OH had a little herd of horses and quite honestly I really dont see what my wearing earrings would have a bearing on either looking after them, riding them or just having a bit of fun and messing about with them. none of them had a ear fetish, though one did like to snuffle your hair. another one had a boob fetish and yet another had a pocket fetish. the others just wanted their treats!
I dont get why peirced ears are not H & S around horses!

That's how I felt as a student. FWiw I used to compete wearing earrings. Then I saw somene's hat harness catch in a stud and rip their ear. for me that was more influential than rules! Have seem many a case of a cat/dog claw catching in a small hoop/dangly when the animal is on a table and usually no damage is caused, but there is always an ouch moment.

pinkclouds

Rev wrote: »

That said, if he were mine I'd not get it done, because he's 12. I have no issues with anyone having piercings anywhere they like, I'd just want him to wait till he was 16.

I agree with this quote the most. I think 12 years old is way too young. I think I'd set the age somewhere between 14 and 18, depending on how mature the kid was and whether it was a genuine long-term desire.

I do think it is a bit weird for boys to have pierced ears (okay, very weird) but then no one in my family has pierced ears (or anything else) - not even the girls. Still, if it was my kid, I guess I'd consider his case as an individual. At least, I hope I would.

FWIW, I'm early 30s - and my little boy is 2.

onlyroz

I loathe piercings in all forms, so I'd say no until age 16 (when presumably they're old enough to make their own decisions and live with the consequences).

Plans_all_plans

I agree with you, onlyroz. I also think that piercings on boys/men are in particularly awful taste and I would not abide any child of mine wanting one done and would do everything in my power to prevent it.

If they turned up at my house with one already done, I'd be really put out and would try to get them to take it out.

deedardingle

I've noticed that it seems to be the ladies in their fifties that are saying that they don't mind seeing men with earrings. I quite like to see men wearing earrings and facial piercings, providing they don't have too many. I also like to see long hair on a man, as long as it's kept clean and in good condition. Maybe it's because we were young during the Hippie / Punk eras of the 60's and 70's so we're more accepting of it? When I first met my husband, he wore an earring and his hair reached to his waist.

My oldest son had his ear pierced when he was around 14, he's 25 now and hasn't wore an earring for a few years so the hole has healed up now.

I think you should let your son have it done. It doesn't mean that he's gay, a chav, rough or going to get into trouble.

realised

I'm female and from a south asian background. It's tradition to get a females ears pierced in our culture and my ears (along with all my family and pretty much everyone I know with my background) have had their ears pierced. I think I had mine done when I was about a year old.

I think people who say they would judge a person just by the piercings they have is unfair. My OH used to have his ears pierced (he let them close up now) and he has his nose pierced (which I admit I did find strange at first but did not cloud my judgement of him) and finds that people can judge him before they get to know him.

It does not affect the way he does his job and is actually very intelligent, with a well paid manager ranking job. The sector he works in is very stuffy and old fashioned however, the job he does within that sector is a little more tolerant of his looks.

I believe if people want to get body piercings it is up to them and people should not judge. With regards to your son, I agree with the people who say you should let him have it done, he may just grow out of it or you may be surprised and it may grow on you.

People are saying they need to be old enough to live with the consequences, what consequences? If he decides he does not like it when he gets older all he has to do is not put an earring in it and it will close up! There will still be a small mark on the spot where he got it pierced but it is barely noticeable

Edit: as people are stating their ages, I am in my early 20s

Zoetoes

It's not fair to say no because he's a boy which is why I ended up letting mine get his done, he didn't have them in that long.

I'd let him, it's just a phase and he'll probably take them out in a couple of years anyway.

1974Anna

I've found this an interesting topic. DS1 had a piercing when he was 14 even though I wasn't keen. He has grown out of it. DS2 kept harping on about a prince albert when he was 13 until he actually found out what it was! DS1's friend ended up with a nasty infection when he got a nose piercing and that seems to have put their mutual friends off the idea. My own view is to let your son do what he wishes and hope he grows out of those that you don't like so much!

scooby088

At the tender age of 32 i got my lip pierced i loved it but other at my place of work were shocked that i had it done, i also had my ear pierced but i only kept the stud in for about 2 weeks and got bored with it, your son might get bored with it and take it out. Kids at that age want to feel they are individual just let him get on with it.