What age did you let your daughter get her ears pierced

duchy

amberfinn53 wrote: »

I think it is completely personal choice between the parent of child, the only thing I will say is children are very clever and very stubborn, it they want something so badly they will get it.

!

Seriously ?

There were a few things my parents said no to and meant it and I knew all the nagging/begging/sulking in the world wouldn't shift them .
I wouldn't say that nagging/begging/sulking was clever in a child- more of an irritating trait. As a kid I learned to pick my battles but it is rare a child is cleverer than parents at the age of 6. Manipulative maybe !

valk_scot

DD got her ears pierced when she was 12, end of primary school, at the start of the summer holidays. At Claire's as it happens, they did a nice neat job and she had no problems at all with infections. I insisted she got the 9ct gold studs though, not any of the fashion designs. She wears them as sleepers and to school and the rest of the time she swipes my gold earrings. She's got a nickel allergy so her choice of fashion earrings will be more limited than she'd like.

jackyann

hunnie wrote: »

Hi,
I can't really understand the attitude that to pierce a baby's skin in order for her to wear earrings so very young is 'traditional' and so must be followed.
What purpose is served? Why is it traditional? When did this first start?
Without the reasoning behind it, the parent is just being mindless and not thinking things through for themselves.
Regards
Hunnie

very traditional in a number of cultures, including Romany. I was told (my grandparents had Romany friends) that it was a way of giving a girl gold that would always be with her - I have also heard (but from a less reliable source) that it was akin to the sailor's traditional gold earring (could be used to pay for his funeral)
When I told my grandparents that I thought it stupid as earrings could so easily be ripped out (which is why schools hate them!) they laughed at me!

*Louise*

I got mine done when I was 8, I remember my auntie taking me as my birthday present and I got a mars bar afterwards for being brave :rotfl:

DD is 6 and hasn't asked yet, but I will make her wait until around 8-10 years. I have teamed up with her two best friends mum's and we are getting them all done at the same time so no one will feel left out if they aren't pierced. One of the other girls has been asking already and it gives her mum a good excuse to say 'not yet'

Caroline_a

duchy wrote: »

Seriously ?

There were a few things my parents said no to and meant it and I knew all the nagging/begging/sulking in the world wouldn't shift them .
I wouldn't say that nagging/begging/sulking was clever in a child- more of an irritating trait. As a kid I learned to pick my battles but it is rare a child is cleverer than parents at the age of 6. Manipulative maybe !

I think that often these days it's more that parents give in for an easy life. It's difficult saying no and keeping to it, far easier to give in. Personally, I think if you say something you should keep to it, otherwise it teaches the child that more whining and wittering is usually successful.

Saturnalia

balletshoes wrote: »

what purpose is served by getting your ears pierced? none whatsoever, its purely decorative - like brushing your hair and tying it up, like wearing pretty clothes etc.
Or - a personal bugbear of mine if we're talking about the pointlessness of something to do with babies adornments - sticking a hairband on a baby who has no hair, and won't have hair falling into their face for a couple of years to come .

There are lots of traditions, in all cultures, which on the face of it have no purpose. Do we always research every part of tradition in our culture before we go along with it? I'd suggest not - especially if we consider the bit of tradition we are choosing to follow to be no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I was told in all seriousness - and by a few different mums - that if you don't stick a headband on a bald baby girl "people won't know she's a girl".

I have no idea whatsoever why this is important. Friends and family tend to know the sex of your child very soon after birth, so why passers-by need to know, search me. Perhaps it is a gross insult when your little baby girl coos at a stranger in the bus queue and they respond with a cheery "hello matey!"

Mind you, I speak as a girl who nearly always had cropped hair and wore hand-knitted Thomas The Tank Engine jumpers until about age 10. The 80s were different days.