Parents: Do your kids have pierced ears, and how old were they when you got them pierced?

Yes, 18 months. Cultural.

My younger son pierced his ears when he was in his early twenties. I don’t think it came up as an issue before then. My Mom let me pierce my ears when I was 14.

When she was old enough to make a decision on whether or not she wanted it pierced.

No.

My son is five.

He’s allowed to choose his own haircut now, his own hair color when he’s twelve, and he can start piercing as soon as he provides a convincing argument.

My daughter got her ears pierced when she was ten. LOTS of people thought I was awful for not having it done when she was an infant. I told them I didn’t want to deprive her of the joy of begging for them the way I did when I was young. There were times she came home from school angry that all her little classmates had that topic of discussion and she wasn’t included. When I took her to the mall to have it done, it was after much discussion, and several times of her changing her mind. I told her honestly what she could expect, what responsibilities were involved, and I talked of the expense. After they did the first ear, she blanked out for a moment. I didn’t know until after. She didn’t black out, I was talking to her. She had a queer look on her face though. After,she couldn’t remember hearing me talk, or the second piercing. She was very excited, but several times since then, she has told me she agrees with my decision to wait until we could discuss it together. She took full responsibility for the cleaning and care.
I view it as a rite of passage. Kids should have questions, requests, demands they can present to their parents at various stages to establish their maturity and individulaity. If I took that away from her, she may have resorted to some unfortunate extreme.

I had to wait until I was 13 to have my ears pierced, so I gave that same rule to my son. I only allowed him to get one ear done, but the trend of boys having both ears pierced was just starting then, so he had his friend’s sister do his other ear a couple years later.

I don’t know if I’d have made a daughter wait until 13. I hunk it is more culturally acceptable for girls and for boys it wasn’t as common, so I figured I’d make him wait to be more sure he really wanted it.

Yes. We pierced her ears when she was one.

Ear piercing and Head shaving is a Hindu Tradition practiced in India. Customarily, a baby’s ears are pierced and head is shaved in the first or third year. I did both for my daughter when she was one. I had read somewhere that it is a part of acupuncture treatment and the point where the ears of a baby are pierced is known for curing asthma.

I was allowed to get mine pierced at seven, and I got them double pierced at 13. Those seemed like good ages to me, so I set the same age rules for my girls (seven for ‘standard’ piercings, 13 for anything beyond that). I never liked the idea of doing it when they are infants because then they can’t make the choice for themselves. I know it’s a cultural thing for some people, and I don’t have an issue with that.

I don’t have kids, but it seems getting one’s daughters’ ears pierced as a baby is still quite a popular thing to do. My mom didn’t get mine pierced and, as a teen, I really wished she had because I wanted them pierced but was too scared to go through with it. I finally got them done at 16 – pretty late compared to my peers. I ended up getting a second set of holes in my lobes, a cartilage piercing, and a belly button piercing before I hit 18. All are now closed up except my lobes, but I hardly ever wear earrings these days. I don’t even think about it when I get ready in the morning.

I don’t see what it would hurt to get it done. It’s easy to just take them out if the kid decides she doesn’t want them later on.

I probably wouldn’t get my son’s ear(s) pierced as a baby. Men don’t wear earrings nearly as much as women and it’s probably way more likely that they’ll ask you what the hell you were thinking when they grow up. I think it takes a particular type of guy to pull off an ear piercing after 1995, but it can be done. If the kid wants one later, he can certainly do it.

I think my daughter was 10 when she got her ears pierced.
She had the first one done, and didn’t like the pain. I had to bribe her with a slurpee to get the second one done.
Now, she is a body piercer for a living.

I don’t have kids, but I was 8 when my mom let me have it done. My husband’s neice was done as an infant, most Latin Americans I know do it as infants. It’s very influenced by cultural norms. I don’t know what I would do if I had a daughter. If I didn’t have it done when she was an infant, I definitely would let her do it as early as age 8. I think when they are an infant there is a little more risk they might look uneven when they are older, because our faces change so much, but a small risk. You can just let the hole close up if that is the case, if the hole has been there for years. I have a second hole in my left ear that I put an earing once every 5 years maybe and it is always open. I got it in my late teens.

I wouldn’t let my daughter gets her ears pierced until she was 12, it was her choice. My mother would not let me get mine pierced until I was 14.

Babies look weird with earrings. I got mine done when I was 13.

I got my first holes pierced for my seventh birthday. I remember really wanting them from around the time I was 5 or 6, but I was never really that upset about having to wait. It just gave me something to look forward to for my birthday! I had to get them re-pierced shortly thereafter because of an unfortunate nickel allergy, but I digress. I’m glad that they weren’t pierced when I was a baby or a toddler, since I was able to take care of them myself and I know so many people whose piercings ended up off-center or lopsided. I would/will probably make my kids wait until around age seven as well.

@augustlan Doesn’t have the best memory, though! ;) I actually got my second holes when I was ten and then my first cartilage piercing when I was thirteen, both also birthday presents. It only escalated from there, as I’ve since gotten two more cartilage piercings (15) and a tragus piercing (16).

Recently, my 7 year old asked to get his ear(s) pierced. I don’t really mind but I had to remind him there is a needle involved. He no longer mentions it.

The girl’s ears are not pierced.
The boy’s foreskin is intact.

I would feel weird making these decisions about their bodies without their consent. When they’re mature enough, they can do what they’d like. I’d imagine maturity would vary with each kid.

^ Oddly enough, people look at me funny when I compare the two. But I agree with you. If my son decides when he’s 18 that he wants to remove part or all of his penis, he can go for it with my blessing.

Neither have, won’t be long for my daughter though, I may follow her.

No. I would have allowed my daughter to have it done at the age of about 12 but she never asked for it. When she was 16 I asked her if she wanted them done and she said no. She’s now 24 and still hasn’t.

@Fly Ah, but these days, double pierced lobes are seen as fairly “standard”. We made you wait until thirteen for the cartilage. :p

I am not a parent, but I just wanted to add that here in Spain, 99.9999% of girls have their ears pierced when they are babies. Personally, I don’t agree, and If I am ever a parent my kids will be waiting until they are 16–18 before I allow any body modifications. However it does seem that the vast majority of people here, are pierced before they can walk. Well, except for males, who have to wait until they are around 10 to 12 to get one ear done.

What bothers me the most about very young children having their ears pierced is the risk of having them pulled out during the sort of rough-and-tumble play that kids do.

^ Firsthand knowledge: that hurts like a MF-er.

Seven years old, schoolyard kickball, sliding into home + tag-out + hoop earrings = blood everywhere.

Woohoo!

@Seek_Kolinahr Haha…yeah. I get a lot of funny looks when I compare the two.

@downtide Not just rough and tumble kids. My sister (visiting from college) had a split lobe from playing with our cat. Our cat liked to take naps with us. All snuggled up in the nooks of our necks. She would sweetly pat us on our cheeks. But one time, her claw got snagged on my sister’s earring and she freaked out. Ripped out my sister’s earring while trying to get away. So much blood. Gah.