Ear-piercing

Over at Verbatim, the world's meanest mommy just said no to a child who wants pierced ears. Cruel, cruel mommy.

Once in a while, my seven year-old asks if she can have pierced ears. It's more a whim with her than any deep-seated desire. One day she asked after an episode of Nick's "Teenage Robot" show - the one where this robot character had very large hoops riveted to her metal head extensions to mimic earrings. So you see where the issue really stands on 7 y.o. Bunny's Reality Scale.

As I recall, the overly-large hoops played major havoc with the robot super-heroine's aerodynamics, and almost got her killed. A sober lesson from Nickelodeon about the dangers of extreme vanity.

This spring, my answer changed: I told her she may have her ears pierced this year, after school is out, if she really wants. Boy was she surprised! But now she questions me very, very closely about every detail involved. What does the jeweller use to pierce the ear? Does it hurt? Does it hurt for very long? Is there a lot of blood? I'm beginning to understand why many parents have their daughters' ears done at the infant stage - fewer damned questions. It's ::poick-poick:: , then :: waaaah!:: , then ::zzzzzzz:: (baby goes to sleep following momentary trauma).

I didn't get my ears pierced until late high school. My dad, freshly divorced from my mother and trying to fill the time on his visitation days, came up with the idea. Isn't that wild? I do believe it was his idea. Maybe I'd mentioned it previously. Our family wasn't from a body-piercing subculture, so I don't remember it being a big need of mine.

My daughter is so cautious about this, one wonders if she'll end up waiting as long as I did.

Later: The Deed Is Done.

Comments

[Snowball]

OK, here I go, off on a Snowballian rant.

I worked for jeweler for many moons, and my best friend the dentist had a lot to say about the topic of cleanliness, so here's what I've learned: Those little guns blow tissue out the other side of the ear lobe and they can't be sterilized in an autoclave. This is Very Bad. Going to an actual piercer is better because they are required (in most states) to sterilize the needles they use which actually hurt less. By the same token, I'd be hard pressed to take a tot into a piercing studio, but maybe you could call ahead.

G has never had her ear lobes pierced. Just the cartilage of her left ear and her nose.

[ann]

My soon to be fourteen year old wants a tattoo!! Being the coolest mom ever, I told her fine. She was astounded until I also informed her that the only acceptable tattoo would be I *heart* Mom and/or #1 Mom. She has now decided to wait until she no longer needs my permission!

[jo]

My cousin, who had been a medic in Vietnam, pierced my ears with embroidery needles when I was ten. I took a look at myself in the mirror with needles sticking out and very nearly passed out. I had to sit with my head between my knees (needles in my ears, still) for a long, long time.

[Karen]

Let me know if/when Bunny goes through with it. My daughter is 7 too.

[Anthony]

I didn't get my ears pierced until I was abducted by the Borg Collective. I was very insistent that I didn't need nanites in my ears, but did they listen? NO! "Resistance is futile" over and over and over again until I seriously felt like just calling Locutus and telling him that the universe could damn well be conquered without my aid, thank you ... Unfortunately, he was too busy "assimilating" Dr. Crusher in the back of the cube. "Get a birth drawer" I snapped before I went off and had a nice wax and a facial.

Me personlly, I never believed those rumors about Wesley and Riker, but tongues will wag in subspace....

[pam]

Message received: Borg ear-piercings come with nannites. Don't know why you said NO, though. Those nannites come in handy when you need driving directions in the car. They work better than a GPS.

[Goldberry]

I had to wait until I was thirteen to get my ears pierced. That way I was old enough to clean my ears properly by myself.

[Michelle]

My 14 year old son is deathly afraid of needles! It was a real pain when he was little, but now, all I have to do is put up with dyed hair and baggy pants. Piercing has not EVEN come up...;-)

[Liam]

I can't believe all you people would put your children through the shock and discomfort of body piercing for your own jaded sense of image. Nobody should ever be forced to go through something like that without their own consent.
Don't you believe that your children are beautiful enough without draping jewellery all over them and putting them through body piercing?

Childhood is all too short already without forcing the pressures of image concious adulthood onto them.

Leave your childrens ears alone.

[email protected]

[stacey]

I'm 14 yrs old gal and i really want a tattoo. Mum has already said yes to tongue piercing but wont say yes to a tattoo. The thing is...im shit scared of needles but im still going through with it. The pain is and will be soooo worth it!

Teens want these things to show they're strong and can endure pain. Also for popularity that your the only 14 yr old in your school with a tattoo and the pain is nothing to them!
But making a child have a piercing and/or tattoo is wrong! DOnt do dat!

[jack]

I am a 12 year old boy and would like my ears pierced but i would like to now if it hurt .plz write back

jack: go for it!!! it looks tough and gorgeous, and it doesn't hurt. and make sure to get both ears done.

jack: go for it!!! it looks tough and gorgeous, and it doesn't hurt. and make sure to get both ears done.

jack: go for it!!! it looks tough and gorgeous, and it doesn't hurt. and make sure to get both ears done.

[Kat]

go on with the ear peircing but be warned it hurts but most of the time only for a little bit. like when i went with my boyfriend to get his first hole he winced and said it hurt but he said it only hurt for about five minutes. when i got my second hole it hurt but it only ever hurts for about 2 minutes.
well get the peircing if you can deal with the pain.

just dont be stupid an immideatly try to change it listen to wat the peircer tell you and clean it like ALOT
well have fun and get it done

[Kat]

Do it do it do it but be surethat they are clean and be sure that the instruments are cleaned. ask question if you want

[12 year old]

im about to pierce my ear how do i numb it and how long dies it take to numb it? im 12

[lucy]

i am 10 and i want my ears pierced. how do they pierce it and does it hurt?

[pam]

Dear Lucy: Here's how they pierce ears.

First, kids have to have a parent or guardian's permission to get ears pierced.

When that's done, you sit in a tall chair. The handler takes a pen and puts a small dot on your earlobe. That's where the hole will go. You'll look at it in a mirror and approve the look.

Next, the handler will pick up the "gun". This is just a device with a cartridge inside that contains your earring and the backing. She will line up the earring with the pen mark, and fire.

The earring will be inserted into your earlobe and into the backing. You now have a pierced ear!

Does it hurt? That depends on your reaction to pain, I guess. My daughter did this at age seven. She says it stung, but this quickly went away.

There usually is not any blood, or maybe just a little.

The earlobes will ache and be a little tender to the touch. But don't let that stop you from following all the directions for cleaning the ears. This is VERY important. Because remember, you have open skin now! There is a scab inside your earlobe. If that skin gets germs in it, it can get an infection, and that *really* hurts. It can make you very sick.

So use the cleaner the handler gives you. Follow the directions carefully.

More advice: Don't let the earring squeeze your ear! My daughter was afraid the earring would come off, so she pressed the backing until it was squeezing tight against the back of the earlobe.

This was Big Trouble. The backing screwed halfway into one ear! I had to sort of dig that backing out, while her dad held her. Not cool.

Luckily, the ear healed. Now she really loves her pierced ears. Good luck!

[Trinity]

i want to know how it feels to get a auricle, tragus, and scaffols piercings fell if they hurt or not

[kenny k]

yo im 10 i got like 16 piercins in my ear it doesnt hurt if you get it done by the gun if by the the needle it hurts only a little