My twins recently turned four and have become enamored with everything girly. Nail polish, make up, and (gulp) earrings. The problem is they are done with the sweet little stickers I used to put on their lobes and they insist on wanting real earrings. As a person who was living my best life in the 90s and got all the piercings (16 to be exact, Lord have mercy) I want to say “yes”. The mature, responsible parent in me is telling me to do my research.
There is a lot of information out there! So much that I was feeling overwhelmed and a little uncertain about my decision. To help ease the burden to my mommy friends I have compiled what I found to be the most helpful information into one consolidated article.
Getting your ears pierced hurts. It’s not life changing pain but its not any fun either. Most of the time we cringe at the thought of taking our child to get their immunizations because we know it’s going to sting. Getting your sweet little’s ears pierced is even more of a tough (and permanent) decision because the pain lasts a few hours and sometimes even for weeks. When getting your child’s ears pierced there is no numbing product applied so the experience could be very traumatic for your little one. The tip I found most helpful for easing the piercing pain was to hold an ice cube on the ear lobe for a few minutes just before the procedure to numb the area.
Another item for heavy consideration is allergies. When you’re getting your child’s ears pierced at a young age, you may not even know everything your child is allergic to yet. You’re going to permanently put a piece of metal into your child’s body, and the reaction could be more than you anticipated. Nickel and cobalt allergies are extremely common and most doctors recommend avoiding any earrings that contain those metals. Dermatologists suggest surgical stainless steel earrings.
To have a successful piercing experience the after care is just as important as the actual procedure. Keeping germy fingers away from itchy new piercings is really difficult. Pediatricians recommend getting your child’s ears pierced either before they’re old enough to reach their ears or waiting until the child is old enough to understand the importance of not messing with the fresh piercings. If you’re piercing a baby’s ears you’ll be the one in charge of cleaning the earrings front and back twice a day (at least) for the next twelve weeks. If your child is older then they are responsible to remember to rotate and clean their new earrings. My kids can barely remember to toss their dirty socks in the hamper, let alone be trusted to remember something like ear care maintenance. An easy ear care chart is one suggestion to help remind older kids to clean and turn their new gadgets twice a day.
If you visit with professional piercing technicians (those with training in blood born pathogens and proper technique guidelines) you will quickly find that most, if not all, recommend you wait until your child is old enough to make the decision to get pierced on their own…even for ear lobes. In fact, while calling local piercing shops to educate myself on the piercing of minors I discovered most of the professional piercing technicians wouldn’t even consider piercing for anyone under the age of 13.
Whatever your decision, be sure to discuss your plans to pierce with your dermatologist or your pediatrician. Ask who they recommend for piercings since you know they share the same concerns as you do. Most importantly, mom, go with your gut. After all, you know your child better than anyone!
