Ear piercing ..... what age?

I'm going to be brave and say as much as I hate the cruelty of piercing little girls ears. I loathe it even more on little boys. Or big ones even !!

Hi Ana, health and safety regs in my school: plasters (along with common sense) not allowed and use of macro tape also now not allowed for pierced ears.

I was 13. I was told I had to wait until I was old enough to look after them myself.

I'm afraid when I was a kid, only the 'immigrants' eg the Italians, had their babies' ears pierced or the gipsies- and it was considered terribly common. I had my ears pierced aged 30- a birthday present from a good friend. We still laught about me saying to the jeweller 'this lady want's my ears piercing' - I think he thought we were more than friends, lol.

Most schools allow studs to be covered by plasters for P.E. during the healing process.

I got my ears pierced when I was 12 then a second lot when I became a Granny at 46 - I'm a really common tart !

Never, in my case. None of the females in my family have pierced ears or anything else for that matter. My mother thought it was common.

My parents were very strict and rather prudish,; pierced ears were frowned upon as 'tarty'. I didn't get my ears pierced until I had moved away from the town where /i grew up and where my parents still lived - I was 27! They soon closed up and for vanity's sake I went through the pain all over again a year later. My girls were both 11 when they had it done early in the summer holidays before secondary school, no fuss - just part of them feeling they were growing up.

Parents may not realise that having 'just' pierced ears means children have to miss P.E. at school. Children have to remove all earrings, even studs, to take part and it usually takes six weeks after piercing before they can do this.

DGS little friend is Brazilian, from a very wealthy family, I was surprised to see her with pierced ears when I met them. She was 8 months old at the time, it seems they were done at 12 hours old by a nurse in the Hospital.

My mother wouldn't let me have my ears pierced until I could pay for it myself! Therefore I was about 21! As I agreed with my mother, my DD had to wait until she could pay to have them done too. We seem to have started a family tradition as DD will not let DGD have her ears pierced until she can pay for it herself.

I was 14 as was my daughter
They take a lot of looking after and are quite painful for a while
I never wear earrings now btw

I'm with loopy - it is wholly unacceptable and is indeed abuse of babies and young children.

16 is quite old enough.

Years ago when I worked in a privately owned chemist shop we did ear piercing. Myself and the other assistant refused to do babies or little ones. The owner would do them himself. I think children need to be old enough to decide for themselves.
I wasn't allowed to have mine done until I was old enough to pay for it myself which I did with my first pay-packet at 16.

The thought of needlessly inflicting pain on a baby or children, for the parents' gratification, is tantamount to abuse in my opinion, it makes me feel really, really sick.

I absolutely hate earrings on babies or toddlers.

It's not cute and it's not clever. It's tacky.

Our DGD got her ears pierced as a Christmas gift and she's over 9 . I feel that's acceptable because she is old enough to take care of them herself.

Babies and toddlers don't choose pierced ears their Mums do

I've never liked ear piercing both my daughters had to wait till they were at least teenagers to have theirs done. I didn't like it even then but I gave in eventually.

I agree with both of you.

I hate seeing children with pierced ears. Dd was 14, as was I.

I agree, Katek.
It's not a new subject. About 30 years ago I was astonished to see an article for & against ear-piercing for babies and toddlers, in a Mother & Baby magazine.