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 Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:32 pm
Topic: Earpiercing an infant/young child, in a modern North American society. Focusing on average Caucasian person who is from a mainstream religion/belief.
Just something that I feel strongly about, and was wondering what other people's feedback on this way.
Yes? No? Why or why not? Any issues relating to this topic that you want to discuss?
As always, please follow the ToS and be polite. Other than that, go nuts. blaugh
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Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 7:24 pm
I don't believe it is a good idea. A lot of the reason I don't believe it's a good idea is because of the research I started doing on piercing in general when I got my eyebrow/tongue/nose done.
First, alot of places these days use one time use guns, but there still are places that just swab the gun with alchohol, which is NOT sterilization of the gun. You CAN'T sterilize them because they are made of plastic. So you run the risk of cross contamination of the piercing.
Second, guns punch a blunt (okay so it's not blunt it's pointy but an ear stud is not SHARP by any means) through the tissue ALWAYS causing trauma, piercing by a needle, surgical grade needles like professional piercers use, CUT instead of punch.
Third, the gauge of standard ear studs is WAAAAYYY too small and causes a "cheese grater" effect on the tissue.
Also, ears are horrible places to heal, they're very tricky, people just think, oh it's just the ears, but seriously a tongue is easier to heal than the ear, because of blood flow and nerves.
I think a lot of the above is why my own ear piercings (which I got at around six) didn't do so hot.
OH and a LOT of the ear studs are not made with surgical grade steel, or proper gold, or titanium. They're not completely inert which causes even more issues.
I just think body modification in general involve such a regimen of care that to foist that upon an infant seems a bit unnecessary. And to have to try and keep your child's ear piercings clean and happy, it just seems like too much work and too much a can of worms to me.
Also I'm not one for causing undue pain on my girls simply for sparkly ear gems.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 11:43 pm
I don't see anything wrong with it. If you can be certain that the piercing gun is clean and will be dedicated to taking care of the piercing, then sure. A lot of people are grateful to their parents for piercing their ears when they were babies, because then they don't have to bother with it when they're older, and putting in earrings just comes natural to them because they've grown up with them.
And if the child decides she doesn't want earrings, she can discontinue the insertion of jewelry. The holes usually close up when left alone.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 3:31 pm
I'm personally undecided on this issue. I do know that there is cultural significance for some people. I watched a special called World Birth Day (I believe it was India) and it's very important to them to do ear piercing. They do not use the guns, they simply quickly push them through.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:26 pm
I'll go clarify the first post, since I do understand that some cultures require children/infants to get their ears pierced.
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 1:07 pm
I am against infant piercing. It's a body modification that the child did not choose. It is painful and terribly confusing to such a young child.
And about the holes closing up if they're left alone: It doesn't matter. The hole is there. A hole they didn't not choose to have.
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:00 pm
MipsyKitten I am against infant piercing. It's a body modification that the child did not choose. It is painful and terribly confusing to such a young child.
And about the holes closing up if they're left alone: It doesn't matter. The hole is there. A hole they didn't not choose to have. That's pretty much how I see the issue, but that's just me. The first/second time I got my ears pierced (I have 3 sets), a couple was in front of me getting their infant's ears pierced. I had to walk a couple of stores down, because I couldn't watch the baby getting its ears pierced without its consent. Of course the baby screamed and screamed, but it was to be expected. More recently, I've seen a couple of stores say that they won't pierce the ears of a child under 6 months so.
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Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 3:10 pm
Playing devil's advocate here (I just have boys):
The thing with the child not choosing, as parents we make a LOT of decisions where the child can't choose. Whether or not to circumcize, whether or not to vaccinate, feeding choices, etc.
Now, most doctors will tell you if you're going to do this (and really I think this is one of those issues people all ready have their mind made up on), is to wait till they are 3-5 months because of tetanus to make sure they have the vaccines to be safe. Also, they say that at that age, they are more likely to be able to handle skin infections. I will say I've seen babies get pierced, I've seen both sides of the coin. Babies screaming and babies sleeping through the process.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 3:38 pm
lunashock The thing with the child not choosing, as parents we make a LOT of decisions where the child can't choose. Whether or not to circumcize, whether or not to vaccinate, feeding choices, etc. There is a difference between circumcision/piercing and vaccination/food. One group is a necessary part of having a healthy child, it is useful. The other group is just a permanent alteration without the child's consent with negligeably (if any) benefits. Even in religious cases, I do not feel that a parent has the right to mutilate their child unless it is for real health reasons. Parents do not own their children, they are merely guardians. Children still have the right not to be beaten, molested, starved, etc... Ear piercing/circumcision are permanent alterations most oftenly done for looks, not health, not religion. My mother wanted me to have my ears pierced and took me to get them when I was six. I was scared, I didn't want to do it, but she said that I would thank her when I was older and could wear pretty jewelry in my ears. I took those things out as soon as we got home and I have NEVER regretted it. My un-adorned ears are a symbol of my individuality, my CHOICE, my freedom. My scars (yes, they never healed over and I do have scars) are a symbol of a mother who tried to take away that choice and that freedom. She's a wonderful woman and I have a great amount of respect for her in other ways, but I can honestly say that every time I scratch and itch on my earlobe and feel those scars, I hate her.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:42 pm
For the record, I did not want this to turn into a circumcision debate, it was just an example of choices we make as parents. There's a bazillion things I do everyday that someone will judge and tell me how I should or shouldn't do something.
I think it's really about perception, personally.
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:19 pm
I got my ears pierced when I was a baby, I'm pretty sure I was younger than an infant and personally I'm glad. When I was about 13 all of my friends wanted to get ear piercings, the ones who didn't have it already. Most girls my age now have ear piercings and I'm pretty sure most of them didn't have them when they were infants. I've heard it only hurts for a little while but I hate needles and I'm glad I had my ears pierced as a baby because now I can't remember what it's like to have them pierced. :p Another reason why I like the fact that my ears were pierced at a young age was that my ears were use to earrings when I was a pre-teen and they were also use to not having earrings in, so I could take my earrings in and out while other people, like my brother had to leave them in so they wouldn't get infected. I'm pretty sure that if I got my ears pierced when I was a preteen that I would of probably got annoyed with them really quickly and taken them out, probably getting my ears infected.
heart pink
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 6:10 pm
My mom was thinking about getting my ears pierced. She decided against it, and then she pressured me about it when I was younger.
I didn't want to have my ears peirced then, and I don't now. I don't like jewelry, and I don't want to look gay. (I'm a transman.)
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:26 pm
I am also against infant ear piercing. I was given the choice when I was about eight years old or so, and I chose to get my ears pierced. I went on to become a lover of body modification and kept up with it until my pregnancy, whereas I have not had any since.
I personally invoke the "personal belief" system in the way I parent my child. Her father and I sat down one day while I was pregnant and discussed all of the "big things." No ear piercing until she is old enough to ask for them herself, no forced or heavily influenced religion, so on and so forth.
Circumcision and vaccinations are necessary (lets just say so, and avoid the whole cultural argument for just a moment). Earrings are not necessary and, again in my person opinion, I feel that subjecting a tiny baby to pain simply because the parents want something flashy on their little babykins is tacky. I also think it is somewhat stupid, overall, because those of us with piercings know how uncomfortable the first week or so afterward is. I've had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a four year old with dyed and highlighted hair, and a seven-year old with full fledged manicures and mile wide hoop earrings. To me, body modifications are up to the individual alone. The four year old with colored hair supremely bothered me because it caused me to wonder just how influential the little girl truly was. Did she want her hair done, or did her mother insist so that she would "look like a princess" or some nonsense?
Our children are all beautiful and worthy of showing off without the extra sparkles. If they can't ask for it, I don't give it to them. Besides, I enjoyed having the memory of going down to the mall and getting them done. Personally I had a wonderful experience, especially since I was able to mock and torment my younger, weeping little sister after she had her own done. xD
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:15 pm
I got my ears pierced when I was a year old. And apparently that makes the holes harder to close, at least that's what I can assume by what i've heard from my family and my personal experience. (I was a tomboy and didn't wear earring at all for abour 4 years, the holes still exist)
In a way it's a bit messed up, because the child had no choice in the matter. However, it's not like the little holes are going to cause them a lot of trouble or grief in society...unless it's a boy, I suppose a three year old boy with earrings in pre-school would be strange to the other kids ^_^; or if the piercings are in odder places of the ears. The upper ear for example, isn't a normal place for a young child to have pierced, so again, it may cause grief.
Personally, I like my ears having been pierced when I was too young to remember. I can't remember any pain that may have been caused by them, and any time I want to wear earrings the holes are there. I don't have to keep earrings in all the time at the risk of infection and I don't have to worry about trying to find clipon earrings if I did want to wear them but didn't have the piercings.
Then again, piercings are sort of common in my family. Everyone has them, so it never bothered me that I did too.
(none of that helped ^_^; sorry)
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:02 pm
ANSWER TO NOPENNAME'S POST IN PAGE ONE.
I got my ears pierced when I was very very small. As small as 4 kilos old.
*I don't remember it.
~I don't remember what it felt like
* It was done in a hospital.
~Yes, from Mexico. But it is still a hospital.
*It goes away.
~Yup. I personally hate earrings. I haven't used them in two years.
~You can barely see my holes anymore.
*It is in my ear.
~Ears have no bones. They have (cartilago in spanish xp ).
*I repeat: A hospital.
~With doctors. Who studied anatomy. Who know where it hurts and where not so much. And where you won't bleed to death.
*It has been done for years and years.
~If they don't stop doing it in modern times, it's probably not because it doesn't work or because it is not safe.
heart
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