Ear Piercing - Elk Grove Village, IL

I really don't understand the whole "ear piercing while babies" thing, do they need those accessories? I think they are adorable enough as they are. I always cringe when I am in a Claires or something and I hear those tiny babies crying. Just doesn't seem right to me.
I had mine done when I was in 2nd grade and I think that may even be a bit young because I had a hard time taking care of them (cleaning properly), not losing earrings, etc. I think it is a good thing to help teach responsibility when they are old enough to take care of it and decide they want them.

Hi Yvette,
I know that it has been awhile since you posted this, but I read it and had to give you my personal experience. If you want them done vefore she's 9, DON'T WAIT! I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 9 month old and had them done on Tuesday together. My 9 month old did great! She cried a little but we gave her a bottle and she was done in about 30 seconds. As for my 3 1/2 year old, we had to take her out of the store she was screaming so loud. And they did hers at the same time....2 girls, both ears at the same time. I suggest under a year or wating until she's 9 or 10 or older. If my next is a girl I'm bringing her in at 6 months.
Just my 2 cents worth!
K. :~)

I am surprised by the large number of people advocating piercing babys's ears. Your children are not dolls to dress up. If your daughter decides that it's something she is interested in when she is older then you should discuss with her.

Yvette,

I know a lot of people get their baby's ears pierced and being the Mom of a little boy, it never came up. BUT, IMVHO I think it's something better off to wait until they can make the choice to have the ears done on their own. My sister absolutely didn't want her ears pierced until she was about 14 (now she has them double pierced). Both my other sister and I had them done when we entered junior high - kinda like a treat.

Just my opinion, though.

T.

If you are unsure, why not just wait until she is older? They are little for such a short amount of time...maybe ear piercing could be a "rite of passage" into the "tween" years? Just some thoughts...

Even though I have a boy, one day maybe I will have a girl, I decided not to have her ears done until she wants them. I didn't get mine till I was older. My sister had my nieces done when they were babies and hers closed up because she didn't want them, and now at 13 had them re-done. You are best off waiting, but whatever you decide will be the right decision.

My mom wanted to wait until I was old enough to want them and take care of them. I still don't have my ears pierced and am glad the decision was never made for me....just not something I ever wanted.

I have a 4 yr old and just recently and only occasionally, she will ask to wear ear sticker jewelry. We talk about getting her ears pierced when she is older. She is quite happy waiting and I look forward to making it a special occasion should she want them.

I had my daughter's pierced at 4 months. She did well, it healed quickly and now she is 8 years old and loves having pierced ears. I got some grimaces when we would go out into public, but that always comes with being a Mom...as I'm sure you already know. I figured having her ears pierced was no more painful than getting immunizations, so just go with you YOUR gut.

Hi Yvette,

You should pierce her ears when you feel comfortable with it. I pierce my daughers ears when she was 6 months old. I waited that long b/c her dr. told us to wait till then. Yes, she cried for a few seconds, but then she was fine. The good thing about doing it when they are small is that their ear tissue is still soft so it doesn't hurt as much. It will hurt more once she is older b/c the ear tissue is harder. You can also think how things were done some many years ago. I got my ears pierced a week after I was born, so where my sisters. I know many others who were pierce not to long after birth. Do you know when your ears were pierced?

But like I said before it is really up to you, when you feel comfortable with it.

E.

Hi Yvette,
I pierced my daughter at 2 months, she is almost 3 months old. The pediatrician pierced them and supplied the earrings. They were 100% safe from infection, she is doing really well with them. On the flip side I have friends who waited until Kindergarten and 1st grade and now their girls are fighting them to keep them in. I had mine done at 2 months also. My belief is do it when they are young so by the time they get older it will be no big deal to them and you won't have to deal with infections. For an infant it feels just like a shot, give them Tylenol for a day or two and make sure to follow the pediatricians directions! She looks adorable! Best of luck whatever you decide!
L.

Hi Evette,
I am Mom to 2 boys & my youngest a duaghter now 3 1/2. I had her ears pierced a couple of weeks after her 2 month vaccinations. so she was about 10 wks old. She never had any problems at all. She LOVES having her ears pierced & choosing which ones she wants to wear (she's such a girly girl)If she didn't have them pierced she'd absolutely want them pierced but I know she'd be so frightened to have them pierced at this age. If you decide to go young I suggest you have it done at your Peds. office & use gold posts for now. By the way it was SO much harder dealing with and caring for the circumcission of my boys (which by the way was done hours after birth).

I'm with the other Mom's. We've decided that when our 2 year old ask for her ears pierced then we'll take her and get them pierced. I don't see anything really wrong with doing it before but I think it would be a really special thing to do with your daughter when she's old enough to want to do it and "gets" it. I remember I did it with my Mom and my Grandma when I was around 8-9 years old because I asked for them. It was really special to have that memory especially since my Grandma died 2 years later.

My mom pierced my ears when I was a baby and I just pierced my daughter's ears when she was 4 1/2 months old at the doctor's office. My husband I agreed to do this, against his family's arguments. I think it boils down to what you want. It's your child. I would suggest to do it in the doctor's office thogh. Much safer and cleaner.

I don't agree with waiting to get them done. My baby girl just had hers done 2 weeks ago at 9 weeks old. She had all her 2 months shots done and she barely cried when they did them. Actually, she was smiling at me minutes later when I changed her diaper. I had mine done when I was 4 weeks old (even younger). The great thing about it is that she doesn't pick at them becuase she's so little now, so the healing part is so easy. Wait when they are older and I bet the screaming and picking at the ear will be multiplied. If you think about it, she's probably going to want them so why not do it now so she can look even cutier than she is. My babies earing really complete the look and if she's anything like me, she will love to wear jewlery.

I agree with Laura. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 10! I think you should wait till school age when they can take care of them. I don't understand people who pierced their babies ears at such a young age. What if they get an ifection or something worse? No thanks, not my cup of tea.
My daughter will be at least 5-7yrs old or maybe longer before I'll get her ears pierced.

I am 37 years old. My mother pierced my ears when I was born and still at the hospital. I NEVER had any problems. I'm a sahm with 3 boys.

Hi Yvette!
I was born in Chile and ear piercing is done on babies. Mine were done at 6 months and 18 karat stem post (tiny) pearl earrings is what I wore. I don't know if the better gold made a difference but I have had no issues with my piercings. Since it was done so young -- I can go weeks without wearing earrings and the holes don't close.
Hope that helps!
S.
Lisle, Illinois

Boy lots of mixed opinions on this one, huh?!? My mom had my ears pierced when I was just 2 weeks old. However, it was a tough decision for me with my girls....should I let them decide or me decide? After much thought (believe me...I spent nights thinking about this all night). :) I decided that I believe "most" (of course not all) little girls at some point will want their ears pierced. I thought that it would be better to get it done while they were younger, so they wouldn't know what was happening, they wouldn't pull & tug on them & for the fact that I would be the one responsible to take care of them. So......My daughter's doctor recommended waiting until they had at least 2 sets of shots (so at least 4 months old). I got BOTH of my daughters ears pierced at 5 1/2 months old at Claire's (my oldest is now 2 1/2 years old, almost 3 and my youngest is 11 months). No problems at all with either one of them...no infections, neither of my girls have ever pulled at the earrings. They are 14K gold posts...you get to pick what you want as far as stone or ball. They pierce one ear at a time (some places do both at the same time), but believe me, it's harder on you than your daughter. Both of my daughters just sat there and honestly barely noticed anything at all, not really even as much as a peep from either of them. As soon as both ears were done, I just turned them facing me and they smiled happy as could be & it was done! In my opinion I think parents should either do it when they are babies or wait until they are old enough to tell you they want....the reason for that is, when they are babies you can hold them really well & confine them while it's being done (to make sure you get even piercings and they don't move..if they are being done separately) or when they are older, so they are old enough to sit still to let it be done. Obviously the decision is ultimatly yours, but no age or time to have it done is the "wrong decision"
Good Luck!

For me, I plan on waiting until my daughter asks for her ears pierced (and she is old enough to take care of them). My husbands family is Spanish and it's custom to have it done asap. Once in a while, I do get some pressure to get it done and I do my best to brush it off. I feel that when I got it done, it was a really nice day with my mom. And I'd like to have the same with my daughter. And, I want her to be old enough to take care of them. Plus, I have horrible allergies (it's even tough for me to wear gold in my ears) so I plan on waiting. I feel like my daughter looks girly enough and cute without them too :)

Hello Yvette,

My friends have had their child's ears pierced at 3 months. Early is better as they are less likely to move their heads too vigorously. She had it done at the doctor's office.

First off, if you aren't comfortable then why do it? Secondly, it might be a hard age because she might realize they are there and fiddle with them, but maybe not. I pierced my daughters ears at 2 months old in order for her to not play with them and now she's a toddler and almost never touches them. Good luck with whatever you do but only do what you are comfortable with.

My mom let me decide when I wanted mine pierced, and I'm glad she did! It was a really special day for both of us, and one I still remember fondly. Very special. I have 7 and 2 year old daughters and they will get to decide if and when they want their ears pierced also. I even asked my 7 year old a few months ago if she had ever thought about getting them done and she said she thinks about it sometimes, but she really doesn't want them done. She said she would tell me if she ever did. She may never want them pierced, that's fine. I want her to decide. I'm not saying getting them pierced as a baby is wrong, just not for us.

My daughter is 2 years old and we just had her ears pierced about 3 weeks ago. She thought it was such a neat thing that she has earrings like Mama. She loves them and is great with them. We clean them twice a day becasue it has only been a few weeks and she does not complain one bit. I wanted to do it now before she was really aware of what was going on and I could take care of her ears to make sure they were taken care of and did not get infected. Either way you chose will not be the wrong one.

I have two daughter's and I won't pierce them until they ask me if they can have them pierced. I work at at store and pierce people all the time,I don't understand what it is about tiny little girls wearing earrings. My opinion is that they are your child's ears,not yours,let them make the decision for themselves. I didn't get my ears done until I was in 5th grade,when I went to my Mom and asked to go get them done.

I am so surprised how in the states people wait forever to pierce there girls ears. Where I come from we do that like if it was a circumcision. Right at the hospital as soon as they are born. No infections, nothing has ever happened. I know amazed right?

Hello Yvette,
I had my 11 mo. old baby girl's ears pierced at 6 mos. Although she did cry when it happened of course, she has not been bothered by them at all since. It is better to get it done as soon as possible so that it won't be an issue when she gets older. If you take care of the piercings by cleaning them twice daily, there should not be a problem. By the way, it's easier to clean their ears now any ways instead of waiting until she's older and allowing her to take that responsibility and the risk of her not cleaning them at all. If you do decide to get your daughter's ears pierced, I recommend WalMart, they are completely sanitary and they do both ears at the same time.

Hi! Obviously, you have to be comfortable with the decision you make about your little girl's ears! But, my daughter just turned 7 and my neice is 7 and they decided together they wanted their ears pierced! It was the most fabulous time doing this together! My daughter was SOOOOO excited and so was her cousin. We had so much fun at the mall together on her birthday! The two of them will remember forever the day they got their ears pierced together. It may seem like a long time to wait, but the joy you get watching your little baby moving into girlhood is the best experience ever and is definitely worth the wait. Believe me, seven years may seem a long time, but it goes by so fast! My daughter and I clean her ears twice a day together and gives us some mommie/daughter time together. There are lots of joys in waiting! Having a girl is the best! Good luck!

I got my daughter's ears pierced at 4 months. She is 2.5 and never bothers them.