Ears Pierced - Irving,TX

You're going to get a LOT of responses to this. Seems to be 2 camps:

1. People that say get it done now while she cannot mess with them.
and
2. People that say the *right* age is when she asks to have them done.

I'm part of group #2.

I'd say wait until she's old enough to decide since not everybody wants their ears pierced. I opted to never get any piercings; if I want jewelry I stick to the kinds that don't involve piercings. Besides, there's no point in wearing earrings if my hair always covers my ears. Both my sisters chose to have their ears pierced as kids only to find that they're unable to wear earrings, so it was a waste.

I too am with camp #2. Don't take the risk of the bloody, oozing infection. Wait until she is old enough to understand the importance of keeping them clean!

I'm also group #2. And you did ask if it's too early to get them pierced, so I'm gonna say yes it is. Your daughter's ears are HER ears and I don't think you have a right to do with them what you want. Let her decide when she is old enough. (My daughters were 3 and 5 when they got theirs.)

ADDED: Angi C's answer makes me sick.

I am also in camp #2. Your baby is not your possession and you don't have the right to alter her body without her permission. Kids already grow up too fast. Wait until she is older and make it a special girls day out.

P.S. Some say you have to have had the first tetnus shot. That is not true.

Yes, it's too early. How do you know she will WANT her ears pierced? It's time to do them when SHE asks to have them done. IMO, parents should not have cosmetic alterations made to their children's bodies until the child is old enough to understand and decide if s/he wants it.
My daughter was four when she asked to have her ears pierced. She also wanted to know if it would hurt. I told her that it hurts for a few seconds, and offered to show her how it felt. She agreed, and I gave her earlobe a short, sharp pinch. She yelped, rubbed her ear for a second, then asked, "Is that all?" I told that it was, and SHE decided that she wanted to go ahead with it. Had she decided that she didn't want to, or if she had changed her mind at the last minute, or changed her mind after having one ear done, I would have respected HER decision about HER body.

Four months is too early. Wait and let her make the decision in a few years. It can be a major "growing up like a big girl" milestone for a birthday or something.

I had my daughers done when they were 6 months and 3 years. The 6 month old did far better than my 3 year old. If i had to do it over again i would do my first daughers ears way earlier than 3. I dont see anything wrong with having your kids ears peirced, its not like your abusing them or anything, so please ignore the negative feedback. Our pediatrician did ours, so ask them if they can do it. ( plus they numb it)

If you do decide to pierce your baby's ear, please just be careful of the earrings you buy. Anything "metal" from China these days is likely to have LEAD in it. "Why would China continue to put lead in stuff that they ship to America, when we know what LEAD can do to a child's nervous system?" They use lead, because it is a cheap silvery metal. And they basically could CARE LESS what they are doing to our kids or our dogs!! (Remember they were grinding up melamine - plastic dinnerware material - - and using it as a filler for dog food.) Well, all the cheap necklaces, bracelets, earrings being sold at our stores is mostly MADE IN CHINA. Don't buy it. Remember a year or so ago, a young boy swallowed a cheap, charm bracelet that came in a box of cereal, and he DIED from lead poisoning.

i pierced my daughters ears when she was 3 months old. i did it at walmart. you buy the earrings and piercing is free.. they had me hold her while 2 employees pierced both at the same time so it wouldnt b two seperate times. i think early is best since they rlly dnt know its gonna hurt rather than later when they can make the desicion on their own. good luck. oh and make sure you take good care after there pierced so they heal up quicker :)

I had mine done when I was two days old, before I left the hospital. My daughter's were done when she was two months old, after the first round of shots. If you're going to get her ears pierced sometime, sooner is better than later. Once she gets a bit older, she'll become aware of things, and if her ears are pierced after that point, she'll play and pull at them and have an increased risk of infection. If you're really careful about cleaning them often (q-tip and peroxide work great), get good quality earrings (I chose 14k gold because that's all I can wear myself), there shouldn't be much problem! My daughter is 16 months old and doesn't even care about them, although she sees them in the mirror and likes the sparkle.

My opinion is that your daughter is not "your" property

her body = her decision

Why the rush? Enjoy her while you can and do ear piercing, etc as she gets older and lets you know if she wants it or not.

Are you going to tattoo her if you want that too, without asking?

I had my daughter's ears pierced at 3 months old, after her first set of shots (that was the requirement at that time). She didn't even cry when they did it. I chose to do it then because I knew that she would want them done, since I have mine done (actually have mine done 6 times LOL) and I figured they would be easier for ME to keep clean and infection free than it would be for her.

You can have them done pretty much anywhere that does piercings. If your ped does it I'd go with them as a first choice, a place that specializes in piercings/body art second, and all other options next. Although piercing ears ISN'T a complicated procedure in the first place. Just be sure they clean the ears well and wear gloves. The earrings are already clean in the packaging and as long as they don't touch the posts (which they shouldn't need to do) it'll all be good.

She did have to wait to get her second piercing until she was 13 and she had to pay for it herself.

And to momof3girls .. YES I do have the right to alter my children's bodies if I so choose. THEY have no right to do so without MY consent.

I won't get into my opinion on whether you should or shouldn't get your baby's ears pierced, because I don't think that is what you were asking. You have to wait until your baby has had her first tetnis shot before they will allow you to pierce her ears. I have heard that the earlier you do it the better so she can get used to them. If you wait much past 5 months she will probably grab at them a lot and you run the risk of them getting infected and the risk that she will grab at them and pull them out.

I'm on the fence because if she gets older and doesn't like them you just wasted money because she WILL let them fill in... On the other hand my mom got my ears pierced when I was very young and I didn't even cry. When I got older I didn't resent her for it but I can tell ya she would buy me plastic earrings that bothered my ears so I stopped wearing them, they filled in, and I pushed nicer earrings back through when I was 15 and decided I wanted earrings :P I don't think it's a property thing to me, but it would be nice if she could decide. I was going to get my daughter's pierced but didn't have the money and just didn't go do it so I will wait for her permission, but maybe that will make it more special for her. My ears being pierced wasn't "special" to me because they had always been like that. So as you can tell, I'm not in one group or the other with this particular issue... I agree with Tasha, your not abusing her, exploiting her, or being harsh with her.

Anyways, I believe you have to have their first tetnis (sp?) shot before you can and I would have a pediatrician do it if he/she can, they are probably more careful with babies. Sorry your question seemed to have to turned into an opinion war :P

They should be fine after their first set of shots. I would recommend using a piercer as there is no noise as with the gun (that usually makes them cry) and you get a better placement of the piercing

I had my youngest daughter's done at 3 months. She screamed, calmed, went to sleep, and then it didn't bother her at all.

With my first daughter I got hers a week after she born and never had any problem. With my second one we got them right away too but because she had eczema she was scratching them and I was worry about an infection so we took them off. Now I am to chicken to do it at this point, she most likely would not understand why I am allowing an stranger to hurt her and may take them off.
We are going to wait until she ask.
However I am not going to lie, I wish we didn't have that problem because I wish I could put all kind of cute earing specially for the Holidays, but I will keep putting huge, cute Holidays bows at least.
EDIT: Sorry was a month after she born and not a week, ups.

I had my pedi do it. I felt better having them do it then some teenager at the mall putting them in. I don't think that it's too early. I had my daughters done on her first birthday. My husband was worried about it but she is now 3 and we never had any problems. Check and see if your pedi office offers this service. Might be a bit more pricey but my office buys better starter earrings then they do at the mall or walmart.
One person posted that what if she doesn't want her ears pierced? Well it's simple just let the holes close up. It's actually better to have them done early on. It won't bother them as much as when they get older. When they are older they will end up "playing" with them which can cause infection. When I had my daughters done she cried for about 1 minute and then she forgot about it. I kept them clean everyday and turned them when I cleaned them. My mother bought her a pair of diamonds which she kept in for well over a year. Then she got a pair of mickey mouse and that is all she will wear. They look so cute. Everyone always comments on her earrings. Good Luck!

I had both my older daughter's ears pierced around 7 months with not problems. I just used a little emla cream to numb their ears a little first and neither even cried! they just startled at the noise a bit. I plan to do the same for my 3 month old, once she gets to the same age.

As for where, phone around to some of the salons and drugstores in your area because some places won't do infant piercings.

i did my girl ears when she was 2 weeks old i did it by my self with an earring

Your pediatrician can do it. It's not too early.

Here in Cali most places just require that the first set of shots are done...although they don't check. I personally don't think 4 months is too young. I had to wait till my baby was 7 months (long story) but she did excellent.
I went to a jewelry place instead of the mall places. If your really scared about where you are going to get them done you can always check into actual tattoo/piercing shops.
My girl cried for a minute then had a bottle and fell asleep (we went right before her nap). They never got red. They were easy to clean. Now at 2 she loves to pick out her earrings. She will choose different colors and shapes. For her it's just as fun as picking out what shoes she'll wear that day.
For us it was a tradition to pierce them, and we don't believe in waiting until they are older.
Ultimately it's your decision, and don't let anyone talk you into it or out of it.

No. It's not too early. Babies who are only a month old can have their ears pierced.

You can have it done at any place that does piercings... Claires, Piercing Pagoda, your doctor's office, or a tatoo-piercing parlor.

I am also in the #2 group. I still remember how excited I was when I got to get MY ears pierced! In our family, the rule is you can not get your ears pierced until you are five years old (thinking is that by this age, they are old enough to understand that it WILL hurt, and to not touch or they will hurt more, etc.) IMO, even kids are entitled to some 'informed consent'.

On the other hand, almost all of the moms I know got their girls ears pierced as infants, and none of them ever had any problems :) It's a personal parenting choice, so if you really want to get it done, I would probably go for the Ped's office doing it.

You can get them pierced at a lot of places, but I would reccomend asking your pediatrician to do it. Or a tattoo/body piercing parlor, where they HAVE to actually be trained in body piercing, as opposed to a 10-minute tutorial at Claires or somewhere like that... Although, that said, my brother got his DD's pierced at wal-mart, for $10 when she was 2 months old. Absolutely no problems. Physically, NO it is not too young. It's actually better, because they won't remember, and she is too young too know how to pull on them. It will also be easier for you to care for them, since she won't be out getting into stuff. I say go for it, I love pierced ears on little girls! I got my DD's done at 8 months, and had no problems. The only reason I waited so long was because we had to come up with the extra money.

Ask your doc for a recommendation.

Blessings....