Toddler Boy - Pierced Ear?

Living near the beach we see all kinds of piercings and tattoos.
Parents do it but I don't think piercing looks good on boys or girls.
It should be a teen (Sweet 16) thing.
People don't like to wait for anything anymore - it's part of that instant gratification expectation and then people wonder where their kids get the attitude from.
Waiting / planning / preparing - it's becoming a lost skill and people don't understand the value in it.

I personally think it's ridiculous. My friends daughter pierced her little boy's ear before he was even one. I couldn't believe it!
I don't really agree w/ piercing a baby girl's ear either. They are so little, so much can happen. Let them decide when they're older. But I do have a harder time w/ boys then girls....

Don't see any difference between piercing a girl's or boy's ears. I think it looks cheap and trashy for either sex toddler. I was in high school. I expect my son will wait until then to decide.

My usual instinctual answer to something like this is "parents imposing their fashion choices on their kid'.

I don't know that it's any different. Perhaps it was cultural in his family's case...who knows? Sounds better than what I saw at the zoo with my son today!

And really, if my son wants his ear pierced, he can wait until he's 13. Then, he can take care of it! (or not, won't be my ear or my problem!:) )

I don't think it's any different than a little girl with pierced ears.

guess I won't post a pic of my toddler with a nose ring...

Unless it is a cultural thing I think it looks bad. I don't even like pierced ears on toddler girls to be honest with you. I had mine pierced at the hospital as a newborn and I would not take the same route with my daughter.

I'm completely with you on this. I don't really like the look of earrings on small children, although I do recognize that this is common in certain cultures.

My mother wouldn't let us pierce our ears until we turned fourteen, by which time we'd had plenty of time to think about it and understand what we were doing, and were old enough to take care of our ears properly.

There are so many approaches to that.
And per girls with pierced ears.

But as it is said below, it is either the child's choice..., or the parents imposing their fashion choices on their child etc.

I have seen, a 6 year old boy with an earring. BIG huge rock... of fake diamond on his ear. Nothing attractive or plausible about that. Unless.... the boy wanted that particular earring and so the parents let him. A child choosing the earring. But his parents... well, they are really young, look like kids themselves and have the accouterments of their fashion sense, on them as well. They all, as a family, look like each other. And their toddler daughter looks like a teen dressed her. Cute or not? Well, to each his own.

Whether it be traditional in that family or cultural or just plain ol' choice, well, who knows.
But I also know many people who are tattooed/pierced, and who are real smart talented people, who have regular jobs.
But a Toddler?
No.

Both of my boys have a pierced ear. My oldest was 13 months when I had it done. My younger son was around 6 months or so. He will not let me take it out and he is 5. The older one is 14 and sometimes wears his. My daughter was 3 months for the first one and and 4 or so for her second one.

Well my husband's niece did it to her son because she is dumb as a box of rocks. Poor kid, cute as anything but for the fake studs. I mean like if they were real they would be around four carat diamonds, on a not even two year old!! He has no vocabulary yet so pretty sure it wasn't his idea. Trust me there is some brain damage involved in that decision!

Both my daughters were between two and three when they got their ears pierced, I assure you they had a say in the decision. Oh and comfortable little earrings no monster studs.

I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I was able to make a mature decision about it on my own at the age of 12. Piercing a baby boys ear is really no different than piercing a baby girls ears in todays culture, although I see lots more baby girls than boys who are pierced. I would rather the children were able to make this decision for themselves.

I feel the same way you do. I don't necessarily care to see ANY toddlers with pierced ears, but I really dislike it on boys. I think that it's a permanent mark that someone should choose himself, like a tattoo. When he's older, the piercing--whether or not he wears an earring--might keep him from certain opportunities. Our children come out pretty much blank slates, and we tell them that they can be and do anything they want. I think that piercing a boy's ear(s) in this society inadvertantly limits his potential.

ETA: Not every piercing can just close up and heal easily. You really don't know when you do it if that will work.

When they are babies/toddlers it's purely about what the parents want, so yes, boy, girl, it doesn't really matter.
My son never wanted one. Boys around here just don't do that (that's not a judgement, just a fact.)
I told my girls they could get their ears pierced when they wanted to AND when they were responsible enough to take care of them (it happened around the age of 9 for both of them.)
I was 9 or 10 when I got mine done. I felt quite pretty and grown up!
I see it as a privilege and a bit of a rite of passage, like you :)

not my thing, but I'm not the child's parents.

To judge this child by his parents' standards....seems unfair to the child.

i was ten, and it was a huge "rite of passage", and i am very anti-piercing small children.

that said, i have seen little boys with pierced ears, and i don't like that, either.

the only little boys i've ever seen with pierced ears were somewhat unkempt looking though- long scraggly hair (i am not anti-long hair on boys - my son had pretty long hippiesh hair, because his curls were so gorgeous :)) but did not look like his parents were taking the best care of him...so to me that is the stereotype. now if it was a well cared-for clean little boy it would be different..i'd probably still feel the same, but i'd feel guilty about judging lol.

(eta- i have had five piercings in my ears, from when i was younger. i only use the 2 now, and yes, i have three scars/marks on my ears. it was fun to have them in my 20's, but now, i don't say i regret doing it, but i do wish i didn't have marks on my ears from them. i wouldn't ever do that to a small child- not my body, not my choice.)

I think it's best to let the child get old enough to make a decision.
My son got his ear pierced for his bday when he was 8. He quit wearing an earring when he went in the army at 18. I always thought he'd get tats since he begged for those when he was young but I wouldnt let him have one until he was 18 since it's more permanent than a piercing, and I just dont find them attractive.
He still to this day does not have any tats at age 30.

No different if the child is male or female. Not your child, not your choice.

Not your kid, not your problem! It's pretty much the same as having a girls ears pierced (as some cultures do when they're infants).

Personally, I don't think parents should pierce their kids ears just because they think it is cute.

It should be the child's choice to have it done. If they want it done, it should be done when they are old enough to care for it themselves.

My sister pierced my nephew's ear when he was really little and her husband had a fit! Part of the problem is that she knew he was against it so she just went off and did it anyway thinking that once it was done, it was too late to do anything about it.

Not her finest decision.

My nephew ended up wanting it out because it bothered him when he slept on that side so it didn't last for very long.

Now that he's 21, he is SO not the type to wear an earring. It doesn't fit his personality at all. It's just my opinion that my sister was "adorning" her son with something that isn't either good or bad, but it caused a rift between her and her husband and my nephew didn't like it in anyway.

Lots of males have their ears pierced and I'm not against it in any way, but I would never have pierced my son's ear(s) when he was little. Not that he wouldn't have perhaps looked cute, but at 16, 6'2" and 200 pounds working toward a career in the military and law enforcement, he's not an ear pierced kind of guy.

I had a daughter who wore earrings. I didn't feel the need to pierce my son's ears.

Just my opinion.

I am not a fan of adult men with pierced ears, so I think I would find it particularly distasteful in a toddler. I just think that, since it's not generally the norm for men, a male of any age should CHOOSE to do it, rather than have it forced upon them.

I don't really like little girls with pierced ears either, since I also think they should wait until they are old enough to make the choice, but it doesn't bother me as much as it would in a little boy.

Are you POSITIVE it was an actual piercing? Maybe it was fake? A little girl at the school I work in had tiny magnetic earrings on last week. They looked very real! I suppose it would be strange (and actually dangerous) to let a toddler boy have this type of thing. But you never know. Just a thought (and a HOPE!!!)

That is creepy to me. My 15 year old son said to me the other day "some people say I should get my ears pierced" I told him he would have to move out of the house to do that. I was joking really, but I think it is really unattractive when men have pierced ears. And unnatural.

Babies grow up so fast, let's not rush them anymore by piercing their ears!!

Also, I fear by piercing them too early, is that why you see old ladies with the earring so low and almost ripped out? As the lobe grows, the holes seem to drop significantly...

My cousin wanted his ear pierced at 4... so my aunt and uncle let him. He is 17 now and still has it. Now actually he has both ears pierced and gaged.

I guess its up to the parents to decide what age is appropriate. Younger than that its really the parents doing what they want with their child... like getting a girls ear pierced.

I don't see the point in piercing a small childs ears. Honestly, I think the option to put a hole in your body should be left up to you, not a parent. For that reason I will not pierce my daughters ears until she asks for them.

My parents made me wait until I was 10 but I won't make my daughter wait that long. But she will have to be a little older. My reasoning on that is because both my sister and I had horrid reactions to having our ears pierced. Even today I can not wear anything other than gold earrings, and still if I wear them for too long they can get infected. Makes me a little gun shy.

This is a tough one....I think big boys..men...look cute with pierced ears...not toddlers. Girls always look cute with pierced ears. I think my son will have to wait until 12 or 14 to get his ears pierced...if he chooses.

No.. I'm not for it. My toddler/preschool girls have ear piercings. But I would not do it for a boy. Call it what you want.

I didnt read the other responses but..I was in the doctor's office the other day and saw a little boy that had both of his ears pierced. I like pierced ears on men. I wouldnt peirce my son ears at so young of an age. I would leave it to be his decision later on life when he is a responsible teenager.

Most women get their ears pierced eventually. Most men do not. Therefore, I find little girls with pierced ears to be more acceptable, although under a certain age, I have to wonder how much of it is what the parents want, not what the child wants. I recognize that it some instances it is a cultural thing to have a newborn baby girl's ears pierced right away. I want my daughter to be old enough to be able to want to have it done and be able to care for them. I don't feel that way with a boy. If I had a son and he wanted it done, he would probably have to be at least 14. To me, a toddler boy with a pierced ear seems very "white trash/ghetto."

Hmmmm I'm nearly 70 and I'm in favor of pierced ears at any age, both male and female.

Pierced ears aren't forever, like a tatoo. One can take out the ear ring and the hole will heal closed especially for a young person. My daughter had my granddaughter's ears pierced when she was a baby. When she got to be 8 or 9 she decided she didn't want to have pierced ears and they healed nicely.