Are you considering taking your child to get their ears pierced? Are they old enough?
While many parents are fans of infant ear piercing, this isn’t the best choice for your child. We’re here to talk all about why infants shouldn’t have ear piercings and how to know when your child is old enough to adorn their ears with jewelry.
Read on to learn more.
Is Infant Ear Piercing Appropriate?
When it comes to “when to pierce babies,” the answer is “almost never.” Outside of a few specific cultural traditions (that have been fading over time), piercing a baby’s ears is almost never appropriate.
Infants aren’t able to consent to piercings. They don’t understand what’s happening and they aren’t able to care for piercings on their own.
Most qualified piercers will refuse to pierce infants altogether. They may make exceptions for cultural situations and practices, but that’s because they don’t want the parents to make unsafe decisions for their infants.
Many parents think that piercing a baby’s ears is best because they won’t remember the piercing process. This is a moot point if the piercing process is inherently unsafe. You won’t damage your child’s psychological wellbeing if you wait for them to be old enough for piercings.
Is There a Best Age for Ear Piercing?
So if that’s the case, what’s the right age for ear piercing?
In short, this depends on your child and the piercer that you want to visit. Most qualified piercers will not pierce children below a certain age (and you should be wary of ones who will). This age is often five, but it varies.
You want to make sure that your child is mature enough to care for their piercings (even if you have to help them). Piercings are wounds and the child needs to be able to keep them safe and clean.
Most good piercers say that the child should be old enough to ask for the piercing on their own. They should be able to come up to the counter at the piercing shop, choose a piece of jewelry, and request the ear piercing.
This way, you know that the child is excited about the piercing. It’s normal for them to feel some fear or anxiety before it happens, but that’s normal for adults as well.
Why Should You Wait?
As we mentioned before, babies aren’t able to consent to ear piercings. While this might seem inconsequential, you wouldn’t modify your child’s body in any other way, so why would you pierce their ears?
Good piercers will not pierce infants outside of special circumstances. If you’re piercing an infant, it means that the person performing the piercing is (likely) not a safe piercer.
Infants are going to lay on their ear piercings. This can make them more painful or even prolong their healing. Older children are able to adjust their sleeping habits to avoid laying on their piercings.
Infants and toddlers are messier than older children. They’re more likely to get their new piercings dirty and they’re not old enough to take care of them. Unless their parent has experience with piercings, they might not know how to appropriately help their child.
Ear piercings on infants won’t look as good as the child gets older. As the child grows, the piercings may become uneven, making them look worse later on.
There are so many good reasons to wait for your child to be old enough to ask for their own ear piercing. There are almost no good reasons to pierce an infant’s ears.
Where Should You Go for a Child’s Ear Piercing?
All people regardless of age should visit a professional piercer for ear piercing.
Many people who are unaware of good piercing practices choose to take their babies and children to shops like Claires, other mall shops, Walmart, or even nurses for ear piercings. These are not safe piercing environments (yes, even nurses should not be piercers).
These places use piercing guns to pierce ears. Piercing guns are unsanitary and they can’t be sterilized. They also use a blunt object (the jewelry) to push through the earlobe, which is far more painful than it has to be.
High-quality professional piercers are your best choice. They may be in standalone piercing shops or tattoo shops. If you’re unfamiliar with these places, they might seem too scary for your child, but they’re the best environments for piercings.
A good piercer will use high-quality jewelry, teach you proper aftercare methods, and keep your child comfortable throughout the piercing process. They use hollow needles instead of piercing guns to make the piercing less painful.
Other Ear Piercings: How Young Is Too Young?
So your child has their standard lobe piercings, they’ve been healing for over six months so you’re able to let them wear their own hypoallergenic kids jewelry instead of the jewelry from the piercer, and they’re no longer in pain.
Can your child get more piercings?
In many areas, non-lobe piercings are not legal for children under certain ages. Some states require that the child is at least thirteen while others require that the child is at least sixteen. This means that if your child wants a piercing in their cartilage, like a helix, they will have to wait.
Young children can, however, usually have second and third lobe piercings as long as the piercer is comfortable and the child is good at taking care of their ears.
Is Your Child Old Enough for an Ear Piercing?
If you’ve been thinking about infant ear piercing, think again. It’s in your child’s best interest to wait until they’re old enough to make their own decision about their ears.
Remember, find a good piercer when your child is ready for ear piercings. They’ll make the process easy and your child will love their new earrings.
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