Ear Piercing

I dont recommend having a child's ear pierced before they can take care of it themselves, because its a lot of work to care for, but that is just my opinion. What I have heard from people, though, is to take them into a piercing shop, I believe a lot of tattoo places have them, because they clean their equipment better and are more sterile. Good Luck!

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Well I have 2 girls my oldest I got hers done at 8 montsh and she did just fine with them and really never bothered them and then my youngest daughter we waited till she was 2 because she was a micro preemie but she did well as well we got them done at Clairs in the mall and we never had any issues with thier peircings hope this helps

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Hi M.,
I have boys but they all have a ear pierced, I waited till they were old enough to want it, with the exception of my youngest who was 3, I took them all to claires at the mall and had no problems. I have had my ears pierced since I was 6 wks old and never any problems, like another said I think its personal preference.
Good Luck

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Ok M., all of these responses scare me except for the one from the woman who was the professional piercer! Everything that I have read online from experts is to have your baby's ears peirced ONLY at a doctor's office. Maybe I am a snob, but I wouldn't have my doctor 's vaccinations given anywhere other than the pediatricians', so why would I allow anyone who isn't a trained professional with a needle anywhere near her? The pediatrician is the only one who has a completely sterile environment & who knows how her earlobes will change as she grows, so as where to place the earing. Please don't risk it for your daughter's sake!

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I have 2 daughters...Micha, who turned 4 in March and Jasha, who will be 16 months on the 20th...I got both of their ears pierced at the same time, which was 7 months old, and I got their ears pierced at Claire's in Southridge Mall and have had NO problems with either of them. They are sterile and they only let you put hypo-allergenic earrings in their ears, even with piercings...I believe that is all a myth. I say GO FOR IT! My 4 year old LOVES her earrings and asks me to put different ones in EVERY day! Good luck!

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I think it is just a personal preference. My daughter was around 8-9 when we did hers. I personally feel that it should be the child that wants them not the parents but that is just me. My niece had hers done very young and has done fine with them. My daughter had hers done at Wal-mart and it was fine.

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Hi M.,

I have three daughters, two of whom had their ears pierced when they were just weeks old. I waited with my oldest until she was almost a year and to be quite honest, it was much easier to do when they were infants. If you do decide to have your daughter's ears pierced, I would go to a place where two people do it at the same time. If you do them one ear at a time, once the initial one is done, she most likely won't sit through the second ear so I would recommend doing it at the same time. Make sure they mark the ears and check from the front, how they look. Once it is done, leave her earrings in for a long, long time. They are so little at this point, that there isn't much to do as far as upkeep.

My theory on infant piercing is this: when they grow up with their ears already pierced, the earrings become part of them so they don't bug too much with them. I have always used quality jewelry with my girls, either surgical quality earrings (the studs they use to pierce) or 14K gold. Cheap earrings are just not worth the hassle. They look cute, but many times cause infections. Stay away from hoops if you can. Studs are the best.

Hope this helps!
C.

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my grandmother had my and my sisters done for our frist Brithdays, My mom than went and had my daughter and my nieces done on thier frist brithdays. I hope that someday my daughter will have a daughter that I can do the same thing for. they don't take that much time to care for, All I did was kept them clean and turned them when ever she wanted to sit on my lap or have me hold her. she never got an infection or anything like that. when they are little the people who do the peirceings, try to do both ears at the same time. my daughter didn't even cry, my neice cried for about 3 mins and was fine. neither of the girls had a problem playing with or pulling on them they forgot they were even there, hope this helps,.

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My kids were 3 when I did there's. I do believe that it is easier for the kids when they are younger. I am a previous hair stylist and have pierced babies ears before and they do just fine. Good luck.
D.

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Hi,
I had my daughters ears pierced when she was 6 months old, I had heard the earlier you do it the better chance they will leave them alone and not play with them all the time it will be just part of them as they grow. It has been true for us.
We went to Ponytails and Buzzcuts they are off of West Center Rd about 170th st if you haven't ever been there it's a fun place to have your kids haircut also. Good Luck! :o)

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My niece was about 6 months when she got her done..I was about 4 months. I think the best time to get them done is when they are babies. I think it would be less traumatic b/c of the fact that they forget about it almost instantly. I have never heard anything bad about getting ears pierced at the mall. mine was done there and so have botth of my nieces. I have also had many family members get theirs done there. It is mostly how the parent takes care of their ear by applying the solution as directed. otherwise there should have been no problems there. I dont know anywhere else to get it done besides the mall, but i have never heard anything bad, so if you have any stories let me know..it may just be that one particular mall...hope this helped

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i was always told to wait till they want them that way they can be proud of it and take care of it. as for where to go clairs in the mall is really good. or any jewler youlike or are comftorable with.

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my girls were 9 months and 19 months when I got their ears pierced. We got them done at "wal-mart" because they were the only place with two working the jewlery that day, and it was so much easier to do with getting both ears done at same time.

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My daughter got her ears pierced at 6 months old. She is now almost 5 years old and we have never had a problem. I would get it done soon if you choose or else she might pull/bother them after getting them pierced. We just went to a place and the mall and all was fine. Just make sure that every thing is clean. My daughter loves having her ears pierced :)

My mother had mine done at 6 weeks old. They look great! I had second holes put in about 8 years ago too. Whenever you want to pierce her ears are fine. I've seen from 3 days old to people in their 30s just doing them for the first time. My niece had hers done but she is a strange child. She can't have cheap earrings. They have to be 24 KT gold or she will get infections. She's the only one I have ever known to have a problem with that though.

hi, i got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 5 mos old. we went to merle norman in the mall and have never had a problem. good luck!

I had my daughter's ears pierced when she was 2 months old. the earlier you do it the better. I had it done in the mall and I had no problems with her ears. Hope that helps.

Personally, I would wait until she asked for them, but that's just me. I was 3 or 4 when I got my ears pierced and the gun got stuck on one of the earrings. That was not fun. Just make sure to keep an eye on them if you do them now, cause certain jewlery can irritate her ears.
I got second holes when I was in jr high, but had trouble with them. And since I have sensitive ears, I rarely even wear earrings anymore. I can't wear cheap jewlery at all. It has to be real silver or gold. It can be sterling silver as long as it doesn't have any nickle in it (which a lot do).
My stepdaughter is the same way, she can only wear 14k gold the way she tells it, but she only repeats what she's heard her mom say. She just can't wear the cheap stuff cause they get red and infected if she does, even if they are cleaned daily.

Good luck!

I am a little different than the other posters. I got my daughter's ears pierced at 18 months. I went to a few places to get a feel for them before we did it and I finally felt comfortable with the lady I spoke with at Claire's at Oakview Mall. She happened to have a daughter right around the same age as mine and she could relate to the experience. I do remember going to one of the other Claire's stores, though, and I didn't get a good feeling about the employees so I opted to stay away from there. They did both ears simultaneously and had two ladies there to do her ears and one other employee distracted my daughter with a Dora toy or something. My daughter is 3 years, 4 months now and loves her earrings and has had no problems with them. I think it just depends on where you go and what your kid is like. Good luck and let me know what you decide!

I had both my daughters done early one at 3 months and the other at 5months. I went to Claires each time in the Boise mall. I had awesome luck with them. They were professional, took their time but when it came to doing the actual piercing they had both earrings in separate guns and did one immediately after the other. It went very well, the second was done by the time they realized the first happened. I don't know how it would be at 11 mo but I never regretted getting it done early. I have friends w/ toddlers who do regret not getting it done earlier.

I personally would wait until they are old enough to take care of them themselves. Once they been in school for a year or two at least. Just starting school is quite a bit of change and getting used to, so not having to "worry about pierced ears" can come later. when she's ready she'll tell you.

I think I was 9 when I got mine done. I know I just went to the claires in MHM. But I know even the higher end jewelry stores do it. If you're worried about the teeny bopper places, maybe talk to some of the adult stores.

I think it is a personal preference. I got my oldest daughters ears pierced at 8 weeks and my second at 12 weeks (rules changed with her.) I think it is easier to manage when they are younger because they don't know any different. Good luck! M.

my daughter's ears were done when she was 6 months. i never had any problems. i had them use 14k gold earrings. she is 6 now and still no problems. make sure that they have two people doing it, one on each side, at the same time. be prepared they do scream for a few minutes. good luck

I had my daughter's ears pierced when she was 4 months old. I lived in Des Moines, at the time, I got them pieced at a Claire's there. We never had any problems with them. My daughter turned 10 earlier this year and wanted to get them double-pierced, so we got them done at Claire's at Oakview. The double-piercing hasn't gone so well...they have given her some problems from time to time (and she cleans them just about everyday). Personally, getting them done when she was young was so much better, because she never realized they were there and never messed around with them.

M.,

You have a lot of responses, but I thought I would throw mine in really quick. I have a 5 year old and we had hers done in the mall at Claire's. She was 3 months old. I looked around, because I have nieces that had theirs done and my sister-inlaw said to have them done at the same time, rather than one and then the other. This way if they don't like the first one they don't fight the second. The other thing you have to look for is that they will do it, some places won't until they are older, even with a parent. I am due to have my second in 11 weeks and I will have hers pierced as soon as she is 3 months old.

A.

I had my daughters ears pierced right before she turned 3 months at Claire's/Icing in the mall. They were absolutely wonderful. Some places will do both ears at the same time, but they did my daughters ears one at a time. They said they chose this method since she was a baby. It was easier to do one so that if the baby moved one wouldn't be crooked. As long as your daughter has had her first tetanus booster she is fine to ge them pierced.

i can only go by my own experience from when i got mine pierced. i was about 6 or 7. my mom waited till i could take care of them. i still got a little infection once even at that age.
with my daughter who is 2 1/2 i'm gonna wait till SHE expresses to me that's what she wants.
who knows by the time her generation grows up it may be popular NOT to have pierced ears..lol lol
not sure about the mall stores.. i thought i had heard that some peds will do it. maybe someone can shed some light on that..
good luck on your decision. it's not easy.is it.

My sister had her daughter's ears pierced as soon as she could. She asked the doctor about it and he said that as long as you wait til they have their first round of shots, it's fine. The way I see it, if they don't like it or aren't good at cleaning, then take the earrings out---most cases they close back up. It's not like a tatoo where you are stuck with it. She went to Libby Lu....they have a great little shop at the Penney's in Oakview, I think.