When to Pierce Ears

I've seen babies screaming and crying while getting their ears pierced. I am a grandmother who does not understand why a mother would want to put her baby through this and not see it as a form of child abuse. Having had my ears pierced later in life, I know it hurts. A baby trusts its mother to protect it from hurts, not to be the cause of pain. In my opinion, when she is old enough to make her own choice regarding it is soon enough.

Hi C.!

I'm pretty sure my opinion isn't going to be very popular on this one, but I don't think a child should have their ears pierced until they are old enough to ask to have their ears pierced and be capable of being responsible for their own care after it's done. I really think it's rather abusive to subject a child to unneccessary pain and the risk of infections (and more pain) just because their mom thinks it's "cute".

In my opinion, wait until she wants her ears pierced.

At 13 months old, this is for you, not her. It causes pain, even if momentarily, & is certainly not necessary. Then you have to clean them, and the risk of infection you mention. Why put her through that?

Not going to lie - I don't understand the ear piercing ritual for babies. What is the big rush? What if they're playing with the earring and put it in their mouth? What if it gets infected? What if, despite all your good efforts, she just wants to go live on a mountain top with a bunch of goats when she's older and not have her ears pierced?

Not only could this be a wonderful milestone or "rite of passage" you and your daughter could experience together when she gets older, but there are also practical reasons to waiting until your daughter is older. I'll go through a few of them below:

DISCOMFORT: Some children have problems with the backs poking them when they sleep, etc. I would wait until your daughter can clearly an verbally state if the earrings are bothering her, instead of trying to rip them out on here own. Furthermore, young children can play with and damage the ear lobe by pulling on thier earrings and enlarging/lengthening the hole, and even rip them through the bottom of the earlobe. Therefore, if you get it done, I highly recommend flush studs only.

INFECTIONS/INFLAMMATION: People can get infections after piercings and allergic reactions to the metal. The older a person is when this occurs, the easier it is to treat. Especially when the child understands what is going on and can be proactive in taking care of the piercing.

KELOID FORMATION: When the skin is injured, a small scar forms after the scab that is usually small enough that you don't notice or fades away with time. However, some children, particularly African-American children, may be prone to having the skin "go overboard" in this scar formation causing a large scar as compared to the original injury. These are called keloids. Those prone to forming keloids after injury may develop large bumps at the piercing site of the ear. If keloids tend to form on the child or there is a family history of keloid formation, it is probably best to hold off on piercing.

ASPIRATION OF THE EARRING: This is probably the most concerning danger. As most parents know, toys are approved for certain ages due to their choking hazard risk. Many toys are not recommended for those under three years because children under this age tend to put a lot of things in their mouths. Earring are certainly not permanent fixtures, and the risk of them accidentally falling out is not small. They are generally of a size which is easily swallowed. Therefore, there is a risk of inhaling/swallowing an earring or its clasp should it become dislodged. Could possible result in bronchoscopy or surgery to retrive the earring, especially if the earring punctures the bowel.

The final thought I would leave you with is that, at this age, you are doing a semi-permanent cosmetic procedure on your child because of your own personal desires for her, not by her choice or desires for this to be done to herself. I think if you wait, this could be a more gratifying experience for both of you. You could make a day of it, and your child could really feel empowered by making the personal choice and viewing this is the first "rite of passage" into womanhood.

Wish you both the best.

You've got both side here, I had to ask for my ears to be pierced, and then wait a year to make sure I was serious. I was almost 6. I think that waiting until they can choose is important because it is so permenent. ALSO something that no one has mentioned, is that the earlier you pierce the ears the more offset the hole will be as an adult. Because your ears are still growing, the hole will move. Even though I was 5, not an infant, I have smaller lobes and when I went to go get a second hole at 18 there was no room (without punching cartilige) because my first hole was more center then forward. Just some things to think about. Plus, that second piercing (I got it anyway and then found out there wasnt room for 2 earings) HURT. I cant imagine pinning my daughter down every day to twist and clean her earings.
p.s. If you like the look, use body jewel stickers as earrings, they stay on, are the perfect size and arent permenent.

Hi C.,
I think infection is different for everyone, you won't know if she has problems with it until you do it. I think you need to decide what your willing to deal with. Your the one that will have to clean them and take care of them if they get infected or ripped out. She will not be able to take care of them responsibly for quite a few years. You might want to wait until she is old enough to make that decision herself.
Good luck.

My daughter was about 6 months old when we had her pediatrician to pierce her ears, and never had any problem since. The doctor prescribed the ointment and said to wash it in chamomille tea (to soak the cotton balls in the tea and put on ears for couple minutes, 3 times a day) for about a week. We've done it while visiting family in Europe, and it's quite common to do this in very early age. And, perhaps, if any infection occurs, you can just remove the earings and it heals quite fast and maybe just pierce again whe she is older, or when she decides herself. Good luck.

I had my daughters ears pierced when she was 4 months old. She is now almost 11 months old and we have had no problems.

I got my daughters ears done at 2 months old. We have never had any problems.

HI C.,
I was thinking about getting my daughters ears dones when she was just a baby, but then decided not too. For us, this choice, we learned, was the right one. She is one who will pick at things that are there. SHe had a mole on the back of her neck and she was picking it so bad we had to get it removed. I know lots of babies that have it done and they are fine, I am not trying to scare you...Good Luck

Hi C....I know there's lots of mommies out there who pierce their babies ears and I think that's totally fine. For us, we decided to wait until our girls are old enough to be responsible to take care of them (with my supervision) so probably at age 10 or 11 I'll let my oldest get her ears pierced. Plus....with girls if you wait, it makes a GREAT carrot that you can dangle in front of them as a reward ("pierced ears are a big responsibility so as soon as you make it 3 whole months without forgetting to turn in your homework (or whatever) I'll know you're grown up enough for pierced ears."

Just my 2 cents....

L. H

P.S. Sahm to 9 and 5 year old girls.

My daughter was 4 years old. I didn't want to pierce them unless it was something she wanted. I had told her she could get them pierced any time she thought she was ready. I explained that it would hurt but only for a minute then we would get her cute earings when her ears were ready. It worked out great. She had trouble with cheep jewelery and unfortunately was prone to losing the 14K gold ones at least one of the set, but she is getting better.

Good Luck
C.

Hi C.,
I had my daughter's ears pierced at 10 days old. The place where she had them pierced was hesitant to do it because she hadn't had her tetanus shot. I am an oncology nurse and assured them that if I could take care of permanant IV catheters in immune-compromised patients, that I would be able to take care of the earring holes. It was great. Meghan was so young she didn't play with the earrings and infection wasn't a problem.
On the flip side, I coached Meghan's soccer team from 2-6th grade. Every year, I would have girls with newly pierced ears that came down with horrible infections. The other thing to consider is if your child is active in sports, the teams may not allow the earrings in during competition so you will be required to remove the earrings, even though the recommendation is to keep them in until the hole heals completely. This will increase the risk of infection.
My recommendation would be to pierce early, before the child is aware and leaves the ear alone. Otherwise, wait until the child is older, 14+, so they can be responsivle about caring for the site.
Good luck, K. M

Hello! My parents waited until I was old enough to ask for my ears to be pierced and old enough to take care of them. I was 9. I think that's a great general rule. However, my parents took me to a place in the mall where they pierced with a piercing gun- which caused a lot of infections and ultimately bad piercings. Please consider taking your daughter to a professional piercing studio for the piercings. They use hollow needles instead of a gun. The benefit is that instead of forcing the flesh to conform around the earring, the hollow needle is actually removing the flesh where the earring goes. It's less painful, safer and heals much quicker. Here's the website to Association of Professional Piercers http://www.safepiercing.org/ They have a great information in their FAQ. Take care!

C., I know it looks cute to pierce a baby's ears. I would suggest that you let the child decide when she is older if she wants them pierced or not. Also, I would suggest that she be in the teens when this is done. My reasoning for this is that I have seen too many who have gotten thier's pierced at an early age decided when they got older that they really didn't want them pierced at all. Good luck on your decision making.

B. mother of two and grandmother of seven... :)

Hi C.,

I pierced my daughters ears when she turned 3 months old. She cried for not even a minute. She is 8 months old now and I am glad I had them done while she was so young. I havent had ANY problems with them at all. They healed up right away. They dont bother her, she doesnt play with them or pull at them or anything. They dont bother her while she sleeps. Just my experience but it has been a good one for us.
Good Luck!

Ok, this may be something that you don't want to hear, but I don't think you should pierce your daughters' ears. It is her body and I think you should wait until she is old enough to decide for herself if she even wants her ears pierced.

I have a baby girl and my husband and I feel like 12 is a good age for her to decide, but my sister has two girls, she let them decide when they turned 8, one did it on her birthday and the other wasn't ready and she decided to wait. She only waited a few more months, but still it was a decision that she made on her own.

Good Luck!

They now recommend getting ears piereced after the 2nd set of shots which is usually after the 4th month. My daughter and my cousins daughter got their ears pierced at 5 & 4 months and went to the Bellevue Square mall to a store called Pagoda earings that was right across from claire's boutique. We were undecided on which place and we felt more comfortable with the latter. The piercings were uneventful except for a few cries but nothing that lasted for very long. Both our daughters had no issues and my daughter doesn't even care they're there. At this point for your daughter, the sooner the better so they don't remember it. Just remember, with anything, there's always a risk and everything must be disclosed on risks. So it always sounds more frightening then it really is but it's better to be educated about it. Good luck and she will look beautiful when you finally decide to get them done.

I pierced my first daughter's ears when she was 18 months old, and my second when she was 12 months. I waited longer with my first because she liked to play with her ears, so i waited till she stopped. I never had any problems with infections and what not. Though my niece had hers done at 13 months and she would pull her earrings out (then again she picked at everything). Other than that I dont know of anybody that has had problems with piercing their little girls ears. Just keep them clean and all should be well. Now that my third daughter is almost a year old, I am thinking about getting hers done too.

I´m from Merida, a beautiful city in Mexico.. I tell you this because it is custom that as soon as a girl is born she has her ears pierced. I have a daughter and since I wasn´t expecting her so soon I hadn´t bought the gold earings ( this is important, they should be gold), but the nurse put a small string through her little holes until my husband gave her the earings. All my family and friend´s daughters have had their ears pierced as soon as they come out...taking care of them is much simpler when they are younger. ( and according to our doctor it hurts less) but you could ask your pediatrician.

My little girl was 7 months old. We decided to do it then because people mistook her for a boy(as she was bald);) But I would do it again if I had another girl (I had 3 boys to follow her) It was really nice, because she never tugged at them, we cleaned them, the holes healed really well and we've never had an infection. Just use good quality earrings. Real Gold or Silver. I think If we would have waited until she was old enough to 'notice' it would have been a much bigger issue. So she looked cute and we had no issues. Good Luck!

I waited until my daughter was 8 years old to offer if she wanted her ears pierced. That way, she could make the decision on when and what kind of earrings she wanted first. She was also old enough to take care of her own ears. I helped her the 1st week to make sure she knew what to do and to make sure she was thorough enough. Then the next couple of weeks I helped her when she needed it and reminded her when it needed to be done. I know this doesn't really answer your question on problems because its too early... but I thought I'd put in my experience.

Hi C., I got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 5 months old, she is now almost 2. Never had infection either. I clean them like they told me and she never plays with them or had a problem with them. Good Luck!!

*Also don't let some of the mother's scare you about choking on them because the earrings come with lock backs and aren't that easy to just pull off. I had to struggle to get them off when she got new ones and I'm an adult so a child would have a much more harder time.*

We had our girls done at age 5. We made a huge deal about it and they got to pick out their earings etc. Both felt like grown ups and had so much fun. They are also old enough at this age to help take care of them.
D.

I am a hair dresser, as well as a mom, so I have been trained to pierce people's ears. I pierced my daughters ears @ 2 months old myself. The only recomendation that there is out there is to wait at least untill they have the 2 month immunazations. As far as them getting infected, they should. If you go somewhere that cleans and sanitizes everything, uses real metal ear rings (not plastic), you should have no problems. Make sure to turn the posts every single day so that they wont adhere to the skin. Also, you can take a qtip with alcohol and clean they area to remove any crusties. Hope this helps!

Oh by the way they offer a hoop earing now to pierce with. These dont work very well and usually get the piercing gun stuck. Don't pierce her ears with them whatever you do!

I had to wait until I was 12. There is a lot of pain and maintenance involved. Think about this for your little one that you adore.

DON'T DO IT! There are important energy/acupressure lines and points throughout the body, and putting metal through the body anywhere affects the energy and physical wellbeing. This in addition to the possible obvious problems which other people have mentioned. I would not do it ever, but would definitely advise waiting until she wants it - doing it now is only for you and will not benefit her in any way, not to mention that she would be traumatized to a greater or lesser degree. And then, I would use plastic earrings.

Since you asked, I'll put in my two cents. I have never understood how any parent could inflict intentional pain (ie ear piercing)on any child too young to understand the pain, simply for cosmetic reasons. Of course there's a greater chance of infection. Kids need to be old enough to understand how to care for their new piercings, even if they still need some help to carry out the routine. I would strongly recommend that you talk to your pediatrician. He or she can guide you with common sense and logic. Good luck!

My parents didn't let me pierce my ears till I was old enough to take care of them (about 8). I plan I using the same rule for my daughter. But if you want to be the one constantly cleaning your daughters ears go for it.

If were me, I wouldn't. I never wanted to make the decision for any of my daughters to put holes in their bodies without them being fully old enough and mature enough to make that decision on their own, and at 13 mos., I don't think she's there, yet.
A couple of points to ponder...Is she able to clean them properly, is she able to twist the earrings two or three times a day, what if she does have a problem...is it an infection, or is she allergic to whatever the earring is made of? Suppose she is a person who doesn't care to wear jewelry, or just doesn't like earrings?
We decided to wait until we heard the request and then evaluated her level of competency...will she clean them on her own, when she is suppose to, or will it take a lot of bickering and reminders from me? Will she twist them as often as she needs to? Will she keep track of her earrings? And what if she is allergic to cheap materials-am I willing to spend the amount of money to get her the right earrings that won't make her break out before she's old enough to earn her own money to buy her own? At 13 months...I think not.
And even after we heard the request, we made them wait. If nothing else, to make sure that's what they really wanted and to help enforce the fact that you just don't get what you want when you want it. That's a great life skill to learn early on...just because you like that car or that particular house, you can't necessarily just have it!

Sorry...You may hear from people who think it's their right as the parent, but I strongly feel that it's her body and the decision should be hers...when the time comes.

Hello,

My first daughter I decided to wait till she was old enough to ask, and be responsible for taking care of them, with a little help. When she was 7, we finally did it. It was extrememly hard. She was active in sports, (competitive cheer), and couldn't wear the earings in competitions, so they had to be taken out for several hours at a time. This was done after the earrings were in for 6 months. Everytime she had to put them back in, she would cry because they hurt to put back in. My feeling was, they weren't ready to be taken out, but there was little I could do. When I was 7 is when I got my ears pierced, and my earing became enbedded in my ears, and had to be forced out. Talk about painful. I was responsible for cleaning them, and didn't understand that if you keep your backs on too tightly, this can occure. No one ever mentioned that as a possiblity. My second daughter, I decided that I didn't want to face the same problems that my daughter or I faced. I got her ears done at 4 months old. She cried for all of 15 second, then stopped and was happy. I cleaned them, which wasn't a big deal, I had to clean her up anyway every day, so it wasn't like it took extra effort. She never plays with them, they don't stick out or anything, they don't bother her when she is sleeping. They have never been infected or anything like that. If she decides later in life, that she doesn't want them, she can simply not wear them. No one will force her to, but this way, she can not experience the same problems her sister or I faced.
Do what you feel is best for your daughter. Everyone has their own feelings and opinions, but you are the one that knows your family. Good luck! I wish you the best.

My daughter had her daughter's ears pierced around 4 months i think. Someone told her that if you pierce them early that they aren't so much into playing with their ears yet and as
Elizabeth said, the ear rings were just a part of her. She didn't seem to be stressed by having them pierced, either. She was not crying or cranky afterwards.

I would be more hesitant to pierce my baby's ears when she was crawling and exploring the world because she would be would be aware of the discomfort and would have more germs on her hands. Sometime around 2 or so my daughter stopped putting earrings in her daughter's ears and the hole healed over without leaving a scar. When my granddaughter was a preschooler she wanted earrings and the holes were more difficult to keep clean. And....she felt the pain for weeks.

My granddaughter is nearly 8 and hasn't worn ear rings in a year or more. I notice that her ear lobe seems to be pushed out from her neck. I don't know if this is because the earring post was too long and kept her ears extended or if she was born that way. It is something to consider. After this experience I would try to get a shorter post.

I was against getting my granddaughter's ears pierced at first but afterwards I accepted them and now would say that piercing is OK. And I would do it earlier than later. I don't know how your daughter would react to getting pierced ears at 13 months but I think I would do it now while you still have some control over what her little hands get into and I would be aware that if the post is holding her ear lobe away from her neck might affect how her ears look. My granddaughter's ears aren't so different that people would notice them. I'm aware because I wondered about that at the time she was wearing them as a baby.

One reason that my granddaughter is not wearing earrings is that the posts of the ones she was wearing was sharp and hurt her head when she laid down on them. She would then take them out and loose at least one of each pair. Since she wasn't interested anymore it was easiest to just stop putting them in.

I have found some of my earrings sharp on the back and don't wear them overnight. I have a plain gold pair that is comfortable and leave those in. It is important to keep something in the ear all of the time. Babies heal quickly. I've seen babies wearing small wire earrings and think that would be more comfortable. I think that once they get older and the hole has been kept open for a year or so, the hole doesn't heal as quickly. My granddaugther while in kindergarten went as long as a month without them and the holes were still open when her mother wanted her wear them for a special occasion.

:):):)jeez, I can't write a short post. What a whole lot of words to a simple question.

The short version: I'd say get her ears pierced now. A possible problem is that the lobes seem to stay pushed away from the neck even after she quits wearing the earrings so I would try to get a short post or use thin wire earrings.

My daughters were done at the age of one....I did learn after that she as well as myself are allergic to nickle(found in most earings). Even if they are plated with silver or gold, after the plating wears it can cause a reaction...I read the other request yesterday & didn't respond(now I wish I had)...If this does occur clear fingernail polish works well.Just coat the post of the earrings...Hope this will help.

well I am sure at any time it is gonna be alot to take on bu tthe earlier you do it the less they will play with and tug at them so then you may not have as many infections to deal with

We haven't pierced ears and don't plan to until she's able to care for it herself. I think I have enough to deal with right now with feeding, changing, cleaning, etc. that I don't want to add ear care to the plate! :)

I say anytime after they turn one. I dont have any girls but if you are set on getting them done at a young age do it after one and before two that way hopefully they will not be prone to play with them because they will just be apart of them.

I had my daughter's ears pierced when she was 14 months old. I had no and still haven't had any problems with her touching her ears or earrings. I took my daughter to Claire's in the Kitsap Mall and the manager did the piercing, which she did a great job. She centered the earring on each ear, but still making sure that they were still even/parallel. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi!

I come from a family where to get your ears pierced at an early age is a tradition that has been going on for generations. We have them done at around 6 months and not by the gun method. First, if you would like to have your daughter's ears pierced at this age I would recommend you do it yourself. The biggest cause of infectious ears that I know of is the gun method they use in the stores. I know they say it is hypoallergenic but my one sibling that my mom decided to wait on and my one niece that had her's done with the gun both had horrible problems and then when they had them redone by my mother have had no problems. I know people are going to think this is a cruel way to have ears pierced but I have seen kids at every age (from 6 weeks, 6 months, 7 years and 14 years) get them done with no crying. First, you need to gather some supplies. You will need 2 pieces of ice, 2 halves of a potato and 2 needles with WHITE thread. (The white thread is very important as it has no dyes in it.) You take the 2 pieces of ice and hold them on either side of the ear for about a minute. (This is the part my daughter did not like at 6 weeks. She slept through everything else.) It numbs the ear so there is no pain. You then remove the ice and put half of the potato behind the ear. Then gently send the needle through the ear and into the potato. (The potato is a stop for the needle so you do not have to worry about poking yourself as well as your daughter's ear and the potato will not have any bacteria on it if it is freshly cut.) You then cut the thread and tie a knot in it. After the knot is tied soak the thread in alcohol, send the knot through and let it go. You will need to soak thread twice a day for several weeks. Always after soaking you will need to send the thread through the hole a complete revolution. After 3 weeks once a day should be good. This allows the knot in the thread to break loose any scabs and crusties that have built up. After a month to 6 weeks you will notice that there doesn't seem to be anything left over as you move the thread. Go ahead and keep doing it for another couple of weeks and then when you finally remove the thread immediately put in the new earrings.
Now about the negatives to early piercing: If your daughter does not like having her ears pierced as she gets older that is not a problem, the holes from this type of piercing are so small they are completely unnoticable. The holes will end up being more centered but it makes the earrings hang beautifully. I would be happy to explain in more detail or talk it over, even help, if you needed it feel free to contact me.
Vida

My husband wants to get our 17 month olds ears pierced, and I refuse. I simply do not think it's a good idea at such a young age. I will do it when she wants to. When she can take care of them.... they are prone to infections at such a young age if non properly taken care of. Not only that, but I know that when I sleep with my earrings in, the posts poke me and it's uncomfortable. I've decided to make it a reward for her.... like when she goes to kindergarten or something of the sort. Good Luck.

Hi C.,

Our daughters were done at 5 months(oldest is 17 now), and the youngest was over a year old and I can't remember exactly how old she was, and they were both done w/piecering guns.

The oldest who was done at 5 mos. had the fewest problems. She never fiddled with them, and they healed just fine, but when she got older, she lost many, MANY pairs of ear rings, and around age 10 just stopped wearing them altogether.

The youngest, always had trouble with healing, I think because she tugged at them and fussed with her ears, and when they finally did, if we took them out overnight, we always had to fight to get them back in, and she hasn't wanted anymore in since she was 5, and she's 9 now.

I agree with the other posters who said wait until they're older and can choose for themselves. Maybe make it a special birthday thing, or a back-to-school or picture day thing.

As babies, yes it's less traumatic, but they can develop allergies to the metals, and you don't want to subject your baby to an unnecessary infection when she can't tell you if it's bothering her, and at the age she is now, even if you get the screw on backs so she can't pull them off, she might pull on them or fuss with them.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :o)

K. W

My mother did mine when I was one, and I love the fact that no matter how long I go with out earrings, they never close up since they were done so earlier in life. I have boys, so I won't be piercing their ears, but if you want it done, I say go for it!

I had both of my girls' ears pierced at about 1 year old; they cried for a few minutes and that was it (had both ears pierced simultaneously). I have a metal allergy (can wear silver and gold only). My oldest has a metal allergy, also, and can't wear anything but gold or silver. I don't know if my youngest has a metal allergy or not since I haven't put anything in her ears but gold. I haven't had any problems with their piercings healing. When my oldest (she's almost 18) got her nose pierced, the place she got it pierced at gave her a solution (can't remember what it's called) that is basically a sea salt and water to clean the piercing with; it also helped it to heal faster. I see no problem with having it done early, I wish I did when I was little. Due to multiple infections when I got mine pierced (at age 6, I think), I had to keep letting them close to heal then get them repierced. It wasn't until I was older and got gold earrings that the infections stopped. Hope this all helps.

I had my ears pierced when we went to Mexico City to visit my grandparents. I was 18 months old. It was the custom then to pierce ears at birth. I have since learned that there is an accupuncture meridian point on your ear lobe that correlates to the eye, according to Chinese Medicine. I have spoken with a Chinese Accupuncturist and they have said that they can mark the ear lobe for the correct puncture site, so comprimised eye sight is not a problem. That's what I plan to do for my 7 year old who is begging to get her ears pierced. By the way, I had to start wearing glasses in early grade school and my eyes are much worse that my younger sisters, who were much older when they got their ears pierced.

i pierced my dd ears at 6 months. we did it right before nap and she cried, fell asleep and was fine. she did pull on them later... she also always pulled out her hair ties.

My opinion? Let your child make the decision if they want their ears pierced or not. Wait til they are old enough to make that decision. You are putting a whole in their ears and it will hurt. Why do that if they don't want it? They don't care about how their ears looks when they are this little.
How about making it a "right of passage" when they are older. My two daughters were actually 5 when they decided they wanted them and it was a great experience. They went in knowing it would hurt for a second but did it anyway. It was a great lesson in the fact that it's ok-in fact important in life to go through a little pain to get the result we want.
Something so simple says a lot. How about if they want to lose weight or something, they'll hear-no pain, no gain.
If your child is too young to understand that lesson, I'd wait. Seize every opportunity for your child to learn something new.

I did a lot of asking and research before doing my daughter's ears as well. Since working in childcare for so long I've seen a LOT of little girls lose their earrings and then have to deal with having a small lost sharp thing "somewhere!" (My other three children are boys, it wasn't an issue!)
The general advice that I ended up with, from countless amount of experienced mothers, is do it before 6 months or wait until after 5 years old. Before 6 months old it just becomes a part of them and they will not play with them, therefore tear at or lose them. After the age of 5 years they have the capability of being responsible and understand that their actions have results (losing an earring, hole closing, etc...). We chose to have our daughters done at 4 months old and she cried from being held still, not having them done. As soon as she was released from a "be still" hold she stopped crying. It was easy to care for and done and over with in a few seconds.
The other benefit of waiting is that she can be a part of the decision process and she can help pick out earrings and participate in the care process. However I just chose birthstones for my daughter and it is so very cute!
Good luck with your decision!

C.,

My parents wouldn't let me get my ears pierced until I was old enough to care for them myself. Needless to say I didn't get mine pierced until I was around 10-13 years old. I plan to do the same thing with my daughter.

Hope this helps,
Melissa