Advice on Ear Piercing for 4 Year Old

Hi!

Well, I wanted to share this with you. Have you ever seen Jon&Kate Plus Eight? One of the twins got their ears pierced, and that episode was very "realistic" to what happens and it made my 9 year old daughter decide to wait on hers.

There are video's online to show what happens, so she sees it. It may be something that is too intense for a 4 year old. I'm thinking of my now five year old and she saw that video and also said "NO!" to ears piercing.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it and you know that few moments of pain may be worth it to her.

My daughter was the same age when she decided she needed earings. We fully informed her of the pain and the required 3 times a day cleaning. She still wanted to do it.

While I would have liked to do it at the pediatricians office, they only do one ear at a time and I knew the chances of completing both ears was low so we took her to Claire's. They did a good job except the piercing gun jammed on th way into her ear lobe on one ear. It was awful for about 30 seconds while they un-jammed it but then she was fine.

If you think your child can handle it go to the pediatricians office - it will be more expensive but probably worth it.

Also - do the 3 times a day cleaning and twisting for the entire 6 weeks AS WELL AS don't change the earrings out for a very long time after that. I tried and it was a really bad idea. Just plan on leaving them in for 6 months to a year to avoid problems.

By the way - she loves her earrings now and they look great.
Good luck!

My daughter was aroung two when we had her ears pierced. We had it done at her doctor's office to be sure it was good and sanitary. Ask your doc, I'm sure they do it there too. We never had any problems keeping them clean. Be sure to buy earring for little girls, though when it the time comes to buy earrings. They have screw on backs so they don't get lost so often. Walmart has a good selection. Have fun! It's a good "girl's day" occasion - maybe you could have a girl's lunch, too.

Mine were both around 5. The 1st one we did one ear at a time and she was okay with it. The 2nd child i knew she would have to be tag teamed so we went to claire's at the outlet mall in Allen they had 2 people that did it together. She was upset for a little bit but i gave her the cotton ball of ear stuff they give you and she was better. Good Luck and I would let her do it if she is asking.

We just had our 51/2 yo daughter's ears pierced last week. She too had been asking for as long as I can remember. I knew how important it was to her, so I decided to go ahead with it and...so far so good. It's only been a short time, but other than cleaning them 3Xdaily with a solution they gave us, they are no problem. She hasn't complained about sleeping with them in.
As for places to go, we called Claire's to make sure they would have 2 people working that could do it simutaneously--otherwise I was afraid she would want to bail after one ear lol! We did it during the week so they were not so busy- we were in there today and it was overwhelming. She brought a special stuffed animal with her, and she was pretty nervous but excited so she didn't even complain too much when it happened. As soon as we handed her the mirror and she saw the earrings she calmed down completely.
I also hear that Sweet and Sassy does a neat package with a certificate and picture.
Good luck with your decision!

I would say stick to your guns. This will be one of many issues that she will want to do partially because EVERYONE else is doing it. :-) It is so important to raise her as you see fit, not as the world sees fit. Loving her does not always mean giving in, sometimes it means holding out and she will be so much better off for it.

I know it is hard to refuse the cuteness. :-) Just try to remember your long term goals as a parent and as hard as it is try to not give in just so your child will like you. If you train her up to do what is right she will be so much happier and free.

Warmly,
A.

I wanted to wait on my girls to be around 9, because I remember so well the day I had it done and my mom made such a big deal out of our "girls day" :o)

But alas....My Diva #1 Kloie was about to have a spasm at her 3rd birthday :o) over NEEDINF her ears pierced! SO we went to Libby Lu at Firewheel, which looks like a circus threw up in there withthe pinks and purples but it is the perfect little girls haven! SHe did fine, they double pierce at one time and everything was great.

Sophie then decided about 6 weeks ago she was going to DIE if she coulnd't wear Kloies "ears pierce" :o) heehee so we went ahead and took her to. She will be 3 in October.

Bothtimes it was about $35, but you can download a 25% coupon on the internet.

NOW.....the BIG question remains...where do I take my 16 year old son to get his done!

K.
Mom to
Sam- 15 1/2
Ben 13 1/2
Kloie 4 1/2
Sophie 2 3/4 :o)
New baby due in October!

I went to walmart to get my daughters done. My husband wasn't thrilled he had wanted to wait until they were older my oldest was 5 she got money for christmas and decided that was what she wanted. As long as they have two qualified people they will do them at the same time which they did for her. She was fine but never wanted us to change them then one fell out and she would let us put it back in so it grew up and now she only has one ear peirced, She says she is just like Grampa who has his ear peirced. My youngest wanted hers done about two monthes later, she was 2 1/2. They did hers one at a time. She cried then went to sleep. She loves them. She changes them all the time and has more earrings than me now. So I don't know if this helps but listen to your daughter, and her personality. I personaly think younger is better. Before they realize what is happening, then they just see the earrings as always there and don't remember it hurt. I think that is why my youngest prefers hers. BTW walmart used to only charge for the price of the earrings.

Hello M.,

I know some people feel they are too young and should be able to make their own decision when they get older. But clearly your daughter knows what she wants.

I have two daughters (8 years apart). My oldest I waited until she was much older to do her ears. She constantly played with her ears and got her earring actually stuck and swollen ...and just an unsightly mess (and actually ended up ripping it).

However, her sister's I did do a 4 years old and after the initial hurt of having them done, we never had any problem whatsoever. She was so young, but because she loved them she was good about me applying the solution and didn't put her fingers all over it to cause infection. She seemed to be very satisfied with the look and didn't need to keep changing them out. My daughter is now almost 19 years old and still has never had a problem.

So my opinion would be yes, I think its an excellent time, it looks very feminine and they are too busy playing with others at this age that they don't have time to think about messing with them.

Good Luck to you.