I Will Not Get My Children’s Ears Pierced
Not until they can make the choice for themselves at least
I practically live on social media in my downtime, and I see a lot of things that parents do. Just last night I saw an article about a mom who decided to pierce her infant daughter’s ears even after her husband had said he didn’t want it to be done. The story said that she defended her actions because it is normal and cute to pierce a baby’s ears. I got unreasonably upset, to say the least, while reading the story. I, like a decent partner, discuss all sorts of topics with my fiancé. We do not shy away from hard conversations. We both agreed on this subject matter. We will not pierce our daughter’s ears, or our sons’ for that matter, until they are old enough to make the choice on their own.
There are a lot of factors that we took into consideration when talking about it. Babies cannot consent. Heck, toddlers can hardly consent because they do not have enough knowledge to make an informed decision. Sure, there are many things we do to our children without getting their consent. Those things are almost always exclusive to their health and safety. Putting a needle through an earlobe is not done for the child’s health or safety. In fact, it can be a danger to their health. If you ignore the fact that it hurts and takes weeks to heal, there is still a very valid chance of it getting infected or ripping. Infants do not know better than to touch, grab, and pull on everything they can. It is simply how they explore and learn about their world. The final thing we both agreed on is that the places that pierce infants’ ears are almost always the places that use the piercing guns. These have a horrible reputation and for a good reason. These guns have a higher chance of infection and injury to the ear. Unlike getting a piercing with a needle designed for the job, these guns use a pointed, but dull, earring and shoot it through. That just isn’t something I would like to put my children through.
When they are old enough, we will gladly let them get their ears pierced. I want them to have as much control over their bodies as I can safely allow. If they choose to get it done, I want it to be an exciting and special day. It will be entirely my children’s choice if and when they get their ears pierced.
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