When Should a Little Girl Have Her Ears Pierced UPDATE

This is an update to an older post which can be found HERE.


Okay. It's been four (4) months now since my 5 year old granddaughter had her ears pierced. She has been through so much pain and discomfort and trauma over those pierced ears.


The right ear was so oozy and bleeding and swollen all the time that my daughter had to take out the shorter Hello Kitty earrings and replace them with longer posts. They were just clear crystal stones. That was no easy task. The child has been so protective of her ears because they hurt all the time, that if you so much as brush against either of them, she screams. You can't brush her hair without her reminding you not to touch her ear. Obviously, she was not going to sit still for her mommy removing the earrings. She had be held down. It was just terrible, but it had to be done.


With the new earrings, it looked like things were going to get better but she still had oozing. Then this week, my daughter noticed dried blood in the child's hair and sure enough, her ears were bleeding again.


She finally just gave up and a couple of days ago, she took the earrings out. Now my granddaughter's ears are finally healing and she doesn't scream when you touch them.


For me, this just reinforces that you should wait until your daughter is old enough to make an informed decision and commitment, because she should be old enough to tend to her own pierced ears. My daughter still disagrees. Because some kids do fine, she still feels it's worth a shot. It just didn't work out for her daughter.


From my perspective, it's not even worth the risk. It's a gamble... and if it's a bad bet, it's the child who suffers most. I'm sticking with 13.

When Should a Little Girl Have Her Ears Pierced?

I am solidly steadfast on this subject ( stubborn). I just don't feel like it's okay to mark or put holes in a child's body who isn't old enough to understand and decide for his or herself.


I know there are many people who get their daughter's ears pierced when they are infants. I try not to be judgmental, but I won't do that. I believe the person has a right to choose things like that.


When both my daughters turned 13, that's what they got for their birthday, if they wanted it. Of course, they did. My daughter recently got her 5 year old's ears pierced. Obviously, I don't approve and I wouldn't do it. My little granddaughter is so proud of her Hello Kitty earrings, so naturally, I told her they were very pretty. I asked her if it hurt and if she likes them and if she was glad she did it. I got all yes answers. Naturally, I tried very hard not display displeasure or disapproval.

Knowing that tatoos and body piercing must be approved by a parent and or you have to be 18 to get those things done, I can't help but wonder why ear piercing under legal age is acceptable. . . but it is.


I got mine pierced when I was fifteen ( by my best friend ). I had trouble with my ears for a long time. It was years before mine stopped getting puss-filled or infected. I hope hers is different. They are cute.


Maybe it's just me. What do you think?


Note: When I was 15, a lady named Jean Dixon wrote an article for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She predicted that during the summer of my 15th year that aliens were going to come and take away all the women who had pierced ears. Well, it was a much more innocent and naive time than now so, of course, I was terrified until the predicted day had passed.

An update to this post can be found HERE