The age to allow a child to get their ears pierced varies by culture and country. It’s important to wait until the child is mature enough to take care of the piercings and to watch for signs of infection or allergic reactions. Multiple piercings and cartilage piercings should be discouraged, and parents should consider the health risks before making a decision.
When you should allow your daughter, or son, in some cases, to get their ears pierced is a matter of debate. In certain cultures, it is traditional to pierce a baby’s ears. For those living in the US, UK, Australia or Canada, the age varies, and some girls get their ears pierced before they attend school, while others have to wait until they are 12 or 13 years old. In some families, girls are not allowed to pierce their ears until they are adults.
If you’re not adhering to certain cultural norms when getting a child’s ears pierced, it makes sense to wait until the child is mature enough to take good care of piercings. Pierced ears easily become infected without proper care, so a girl should be able to follow care guidelines first.
Although some girls can meet these guidelines before the age of 12, those who are less conscientious about basic hygiene may have difficulty performing routine ear care. Kids who have a hard time remembering to do chores or bring their assignments home may also be too distracted to worry about piercings.
For many years, it has been fashionable for girls to have multiple ear piercings. You should never allow the first ear piercings to be multiple. Instead, allow the girl to have one piercing in each earlobe and wait and see how she cares for them before allowing more.
Rarely, piercings through the cartilage at the top of the ear can cause serious damage to the ear, resulting in difficult-to-treat infections. Because cartilage doesn’t have its own blood supply, oral antibiotics can’t reach infections there. This can lead to serious diseases and cartilage deformation. If a child wants multiple piercings, consider waiting until she is 18 and discourage cartilage piercing at any time.
Parents should know to watch for certain signs of trouble when allowing their daughters to get ear piercings. For example, if an earlobe appears red, swollen, or feels hard, it’s probably infected. Second, watch for allergic reactions to certain metals, such as nickel. Even silver is problematic for some children, so always choose hypoallergenic earrings and, where possible, gold-coated studs.
In the end, allowing a daughter to have her ears pierced is a personal and individual decision. It depends on her personal beliefs, her observations of her son, and the degree to which she feels pierced ears are important. She acknowledges that piercings always carry a health risk of infections and blood-borne diseases, even though it is a common practice. It is up to you to decide if this risk is justifiable.
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