earrings and toddlers

I would not. I personally don't like the look of little girls w/ earrings, but I know many people do. My DD didn't get her pierced until about 13.

To be honest, earring on little kids scare me. Too many things that can happen. Just my hang up, though, but neither my girls or my granddaughters had them at young ages.

I allowed my DD to get her ear lobes pierced when she was old enough to take care of them responsibly. She was 8 yr old and in 3rd grade and had been begging me for them. My philosophy is I'd like my children to reach adulthood as scar-free as possible. It was a big deal for me to allow her to get her ears pierced.

DD had hers pierced at age 6.  She has been really good about taking care of her ears and earrings.

 

I would not do it to a baby or a toddler.  In fact, I really hate seeing a newborn-ish baby with ears pierced!

DD was 2, we've never had any problems. Mine were pierced before I left the hospital when I was born.

My cousins both had thier tiny babies ears pierced. Both babies were under 4months old. 

 

I remember when I suggested this to dh after we had our first dd, and he flipped out on me.  'You don't go putting holes in a BABY!' is what he told me.  when he calmed down, we rationally agreed that I would wait, but if they ASKED, we would do it.  It turned out that Dd2 asked first, she was 5, then Dd 1 followed about a year later at 8 years old.    But they didn't keep them up, wear earrings enough, or take care of them and both of them had holes close up.  I actually JUST took them down to the store on the last day of school  and we redid them.   They are both very excited about it, and have promised to take care fo them this time,  because I am NOT doing it again.  If it happens again, they will have to  p ay themselves.  

 

What I DID find out was there are special earrings you can buy to keep the holes open, if you don't/or can't wear earrings.  My girls went early in the summer to allow healing time before cheer starts, they can't wear them for cheer.  There are these special plastic posts you can buy, with a  plastic piece that lays flat against the ear.   Its closed in the back by those plastic barrels you put on the fish hook earrings.  These are completly legal for cheerleading!
 

Either do it on a baby when they are too young to do anything about or wait till they are old enough to make that decision and care for them theirselves. DD, age 8, got her's done this year. She cleaned her ears by herself and had no problems. I hated, when I worked with jewelry, when people brought their toddlers in and wanted their ears pierced as it almost always resulted in a meltdown after the first ear was done.

I had several people pushing me to have it done when she was an infant, and I refused. I would not make unnecessary cosmetic alterations my my child's body unless she wanted it done. Had she been a boy, my decision would have been the same. If and when HE asked for it, he could have it done. Not before.

 

When she was four, she asked to have it done, and I let her. Once her ears had healed to the point where she could change her earings, her dad got her a really cute pair. That was when we discovered the hard way that she was allergic to nickel. So I put broom straws in the holes until the infection healed, and from then on, we made sure that her earrings were nickel-free.