Teenagers and piercings.

Labrnr · May 2011

I have been thinking about this for awhile now as I have a niece who is 14 turning 15, and last summer her mother(my sister) let her get her belly button pierced. I was horrified that she allowed this at such a young age.

This summer, she let her get her nose pierced. I feel this one is not as bad, but still do not think I would allow my children at this age.

I am not against piercings at all, I have had my tongue, belly button and eyebrow pierced. I currently only have my eyebrow left.

My oldest daughter is 11, and son is turning 13 this year. So I have been thinking about when I think it is appropriate to let a child get a piercing. My initial thought is 16, I believe here until you are 18 you have to have a parent signature.

I know most of you are not parents yet, but what do you think is an appropriate age for body piercings?

saisongbird · May 2011

I think it depends on the location of the piercing. Ears, elementary school is fine by me. Nose, so long as we're not talking large hoops, I think 15 or 16 is ok - it's a type of self-expression. I think anything else they should have to wait until 18.

curlylocks3 · May 2011

My mom made me wait until 18 to get my belly button pierced (she also made me wait until I was 12 to even get my ears pierced). I think its good that she did because it requires more care and healing time than I would have been ready for sooner. That lasted 6 months until I got the flu and my body rejected it. I did have my ears double and triple pierced at 16. By now, I have taken out everything except the single holes in the lobes of my ears.
Personally I'd stick to 17 or 18. I think 18 is good but I know a lot of my friends did at 16 and I was so frustrated that I couldn't that I think I maybe it would have been less exciting and less taboo if I hadn't had to wait so long. I'd probably really hold back on a facial piercing though unless I really trusted my hypothetical kid to be ahead of the game on the cleaning of it. Although it looks fine now when my navel ring rejected it looked pretty raw for a while. I'd hate to have my kid walking around with that or a scar on his or her face.
On a side note, if/when said imaginary child wants their ears pierced I will have it done in a tattoo place. I had a lot of trouble with my ears getting infected and later learned that piercing guns are kind of notorious for carrying bacteria, even if the earrings in them are new and sterile. My piercings in my ears were finally healthy when I had them done with a needle at a (very reputable) tattoo place.

GracefulMeadow86 · May 2011

I'm pretty much 100% with you on this one. I think that is WAY too young to be piercing all that.

When i have children, they can get their ears pierced (lobes only) and thats IT until they are 18 and they don't need my permission. Then they can pierce anything they want.

Then again, i wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until i was 16 so maybe my point of view is a little skewed.

lburkey21 · May 2011

I wasn't allowed to get any piercings until I was 18. I did have my ears pierced at a younger age but hardly ever wore earrings. Personally, I don't plan on allowing my child to get anything other than ear piercings until they are old enough to go on their own.

lynde129 · May 2011

I had my ears pierced as a baby, second hole in 5-6th grade, belly button @ the end of 8th grade, cartilage in 10th grade 12th grade- (tragus) inner ear. After I turned 18 I got my tongue and the double cartilage, (not all at once). By the time I turned 21 everything was taken out (all that is left is my 2 holes in each ear, and my belly button)-for professional reasons.

I dont think I can be so tough on my age limits based on when I got my piercings done. I was the definition of a "good girl"-Straight A, honor student, no boyfriend until 10th grade. I feel that as long as my future children are focused in their school work, responsible, and respectful once they are in high school (only if they ask) they can get their cartilage, tragus, belly button or nose pierced. Everything else they can wait until they move out or turn 18! I would much rather a piercing then tattoos' piercing can be removed and close up- but tattoos can not!

I also work in an inner city school and most of my student already have three tattoos- I teach sophmores in high school!!! This is the reason I would much rather piercings

huskerfan1189 · May 2011

I had my belly button pierced when I was 14. Double ears and cartilage when I was 12. Tragus when I was 16. I guess I'm not that much of a stickler when it comes to piercings because they can always heal if you change your mind about them. Was I a different person because of my piercings? No. I just liked the way they looked. It was a fashionable thing for me. Tattoos, on the other hand, are forever and should not be allowed until an older age.

Teenagers and piercings.

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