Well, before you need go any further, you should know that I did pierce my daughter’s ears. Not me literally, but, you know what I mean. I knew when I found out I was pregnant with a girl that she would get her ears pierced.
What’s the big deal, you ask?
She is just shy of six months.
There are a lot of parents out there that feel that because it’s the child’s body, they should choose if and when to pierce their ears. Most of those beliefs are from people that live in the United States and are not of other nationalities. They are totally allowed to have their opinion. I respect it and mine should be respected as well.
If you are from another country or cultural background, it is customary to pierce a baby girl’s ears. In fact, immediately after a girl is born, she most often receives her first set of earrings. My daughter’s first gift was from an uncle/family friend and guess what, it was her first pair of beautiful 3mm diamond earrings. I wanted to put them on immediately, but I needed to follow local law: Babies must have a tetanus shot first. But trust me, in the homeland, they don’t wait for any shots and many babies leave the hospital with earrings in place.
Well, I waited and she got her shots. Then it was decision time. Do we, as her parents, make the decision for her and get her ears pierced, as we are accustomed to? Or do we wait for her to be older and make that decision for herself? I decided to go with my culture and upbringing and pierce her ears. I mean, who is to say that a six-year-old makes wise decisions anyway?
If she chooses to take them out one day and have the holes close then that will be her choice. In the mean time she is ready to celebrate her upcoming six month birthday with earrings in her ears.
