The topic of getting ears pierced has surfaced once again in our household as our six year old is very keen on the idea and her parents are not as keen.
So the other day I put it to the twitter-sphere to see what was the general consensus and I was surprised by the reaction I got and by all the brilliant stories that came up.
Like so many of the people who wrote a response to my tweet I have a very distinct memory of my twin and I getting our ears pierced. I am not sure at what age we started pestering our parents but I know we had them done right before our 9th birthday. We had a wonderful Aunt Dorothy and it was her treat to take us and get it done. I actually don’t remember the pain or shock of it but what I do remember so clearly is my father pretending to be mad when we got home claiming he had no idea that it was happening! (He was a horrible actor so even we knew he wasn’t really mad.)
I also remember, as did so many of the tweeters, the feeling of the stud in the ear and having to turn it and clean it. The smell of rubbing alcohol and the sheer excitement of replacing those said studs with ‘real’ earrings. Stars, hearts, rainbows heck even dangling ones! For me though the love affair was short lived and I let them fill in somewhere in the middle of secondary school with my only other foray into piercing being about the 80 hours I had my nose done in University before I came to the conclusion I wasn’t cool enough to pull it off.
So having this conversation again but from the other side, the parent side, with Joan has been a real stroll down memory lane. Recalling the first time showing them off and people exclaiming “aren’t you grown up!” Remembering the responsibility of it all and the excitement of shopping for new earrings. It really is in so many ways a rite of passage.
My original tweet was this
Question have you let your kiddies get their ears pierced and what ages were they when you did asking for a.... 6 year old 😳
— alison curtis âš¡ï¸ (@AlisonTodayFM) December 4, 2017
And here are some of the great responses I got:
I went to get mine done around the same age - hopped off the chair after the first one, and refused point blank to have the second done. I was mono-earringed till my teens! I think 6 is old enough to let her have a try - studs only though.
— Zoe O'Connor (@zoconnor) December 4, 2017
Garry in Mayo - Daughter no 1 wanted hers done for her communion last year, so we did it a few days later, daughter no 2 on seeing the pain her older sister went through decided she never wants them done!
Amanda - I had mine pierced aged 7 as a gift for my holy communion - I still remember it like it was yesterday the cleaning and daily rotating of the stud, the memories.
I managed to cut a deal to stop sucking my finger (and ruining my teeth) in exchange for earrings for my 6th birthday! #hustler
— Juliette Gash (@JulietteGash) December 5, 2017
Laura in Mayo - Make sure if you go ahead go somewhere that pierces two earns at the same time. My girl had them done for her 7th and there were tears but she really really loves them now.
I convinced 8year old of the unbearable pain that lasts for 2 weeks....she now says she doesn't want it until she's 'old' !!!
— Anne-Marie McNally (@amomcnally) December 4, 2017
Siobhra in Dublin - Tradition in our family is maternal grandmother pays for it on the Childs 6th birthday and I’ve had mine done since then. Only trouble is hubby isn’t so keen on the idea for our smallies.
Maire - My 6 year old begged and begged and I explained it would be sore but she still wanted to go ahead. I gave in and went ahead and she didn’t cry but I believe thats out of stubbornness
So thanks for all your advice and sharing your stories. For now I think we are going to put it on pause until she is just a bit older to really care for them herself and….. I might just get them done again too!
Oh! And the general consensus seems to be around communion age, between 6-8years old.
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