How soon would you let your child get a piercing?

Nhaiyel created that thread about piercing baby girls ears.

https://conversationchamber.forumotion.net/t3007-parents-piercing-their-baby-girls-ears

A lot of people had strong opinions about whether or not a parent should do this. The side against it generally argued that a parent shouldn't be making a cosmetic alterations to body of their child without his or her consent.

So let's say you *don't* pierce your child's ears when they're babies. How old would they have to be before you get done? If your five year old daughter, or nine year old son, said that they wanted their ears pieced, would you oblige them on it then?

Ear piercing is not that big of a deal to me. So, whenever. If they want a dozen piercings in their face I'd rather they wait until they're well into their teens for that.

I am one who doesn't believe in cosmeticallly altering someone's body without their consent. I wouldn't go by age so much as maturity level when considering a piercing. If they're old enough to ask for it and to properly care for the piercing, I'd consider it. I would try to talk my child out of a tongue piercing for health reasons, though.

My younger son wanted an ear pierced when he was nine, actually. We got it done, but the hole closed up in less than a year because he lost interest in it and took the earring out.

My son will have to be at least 16 before I would let him pierce anything.

For a daughter, I would probably be open to her getting ears pierced at about five if she was good about things like hair brushing and bathing. If she put up a fuss about those things, I wouldn't have high hopes that she would let me keep her ears cleaned after piercing.

Daughter can get it, son can't.

I'm with Red. It would be a combo of maturity and responsibility as well as age.

I'm not spending money on something as unnecessary as a piercing. My kids can get it as soon as they can drive themselves to & from the ear piercing place and are able to pay for it.

I personally would let my child get them when they were five, if they asked for them. But my husband would never agree to that, so it's not happening! Besides he's brainwashed her into thinking they are incredibly painful!