**Parents shouldn’t make the decision to pierce their infant’s ears; this is a decision for the child to make themselves when they are old enough.** • I personally don’t understand the need to pierce a child’s ears before they are old enough to ask or express any interest in having it done. I’ve had a few ear piercings, but all of them were my decision and my responsibility. Having my ears pierced wasn't painful, but everyone’s pain threshold is different, particularly infants. It’s an unnecessary pain for a child and makes no sense. • Ear piercing requires [aftercare and always runs the possible risk of infection or problems](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/children-ear-piercing-what-parents-should-know_uk_59367cb3e4b013c4816ac2c0) - why subject a child to this without their consent? I think it’s better for everyone, if the child can express their interest at an appropriate age, whereby they have enough maturity and self-awareness to make that decision. • If an infant is so young that they can’t verbally express their desire for an ear piercing, then what is thought process of the parent, other than to alter their child’s appearance based on some beauty standard. I don’t understand why it’s necessary, I really don’t. • Obviously, my argument does pose another question about what age _is_ in fact appropriate and my answer would be that the choice is up to the parents, _but_ it should be once the child can at least verbalise this desire and carry out the necessary aftercare themselves. In my opinion, this should be secondary school age at the earliest, so around 12 or 13. This specific is opinion, but it should be agreed overall, that the child should at least _want_ the piercing.

**Piercing your children's ears is more about preventing them from remembering feeling the pain as older children and adults than a violation of consent** - The main reason to pierce a child's ear when they are young is so that they will not remember the pain. Children are known to be more [medically resilient](https://www.thezlawfirm.com/do-children-heal-faster-than-adults/) than adults. Then if they decide they don't want to wear earrings then that is their choice. - It is ultimately a parent's choice whether or not they want to pierce their child's ear, but the consent arguments for babies and children raises a lot of other concerns. For instance, is it okay to publish your child's pictures on social media or do you have to wait until they can say yes or no? Are they able to receive vaccines? Are they able to dress in gender-conforming clothing or wait for them to choose a gender identity?