Children and Earlobe Piercing
Important Considerations:
Infants and toddlers always cry (sometimes before we ever do anything! 😅
Child should be able to sit through both ear piercings, tears are fine but sometimes the fear is too much & we will not force any child through the process
Pain is relative, but young children cannot understand that ear piercing pain is very brief and fleeting (no amount of discussion can change this)
Asking for earrings is not a sign of readiness; judge readiness by how they do at the doctor’s office
1st holes only age-appropriate until the earlobes grow enough to support a second pair (often ~ age 10 or so)
Risks of Earlobe piercings that are too close:
Irritation, migration, and rejection: Close piercings can increase the risk of the body pushing the jewelry out.
Tearing: Having multiple piercings that are too close together can weaken the earlobe, making it more susceptible to tearing if a piercing gets pulled or snagged.
Aesthetic issues: The jewelry may look crowded or unbalanced, even if the piercing itself is otherwise healthy.
Crowding 1st & 2nd, Wide 3rd
The earlobe piercings pictured here were done when this client was very young. The alignment was never great, but the crowding and gaps got worse as her ear grew.