Parent Wants To Get Their 2-Week-Old’s Ears Pierced But This Body Piercer Refuses
Interview
Some people believe that it’s better to get their child’s ears pierced when they are a baby because they will not remember the pain, they might believe the medical myths, or maybe it’s a cultural thing. But it doesn’t seem right to make modifications to someone’s body without them being able to have a say in it, especially when it’s for aesthetic reasons.
This piercer realized that and when a parent wanted to make an appointment for their 2-week-old baby, he refused to do it.
More info: TikTok
A parent requested that body piercer Adhum pierce their baby’s ears but received a negative answer as the baby was 2 weeks old
Image credits: Lisa Fotios
Image credits: pool_boy_at_the_vamp_mansion
Image credits: @adhum_price
“Customer: Yes, hello. Good afternoon. Do you do piercings?
Piercer: Good afternoon. Yes, we are a piercing studio.
C: Hello. Yes. Can I please get my baby’s ears pierced?
P: I’m sorry, sir, how old is your baby?
C: My baby is 2 weeks old.
P: [Focusing heavily on not letting my inside voice pop off, exuding expletives I never realized I knew] No, sorry, we wouldn’t pierce your baby’s ears at two weeks old.
C: So how old would you pierce my child’s ears?
P: [Me staying calm and collected] Yeah, we only really go from 8 years upwards and even then it’s a case of informed consent. You kind of have to have a conversation with your kid and find out whether it’s something they want to go through with. Whether they’re comfortable with them having them pierced and whether, you know, they’re alright with us using needles for this procedure.
C: Ah, they’re fine with needles. They’re fine with needles.
P: Sir, they’re 2 weeks old.
C: So you won’t do them?
P: No, sorry.”
Image credits: @adhum_price
The body piercer is Adam Price as Bored Panda found out when we contacted him, but he is better known as Adhum online as it’s a derivative from the local dialect of his name. He is the manager and senior body piercer at Blue Banana Birmingham where he has been working for almost 10 years and is enjoying his time thoroughly, which is why he is truly an expert in his field.
On TikTok, Adhum is nearing 2k followers as he shares bits of his life, participates in trends and makes reaction videos. One of his recent videos attracted media attention and it was a conversation with a parent wanting to have their 2-week-old baby’s ears pierced.
Adhum refused to do it because babies can’t give consent to it, which is a problem because it permanently modifies their bodies, but isn’t a necessary procedure that would make their life quality better.
The body piercer told us that due to his profession he believes that if children want a piercing, he is not opposed to it but he said, “I do have my own personal views on what age this is ok, as do the majority of our stores senior piercers, alongside the company and their values too.”
The minimal age that Adhum thinks is proper and other studios agree is 8 and upwards. He explains, “This is because we personally feel that at this age a child has an improved appreciation for what the procedure entails, and the importance of taking care of their piercings also. We generally find that children under this age have a greater risk of accidental damage, infection and other issues where piercings are concerned. Even as babies the ears can be accidentally touched, messed with, or exposed to other risks, ie. jewellery damaging the earlobes, the piercing growing indifferently to the rest of the love with age. Not to mention that it’s of a general concern of course, babies or young children are not necessarily able to give proper informed consent, to the use of needles and piercings made, for cosmetic/vanity purposes. At such a young age they do not fully grasp the reality of such a procedure.”
But the studio gets requests on the regular to pierce their children’s ears although “and the age of this is now apparently way more vast than even I was used to. Having been asked to pierce a 2 week old child all the way to 13 years old.”
People in the comments of the video agreed that parents should not make this decision for the baby and should allow them to decide when they grow up a bit, because otherwise it’s abuse, and applauded Adhum for refusing to do it.
@adhum_price Some people need the tea ☕️ on informed consent, but tome and a place i guess. #fyp #foryoupage #piercingtiktok #piercersoftiktok #ukpiercers #informedconsent #underagechildrencannotgiveinformedconsentforpiercings #underage ♬ original sound – 𝔄𝔡𝔥𝔲𝔪 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔢
But it is still very common for parents to take their baby to a piercer and punch a couple of holes in their ears. According to Katherine Rivera-Spoljaric, who is a member of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonary Medicine and the Medical Director of the Multidisciplinary Technology Dependent Child Clinic, “In Latin cultures, infant female ear piercing is routine.” Babies sometimes get their ears pierced even in the hospital before being discharged.
And in Hindu tradition, ear piercing is a religious and cultural tradition claimed to ward off evil, opening up the ear for receiving sacred sounds, which helps with cleaning the mind and nurturing the spirit.
The body piercer is aware of it, “I can fully appreciate that there is of course certain cultures and backgrounds that do indeed choose to have their babies and children’s ears pierced, as early as possible. And this I will settle on as differences in opinion. I personally am not comfortable with this, and will not be the piercer offering to do such a procedure for those under the stated age. For reasons already mentioned, I cannot condone going against my own personal beliefs, and the beliefs of many other professionals within the industry.”
Also, sometimes parents bring older kids to get their ears pierced, but Adhum is always very adamant to make sure that everyone is on the same page because maybe sometimes the children aren’t fully aware what the procedure actually is, “I would not feel comfortable, and have in the past refused to pierce a child who is not comfortable with the procedure, and they are in obvious distress. Reassuring the parent that this may be something they feel up to doing sometime soon in their own time.”
Even WebMD says that while “Piercings are not more harmful to babies than they are to adults, and any complications of an ear piercing are not determined by age. They can happen to people of all ages” they would still suggest waiting until a child grows up a bit so they can take care of the piercing themselves. And confirms what Adhum already mentioned about how “Young children can end up touching their ears with dirty hands, which can lead to infections. An older kid will have more discipline to avoid playing with pierced ears since they are more aware of what is going on.”
Adhum is convinced that the father who wanted his 2-week-old infant’s ears pierced will “have huge difficulties in finding a professional to pierce his child’s ears, and this would be because most professionals within the industry would be of the same mindset, and practice the same ethics. Thus adding to their professionalism.”
The message that the body piercer would like to leave for parents to ponder over is whether “it is this for my own child’s vanity or for my own? And if the case stands, this is for you as a parent, then surely it’s an option that can be kept open for choice at a later age, and even provide a parent/child bonding experience, maybe even a fun day out together, to make the experience extra special.”
Many people think that ear piercing is justifiable because it’s not as invasive and cruel as male circumcision and causes so little pain that many babies don’t even cry during the procedure. Others argue that that’s not the point and parents are still violating their children’s bodily autonomy.
Where do you stand? Do you think Adhum made the right decision? Do you think there should be more regulation around baby ear piercing? Or do you think it’s not that big of a deal and parents have the right to decide for their children in this matter? Let us know in the comments.
People in the comments were quite furious that parents still decide for their children about ear piercing and applauded Adhum for refusing the customer
No, don't let culture determine that autonomy can be taken away from a person for even the little things like ear-piercing. If people defend the cultural aspect, then FGM is suddenly okay too.
No-one has mentioned another of the reasons you should never get babies ears pierced. There are too many cases every year of the back of the earring rubbing against the skin of the head. Discomforting and painful for the baby, but worse is if the parents don't check this constantly (and many don't), it goes unnoticed, rubbed raw, and often leads to bloodpoisoning and infections.
No, don't let culture determine that autonomy can be taken away from a person for even the little things like ear-piercing. If people defend the cultural aspect, then FGM is suddenly okay too.
No-one has mentioned another of the reasons you should never get babies ears pierced. There are too many cases every year of the back of the earring rubbing against the skin of the head. Discomforting and painful for the baby, but worse is if the parents don't check this constantly (and many don't), it goes unnoticed, rubbed raw, and often leads to bloodpoisoning and infections.
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