Baby Ear Piercing: Everything You Need To Know

To pierce or not to pierce your baby’s ears at a tender age 0 to 18 months can be a challenging decision to make as a parent. Besides the fear of being brutally judged by self-appointed parenting experts, the matter of safety can often thwarts you to go ahead with your plan.

The good news is, it has been clearly stated by the American Academy of Pediatrics that ear piercing is safe at ‘any age’. In fact, baby ear piercing is completely normal and traditionally appropriate in innumerable cultures around the world. 

So, if you have decided to go ahead with ear piercing for your baby, there is nothing wrong with it. A little homework on selection, aftercare and best practices on ear piercing for baby is all you need to have a delightful yet safe experience.

Here is a curated list of information that can have all common queries on baby ear piercing answered in a nutshell…

What is The Best Baby Ear Piercing Age?

Did you know that baby ear piercing in many cultures is more ritualistic and traditional than vanity? In fact, in certain cultures, baby girls’ ears are pierced within days of their birth. 

However, it is also true that immunity in infants is very low and still at a developmental stage. It is thus, alright to wait at least 6 months after the birth of your baby to get ahead with any piercing plans. 

Is Baby Ear Piercing Painful?

Yes… a needle piercing through a body part is seldom painless. However, it takes only a fraction of a second to have the piercing done and the pain will be nothing more than a little pinch. Your baby may cry though. In this case, a little playful distraction can help your baby forget the pain in no time. 

Many reputed providers of baby ear piercing are known for putting cold packs on the ear lobes to numb the area before the process. This helps a lot minimizing pain.

What are the Chances of Baby Ear Piercing Infection?

If you approach proper pediatric piercing facilities and follow proper after care… chances of baby ear piercing getting infected will always be bare minimum. However, if symptoms like redness, swelling, oozing etc. appear, a simple treatment with saline solution will nip the infection at the bud.

How to Handle Post Ear Piercing Baby Aftercare?

The first 6 weeks after you have your baby’s ears pierced is critical, because this is the phase when the primary healing process takes place. Based on recommendations of leading pediatricians, here is a list of easy yet effective aftercare tips that can keep your baby safe and comfortable through the recovery phase…

• Avoid touching the pierced area unnecessarily and discourage your baby from doing the same
• Rotate the earrings at least twice a day
• Sanitize the front and back of the pierced area with baby friendly disinfectant solutions two to three times a day
• Do not change the earrings before recommended time
• Avoid getting the area in contact with soap, shampoo or other products that can cause irritation

What are the Best Baby Earrings?

What is right for you may not be right for your baby… this applies to the last word while choosing baby earrings. While making the best pick, always remember... 

• your baby’s skin is very tender
• their immunity is still developing
• they don’t have a clear idea of what earrings are
• they have little control on how they handle their earrings

So, your baby earring checklist must include the following factors…

• type of metal in the earring
• type of securing 
• size of the earrings

As far as metals are concerned, always ensure that the earrings are hypoallergenic and free of toxic elements like lead, nickel, cadmium, etc. Try and invest in high quality metals like gold, sterling silver, and platinum for the safest and infection-free ear-piercing experience.

The size and securing of the earrings should also be such that it matches the comfort level of your baby perfectly. Given that your baby’s ears are tiny and very delicate, large or heavy pieces may cause serious discomfort. Your baby may try to fiddle with the jewelry as well which can lead to cuts and tears.

Therefore, as far as size is concerned, smaller and lighter is always better.

In terms of securing, always ensure choosing options that cushions the back of the ears while making it difficult to remove the earring. Screw-on backs are very helpful in this respect.

Where to Get Baby Ear Piercing?

Lastly, and most importantly, always do your homework on the providers of baby ear piercings before approaching them. Walking into a random salon for the purpose may be a bad idea. To be on the safe side, you must…

• Research on the performance history of your chosen piercing facility
• Determine if they are certified, regulated and backed by pediatric experts
• Request suggestions from friends and acquaintances that have sought baby ear piercings before
• Ask the chosen facility about their piercing process and if they have desired metal options for baby earrings

Baby ear piercing is a safe and on-going practice which gets better when you have all necessary information about the process in place. A little care and a little caution are all that it takes to give you a joyous and fulfilling experience.