Campaigners launch petition to stop parents piercing their babies’ ears

[Jazzy]

A petition to ban ear piercing for babies and toddlers is currently gaining traction on 38 Degrees.

The petition, which was started by a lady called Susan Ingram, is calling for a legal age limit on ear piercing.

Under the title ‘Why is this important?’, Susan writes: ‘It is a form of child cruelty. Severe pain and fear is inflicted upon infants unnecessarily. It serves no purpose other than to satisfy the parent’s vanity. Other forms of physically harming children are illegal- this should be no different.’

At the time of writing, the petition had 24,558 signatures – just short of the 25,000 required before it will be sent to Edward Timpson, the minister for children.

Comments underneath the petition show how strongly people feel about the issue.

A lady called Linda S. wrote: ‘Parents choice not the child. Agree should be minimum age before being legal.’ while someone called Claire M commented: ‘smacking a child is abuse, so how come sticking metal rods through their ears is not abuse??!!’

Source

Should there be a legal age limit for ear piercing? Why/Why not?

 

[Smiley]

What would be the point? There's a legal age limit for smoking and drinking, but no one seems to care about it enough to obey it. Granted, there are those who do obey such restrictions & limitations, but from what I can tell by observing the world around me, they're in a minority, so I don't see why would ear piercing age limit be treated any better.

 

[Sinon]

What would be the point? There's a legal age limit for smoking and drinking, but no one seems to care about it enough to obey it. Granted, there are those who do obey such restrictions & limitations, but from what I can tell by observing the world around me, they're in a minority, so I don't see why would ear piercing age limit be treated any better.

So you're saying rules shouldn't exist because there are people that wouldn't follow them?

Besides, smoking and drinking underage are still choices made by the person performing them. It is their bodies which will take whatever damage it does to them. Meanwhile, piercing your child's ear does no damage to you, and all to the child. As mentioned already, there are various things which are illegal, or at the very least frowned upon, to do to a child.

 

[Smiley]

I'm with you on this. I also believe this should be prohibited by law, but there's this thing called 'human nature' that tends to get in the way when someone tries to dictate what to do, what not to do, how to behave, how not to behave, etc. , since lots of people simply don't like being bossed around, but prefer to give a (real or proverbial) middle finger to the authority and do the exact opposite of what the rules & laws say.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in my country, lots of parents still operate on 'my child - my property' mindset and do whatever they want to their children, regardless of what the law says.

I'm simply saying that, while it sounds good in theory, I doubt that making this illegal would stop all parents from piercing their children's ears. Some might even do it just to spite the law.

Of course, I'm always open for a possibility that I'm wrong, and that things would work out much better than I'm thinking. So far they never did, but we never know.