Parenting: 3-Year-Olds Community

For me:

1. 14 years old
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. I have a boy, so no ear piercing until he is old enough to make that call, and I hope by then it's not the "in" thing for boys. DH has a couple tattoos, so I don't know how that will effect DS wanting one, but I think I would hold off as long as possible since I think as a teenager you don't know what you will be into as a adult and might get a tattoo that you will regret later.

If we have a girl I think I will make her wait until at least 10 years old to get ears pierced. I wouldn't want the hole to get tugged on and ripped out. I had a friend whose ear looked awful because she tugged at the piercing that were done when she was a baby.

My ears were pierced as a toddler and then as a young teen I had another hole put in for a secong pair but I haven't used that hole in ages. I got my belly button pierced when I was 19 and took the barbell 10 years later while PG with #1. No tats for me, ever.

DD1 never asked to have her ears pierced until her 9th b-day. We waited a week just to be sure and then did it. DD2 is 3, going on 13, and has been asking for earings since she could talk. Not sure when we'll cave in as I have no hard set rule. No plan on encouraging or allowing tatoos or other body piercings for any of the kids. I guess if they choose it after they leave the house so be it.

1. Your ears pierced? I think around 12 years old
2. First body piercing? N/A
3. First tattoo? 21 years old - and I still love it to date.
4. What will the rules be for your LO? I'm hoping DS never broaches the subject of earings - my DH will take a hard line on this one - my views are a little more open. For both, I'd request he wait until he's mature enough to make the decision on his own and understand the lasting consequences (especially with the tattoo!). My sister got her tattoo out of spite (age age 18) for my parents who wouldn't let her take a trip to see her boyfriend at college. Today, she'll finally admit that she hates it and wished she hadn't gotten it. At 21, I was finishing up college, starting my first real job, getting married that fall, buying a home - I had my life together. I was mature enough to make that decision. I know not all 21 year olds are, so I hate to put an age on it - and I hope we can have that frank discussion whenever it arises.

1. I got my ears pierced when I was 6months old
2. Not into body piercing, so that's something I never ventured into.
3. I got my 1st tattoo when I was 15yrs old & have been getting them ever since.
4. We pierced my oldest DD's ears when she was months, but she pulled at them until they would bleed, so we took them out. They weren't infected, but she just didn't like them. So we decided that we would let them decide if they wanted them done when they are a little older. If she tells me at 5 she wants them done then I'll let her. Tattoos minimum age is 15yrs. I would feel wrong telling her no at that age since that's when I got my 1st one.

1. First pierced when I was 3ish (i think that is what mom told me), got my cartilidge pierced between 8th grade and my freshman year (so 13-14ish), and got my 2nd holes done when i was 16-17 (my mom didnt want me to get these done, but I worked at a place that we pierced ears and I let my friend pierce mine as "practice" and my mom didnt notice until they were healed so i convienced her to let me keep them).
2. Got my tongue pierced when I was 20. This was out of spite for my parents but I don't regret having it done. I had it in until my wedding day (my mom begged me to take it out for the wedding) and I was 22. So I had it in 2.5 years.
3. First tattoo was at 25. I had wanted one before this, but never got it done. And I had decided on my tattoo that I wanted several months before I actually got it. (It is a memorial tattoo for my brother who died in 09).

My parents rules were I wasn't allowed to get my belly button or a tattoo or they wouldnt pay for college. And I didnt want to risk that so i got my tongue pierced LOL.

My rules:
1. DD already has her ears pierced we got them done at 6 months and she hasn't messed with them at all. And we've talked about getting DS's one ear pierced but haven't done so yet.
2. I'm going to push not to get body piercings but I would probably let them if they have good reasoning. I am personally not a big "face" piercings (eyebrow, lip, ect) but I think we could talk about it. But if DD wanted her belly button pierced I'd probably be ok with it.
3. Tattoo-they need to be old enough to understand what they are getting and make it a very conscience decision. But I probably won't let them get one until 18. And I'd probably push for them to wait longer.

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1. I believe I was about 8 when I first got my ears pierced. I begged and pleaded for months to get a second hole in each ear in junior high. I haven't used those in probably 15 years though.
2. I got my tongue pierced at 17, after a lot of research and pestering my parents for over a year.
3. When I was 21.
4. For Shae, she may get her ears pierced when she's old enough to ask for them and take care of them. Anything else she will have to prove to us that it's not just a passing idea or something she's trying to do to fit in. I'd prefer she got nothing that was visible for work purposes.

1. I got my ears pieced when I was a baby. I got second holes and a cartilage piercing when I was probably around 14 or so.
2. I got my belly button pierced when I was 17 after I graduated high school, which was my mom's only rule since she still had to take me in to get it done. I removed it when I got pregnant with Ava.
3. I got my first tatoo when I turned 21. It is relatively small on my lower back. I defintely would love to get more, I just haven't had a ton of extra money that I want to spend on doing that just yet.
4. For Ava, she is free to get her ears pierced whenever she asks me. She did recently notice her friend's earrings and said she wanted some at that moment but never mentioned it again, so I haven't taken her to do it yet. As far as piercings, I think that it just depends. If she is doing good in school and behaving, I might be more lax as she gets to be around 17, otherwise she will just have to wait until she is 18 and free to do what she wants.

I forgot to add, I kept my tongue piercing in until about 6 months after having Shae, so nearly 10 years after getting it. It was rubbing on the backs of my bottom teeth and starting to make the gums erode so I decided to remove it so it wouldn't cause any more damage.

1. I was 10, it was a house rule. I had it on bday and XMas lists from the time I was 5 or so. Funny enough, I never wear earrings anymore.
2. Never pierced anything, not really my thing.
3. I was 19 for my first and only tattoo. I like them but DH doesn't, and mine is looking a little sad these days anyway.
4. Ears pierced - If she asks and she's old enough to take care of them herself (IMO), then I'll let her do it. For body piercings, high school at least and I'll try to talk her out of it. For tattoos, I'd ask that she wait until she's 18 and doesn't need my permission.

1. Never had my ears done until I was an adult. I was 22. 2. Got my belly button pierced in college when I was 19 but didn't keep it for much more than a year. 3. First tattoo at 22 and second at 29. Thinking of getting another in the next couple of years. 4. Our DDs will be able to get their ears pierced when we think they're old enough to take proper care of them. As for other piercings and tattoos, they'll have to wait until they're adults like their father and I did.