Comments on: Pierced-ear Princesas

By: Tweets that mention Pierced-ear Princesas -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Pierced-ear Princesas -- Topsy.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:09:56 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ana L. Flores/R.Soto and Melanie, Tiki Tiki Blog. Tiki Tiki Blog said: Buenos dias! Who can answer this comment on pierced ears, red string and baby girls? http://ow.ly/2wDQj #latinabloggers [...]

By: Elena

Elena — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:09:07 +0000

I got my daughter’s ears pierced when she was 3 months old. My husband who is African American was upset at the idea. He wanted to wait till she was 3 yrs old. Fortunately for me, we had this argument at the local mall and an elderly woman overheard us and interrupted and told him it was really good to get it when they were little. He reluctantly said it was ok, but he didn’t want to be there or have to clean them.

It was a breeze and although she cried,it was only for a brief 20 min or so. Then she was back to smiles and giggles. She got no infections and I cleaned them when she napped and she never knew the difference.

Question for everyone though. Does anyone know the difference of the red thread in the ears? A friend of mine grew up in CA and always wanted to know. Growing up in PA, we never did the piercings with red thread and I never heard of it. Just wondering though. I noticed someone else said something about red thread in one of the other postings. This site is great BTW, I’m glad I came across it. It’s wonderful to talk about our Latina experiences with others. It is certainly different growing up in a Latino household in America.

By: Janene

Janene — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:27:35 +0000

I’m going to get serious negative feedback about this remark, but I’m willing to risk it. A child should be old enough and responsible enough to take care of their OWN ear piercings before being allowed to have the procedure done. Not everyone WANTS to have their ears pierced, my 22 year old daughter is one of those. If you pierce your ears and then let it grow back, there is scar tissue that forms in your ear lobe. It’s a small hard knot.
Ear piercing is a painful procedure that isn’t necessary. It’s sheer vanity in a baby. Who cares if it’s tradition? Some cultures have been known to do all sorts of painful procedures all in the name of tradition and culture. That doesn’t make it right. My niece suffered from infections and painful healing times because her parents thought she looked more like a girl with her ears pierced. Why is that not abuse? I can’t swat my child on the bottom for doing something dangerous that could harm them like trying to touch a stove, but I can poke a hole through their ear and call it tradition???

By: Pam

Pam — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:44:51 +0000

I decided to take both my daughters to have their ears pierced at about eight weeks old. We have had no problems with them and they looked really cute – especially when they are babies. They are now seven years and five years old, love wearing earrings and we are really glad we decided to have them done when they were little. If you are seriously thinking about it, I would say definitely go for it !

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:57:38 +0000

Does anyone have experience with a hole closing on a child after wearing earrings for 2 years? My 8 year old has worn her earings for 2 years but they tend to close if you forget to put them right back in. Since they are uneven and one is at a bad angle I am wondering if we should let these close and she does when he is a teenager by a more credible person. I do not know if the hole will close and I make the matter worse or if I leave them alone she will get a second chance to make them right.

Any advice would be appreciated.

By: SAHMami

SAHMami — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:42:26 +0000

I had my ears pierced several times as a small child. The first time, I don’t remember, but my parents didn’t get those screw on posts so I’d take them out as a toddler and then the holes would close up. Maybe mami didn’t notice they were gone. I don’t know. But each ear piercing, was done by a tia, comadre or some respected Guadalupana from church.

The first time I remember having my ears pierced was when I was four. We drove to a Guadalupana’s home and she sat me down in her living room, armed with sterilizing alcohol, a book of matches, her sewing needle and red thread. She wiped my ear down with the alcohol. Then she lit a match and ran the needle through it to sterilize it. I don’ t know if the thread was actually in the needle or not and I don’t remember feeling any pain. But I do remember when it was all done, I had a little loop of red thread through each ear and was told to return in a few weeks to have the real earrings put in.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to me or unusual because my cousins all had their ears pierced too. But when I entered school, it became a big deal, even more so as the years went by and my pre-pubescent friends anxiously awaited their ear piercing.

Fast forward to the birth of my daughter. My mom wanted to have her ears pierced immediately so that the Virgin de Guadalupe would recognize her. But, my husband, who is mostly not Latino, was adamantly opposed to piercing mija’s ears. I argued for a while but eventually gave up. He felt that the child was pretty enough as she was. So when my now four year old daughter whines for earrings, I send her to her father. At times, he has come close to caving, on one condition, that my two year old son be allowed to pierce his ears too.

By: Ana Lilian

Ana Lilian — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:22:59 +0000

I’m an advocate for ear piercing at the earliest age possible! I actually took the two pair of earrings that were given to my girl by her familia when she was still in my womb to the hospital. Those were some crazy looks I got by the nurses who thought I was still high on whatever they gave me for the C-section pain.
Almost 6 months later I could still not find a ped to do them for us. I was even scared to ask my mom groups for help. There was no way I was taking her to the mall to be handled by a teenager working behind the counter…no, no.
Finally found an amazing Dr. who decided to do it himself after he got tired of treating babies who came in with infections from poorly done piercings. And, he agrees that the younger the better so they don’t have the temptation to pull on them.
My princesa looks beautiful and when we get the looks I just say..we’re Latinas!

By: Bear with me! « Multi-Culti Mami: The Blog

Bear with me! « Multi-Culti Mami: The Blog — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:12:07 +0000

[...] left me behind on so many things. I was ill for a couple of weeks, and then our older daughter had an E.R. trip and a surgery. And then there was all the work that I got behind on, and all the fall work I had to prep for. So, [...]

By: Chela

Chela — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:44:31 +0000

My sisters and I also had our ears pierced at the hospital a very young age. But I grew up in NYC where, with so many immigrants, it’s not unusual to see at all! I’ve also noticed that people from India and at least some non-Spanish speaking Caribbean countries do the same thing, so we’re not as “odd” as some people may think. And I don’t think I’ve ever left my house without earrings! You might as well tell me not to wear a shirt…lol

By: Melek

Melek — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:35:57 +0000

Great post Violeta,

I also left the hospital with my ears pierced … and like you all had to wait until our daughter was 3 months old to have hers pierced (the pediatrician explained about a baby’s inmune system…)

This really highlights cultural diversity & traditions. Like you and Carrie, I can’t leave home without earrings! I also feel “naked” LOL!!! In our culture is a given that as soon as we can, girls will have their ears pierced. I actually received several earrings as baby gifts … I was glad that in the Turkish culture (my husband is Turkish)this is also common!

I remember a neighbor whose daughter started wearing make-up way early (by 11 yrs old) and when our daughter told her that she was too young to wear make-up at 11, our neighbor pointed out that wearing earrings was equivalent to wearing make-up … go figure!!!

I wish you well :) Melek

“Tradition does not mean that the living are dead, but that the dead are living.” ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton