On Wednesday morning after swim practice, Sarah Kate proudly announced that she wants to have her ears pierced. She had discussed it with Neighbor Girl H and they had devised a plan whereby the two of them would head to Claire’s following Neighbor Girl H’s birthday party on Friday night.
Never mind that they are rising third graders without cars or licenses.
My first instinct was “No way!” My mom didn’t let me get pierced ears until I was much older – thirteen, I think – so it never occurred to me that this day was upon me. However, knowing that I am an old fuddy-duddy who was raised by a woman who is always well-accessorized yet has never allowed her own ears to be pierced (Note: I intend to instruct the mortician to pierce those suckers before we lay her to eternal rest), I decided that I should not make sweeping pronouncements. Therefore, we called Mr. Andi to ask his opinion about the possibility of pierced ears.
Mr. Andi, like any father who has never had anything pierced and thus has no idea about the required six-week course of thrice-daily peroxide dousing and post earring rotating, assured his eager daughter with the desire to accessorize her body that he had no problem at all with letting her get her ears pierced, so long as she understood that he would select her earrings. Despite the fact that he then descended into talk of dangles made of raccoon toes, she hung up the phone smiling and happy that her request was going to be granted.
Clearly, I did not think this plan through.
Not wanting to be The Bad Guy, I reluctantly agreed to the procedure and began devising a way to sabotage her plan. After dinner, I navigated to the Claire’s website and had Sarah Kate watch the after care video, complete with images of red, swollen, infected ears (I carefully avoided the page with photos of starter earring sets because I knew that if she spotted Hello Kitty it’d be Game Over). I asked her if she was aware of what the piercing would be like, and then proceeded to exploit her naiveté by describing it using words like “gun” and “needle.” I relayed the tale of my friend’s daughter (who happened to be eight years old at the time – bonus!) who freaked out about the pain after the first ear and refused to have the second one done. By this point, Mr. Andi had picked up on my devious scheme and declared that it would be “like getting Botox in your ears.”
Victory was so close, I could taste it.
Sarah Kate headed off to get ready for bed and I went to the computer to work on a (very different from this one) blog post. After a few minutes, I heard what sounded like sniffling and she reappeared in the living room. Initially, she was reluctant to tell me what was wrong, but eventually she confessed that she wanted her ears pierced but she was afraid. Very, very afraid. Seeing her pained expression, my stubborn mom heart melted. The Botox line had sealed the deal, but it had also put fear in her heart.
I had overplayed my hand.
This morning, she asked me again how much it hurts to have your ears pierced. I reassured her that it wouldn’t be as bad as Botox – more like a shot – and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Next time you hear from me, I’ll probably be posting a photo of the Hello Kitty earrings.
Girl 1, Mom 0.
I can’t wait to see the Hello Kitty earrings. I think you handled this well…it was right to show her the care and upkeep involved, but I bet she’ll do a great job taking care of her ears!
I laughed so hard reading this as I envisioned this conversation with Ella in 7 years! I think that Hello Kitty earrings will be fantastic!
My mother refused to let me have my ears pierced and when I went off to Auburn and had a suite mate pierce them, Mother called me a gypsy. I think that was meant to be an insult. When my girls were less than a year old, I had their ears pierced. That may have been more of my rebellion. They have said that their girls will not have their ears pierced until they are older. I like pierced ears as long as the earrings aren’t distasteful. Sarah Kate will do well with or without them. Some wars we fight and others we allow to pass.
It can be a great way to teach responcibility. Try to use it as an oppurtunity to teach. I had mine done at 8, but I was scared changing them and they closed up on me. Learned my lesson and had them done again later and had no problems whatsoever. Plus I can shop for special earrings for her for the wedding. :whistle:
Love this!!! I was here last February with Emma. Reading your post was funny, because I had gone through the exact same thought process and also tried to play the same cards you did. Emma didn’t give up. She was scared, but went through it anyway and didn’t even cry–even when the gun got hung on the back of one earring. 😉 I hope Sarah Kate has a great experience, and I can’t wait to see the earrings!
That is great:) I think I was about 13 too. I had to beg my mom then! Bless her heart…can’t wait to see the cute earrings. Good try mom! 🙂 Have a great weekend.
I was 8 and I screamed bloody murder. It was torturous, but I wanted them sooooo bad. I did stay away from the second set of ear piercings until I was 22. I hope all goes well with the ear piercings… I got my daughter’s done when she was 2 months old so it is already a done deal for her.
i remember having the choice at around that age and was dying to have them as ALL the other girls did. but what i did have was an infection as i was so eager to show show everyone my new earrings i kept pointing to them touching them to also make sure they were really real. i made the decision to have my daughters ears pierced when she was 3 months old and honestly looove the fact there was no infection they were easy peasy to clean and she wont remember it ‘hurting’ i just didnt want to see her freak out when she was older due to it being too painful (only getting one done- i do kow this is a very real thing, ive seen it many times) as well as the infection business, but i loved the post nonetheless, i bet she will do great and look super cute in hello kitty studs 🙂 thx for sharing 🙂
Go Sarah Kate.
Aw, it’s hard out there for an 8-year-old! At least this pain will be for something she WANTS and not something she HAS to do.
Cute post!
Got my ear pierced when I was five. My mom brought me to a mall and I really had no idea why she told me to sit on a stool. Until I saw the saleslady doing something with the piercing gun. It was really a funny experience because I ran around the mall and they got to catch me.