Getting your baby’s ears pierced is a special event because, in a huge way, she’s going to be able to look even prettier with studs and other earrings that are age-appropriate. Knowing the right earrings will also point you to the best earring backs for toddlers and babies.
What Age is the Best for Piercing Babies’ Ears?
Ear piercing is a relatively simple and safe procedure for babies, so you should be aware of a couple of facts and reminders before you get your baby’s ears pierced.
- There is actually no prescribed age for piercing ears. In some cultures, babies’ ears are pierced mere hours after birth and they turn out alright. In America, the average age for getting babies’ ears pierced in about two months.
- Doctors generally recommend ear piercing for slightly older children who can take care of their piercings afterward. However, if you are up to monitoring your child’s piercing for a couple of days until everything is healed up nicely, this shouldn’t be a problem at all.
- Take note that some pediatricians perform ear piercings on babies. If you want to make sure that everything is sterile and perfect, your best bet would be a doctor. However, you can also approach studios that are well-equipped and use only the best materials for their practice. As long as the practitioner is clean and knows how to avoid giving clients diseases like hepatitis C or B, your child should be fine. If however, the studio doesn’t seem to put a lot of emphasis on hygiene or keeping tools clean, you may want to look for another studio instead.
What Material is the Best for Baby Earrings if My Baby Has Sensitive Skin?
One of the risk factors of having your baby’s ears pierced is having a reaction to the earrings. The last thing that we want is an allergy from earrings, so it’s important that you know how to select the right material when choosing your baby’s earrings.
While babies can develop an allergy on any kind of material, not just metals, we recommend the following materials as they are least likely to cause reactions based on the average of experiences of others who have been pierced and have worn earrings for the first time: 14k gold earrings and sterling silver.
14k gold is more expensive and they may also be rarer, but they’re well worth the price, especially if you are looking for studs for babies.
For babies, the right type of earring will always be lightweight studs that exert virtually no weight or pressure on the ears. The important thing here is that you are able to have your baby’s ear pierced, and the piercings will be able to heal nicely with the right kind of earrings.
After the healing period, assuming that there will be no allergic reaction, you can go ahead and start experimenting with different kinds of earrings. Just make sure that the earrings are not too heavy for your baby’s earlobes.
Types of Earrings for Babies
There are three main kinds of earrings that are appropriate for babies. The first type is called screwback earrings and what these earrings offer is a secure lock that won’t come off unless you remove them yourself.
Screwbacks
Screw back earrings are excellent if your baby moves around a lot and has a tendency to touch to scratch at her ears. It is rare for screw backs to loosen, but you should still check your baby’s ears from time to time to make sure that the earring back has not been removed.
The great thing about screwback earrings for babies is that the threading on the post and the size of the earring back have both been adjusted to fit a smaller human being.
Basically, you would not have to worry anymore about screwing on the earrings too much because the posts’ threading will terminate naturally for a comfortable fit. The only downside perhaps to screwbacks is they’re a bit challenging to put on for the first time because the earring backs are smaller than screw backs for adults.
Friction-backs
The second type of earrings that is appropriate for babies are friction-back earrings. Friction-back earrings are easy to put on, they’re inexpensive, and if you happen to lose the earring backs, you can just purchase a pack of spares at really low prices.
If you don’t like the idea of having a threaded post on your child’s earrings, friction-back earrings are your next best bet. And as you can imagine, the only problem you’ll encounter with these is if your baby’s hand hooks any part of the scroll, the earring backs may be flung away.
Hoop Earrings
The third type of earrings that we recommend for babies is hoop earrings. Hoop earrings for babies are small, cute, and they can easily lock with a press of a thumb. Hoop earrings for babies are generally more secure than friction-back earrings, but they can also be hooked by tiny fingers and flung away if you don’t pay attention to your baby’s ears.
Besides materials of earrings and its types, any other concern I should consider when choosing babies earrings?
As mentioned, quality of babies earrings is very important because it may cause allergy to your baby. Therefore, when choosing babies earrings, we recommend that you should look for the earrings which pass test reports for children’s jewelry that are from a CPSC-accepted testing laboratory confirming each product was tested to the requirements listed followings: ASTM F2923-14, CSPA Phthalates & Cadmium, and Small Parts Warning. It is lesser risk to be allergy to your babies.
Are There Any Other Safety Measures I Should Consider for babies piercing?
As we’ve mentioned before, we recommend that you only approach a professional for any kind of piercing. Get a referral from someone who has had a good experience before and don’t forget to throw the professional some questions before proceeding:
- Are you licensed to do this?
- What kind of gloves do you use when performing the procedure? Do they use disposable gloves?
- What equipment or tools do you use for piercing?
- Do you have experience in piercing the ears of babies or small children?
- Do you sterilize all your tools and equipment?
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