Top 3 Tips :: Ear Piercing For Kids
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Find a technician who is knowledgeable and has a heart for helping kids feel comfortable and calm.
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Numbing cream is worth it. Worth. Every. Cent.
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Be honest with your kid(s) when they ask questions about the pain and how long it will take to heal.
About a year ago, my daughters started noticing my earrings and commenting on others’ earrings, too. Eventually the conversation turned into questions about how earrings stayed in ears. After I explained a hole needed to be pierced in an ear in order to wear earrings, they quickly lost interest and decided clip on earrings would suffice, that is, until several friends at school started sporting real earrings.
They began asking a lot of similar questions, and we answered as honestly as we could.
- Will it hurt? Yes, it will probably hurt for a minute and maybe ache for a couple days.
- What if the first hole hurts so much I don’t want to pierce the second one? Well, I’m not sure. I’ve never met anyone who experienced that.
- Will it bleed? I don’t think so, but your ear will be red for a little bit.
Ultimately, after talking about it forever, the girls decided they really wanted to go through with it and they all wanted to do it together. At this point I assumed we’d head to the mall, pierce their ears in less than 15 minutes, grab a soft pretzel on our way out, and be home in an hour.
But that’s not what my husband had in mind. Before he buys anything, he spends hours researching and this was no exception. He read dozens of reviews for ear piercing businesses and settled on Lily Grace, a standalone ear-piercing shop with excellent reviews near our neighborhood. He called ahead for an appointment and our four-year-old, seven-year-old, and nine-year-old could barely contain their nervous excitement.
When we arrived, the receptionist took everyone’s temperature and we kept our masks on while we waited. We were directed to the earring selection to pick a pair for each girl that would be in their ears for the next couple of months as the holes healed. We tried to find matching studs for the girls, but two girls ended up with white gold and one with yellow gold. They didn’t mind much since they knew they would ultimately be able to wear different earrings once the holes healed.
Since our daughters were concerned about the pain, we opted for numbing cream. It was an additional cost, but we felt like it would be worth it. I didn’t want our oldest daughter to have a bad experience while her younger sisters were watching and then the other sisters back out.
The numbing cream takes about 25 minutes to take effect, so they sat on the lovely soft pink couches and admired the crystal chandeliers and glamorous mirrors while plastic wrap clung to their earlobes, keeping the cream in place. Sitting for almost 30 minutes made their nerves fray a bit and there were a couple of times they each thought about backing out. We reminded them that the numbing cream would keep them from feeling pain and that seemed to calm their fears enough to continue on.
After the cream took effect, we were ushered into a cute pink and white room with plenty of space and seating for all six in our family. There were baskets of toys and books to play with as well as a sound machine. Our second oldest daughter opted to go first and she sat in chair in front of a mirror that looked similar to a hairstylist station. The technician explained everything she was doing, the equipment she used, and what to expect in the most kid-friendly way. She put everyone in the room at ease.
She carefully measured and marked where the holes would be with a black marker and checked to make sure we agreed with her placement. After that, she continued to talk our seven-year-old through everything and she answered every one of her 328 questions with a smile and a joyful heart. She allowed us to take video and pictures and made sure we had the best angle before she continued. She pierced the first ear and then moved to the second. 
Our seven-year-old beamed with pride as she admired her earrings and we had plenty of time to take more pictures and talk to her before moving on to the next girl. After that the technician repeated the same process for each child giving them the same amount of attention and time. She didn’t rush or make us feel like we needed to hurry and each girl truly had the same experience. Our two-year-old son was loud and difficult towards the end, but everyone in the store offered to help soothe him and no one made us feel uncomfortable about his volume or squirminess.
Afterwards, she taught the girls (and us) how to clean their ears every day and answered our additional questions. There was a precious photo wall made of flowers that the girls used for some more pictures before we finally left.
We gave all three girls some Tylenol about 30 minutes before they went to bed because the numbing cream wore off, and they each complained of their ears aching. I thought laying on a pillow might be uncomfortable, but no one had any problems going to sleep.
We cleaned the girls’ earlobes most mornings and evenings with cotton swabs and the medicine they sent home with us and didn’t have any problems. Our four-year-old didn’t like cleaning around the holes, but it never hurt her.
It’s been three months since the girls got their ears pierced, and in the end, it was way more money and time than it would take if we had gone to the mall, but I’d choose to do the same thing again if given a choice. The adage holds true, you get what you paid for, and for us, we paid for a positive experience and great memories for our girls. Plus, we have lots of videos and pictures to document the occasion as well.
