Is it OK to pierce a child's ears before they can consent to it?
I saw that someone I went to high school with pierced her baby's ears. The baby is younger than mine, and I find this upsetting. I feel that it sends a message to the child that they don't get to decide what happens to their body.
Hell no it’s not okay. If there was a legitimate purpose or factually proven health benefit for it, then sure. If not, then no.
In terms of something like circumcision for men, it’s a different story as there are actual health benefits for something like that.
Health benefits to piercing a child’s ear:
None. Worst-case it becomes a negative and results in an infection.
There’s apparently some bullshit in Hinduism, an ancient Indian practice about “ear piercing at an early age in kids is
said to ensure proper brain development,” however I’d like to see a scientific peer reviewed paper proving that rather than hearsay propaganda to try and legitimize it by making up a bunch of bullshit. There’s a whole bunch more points this article makes about it which I’m willing to call bullshit on every single one of them. Sounds like a total scam some false prophet type figure would spout.
Ear piercing is an ancient Indian practice, which is also known as Karna Vedha.
m.timesofindia.com
Health benefits to circumcision:
Easier hygiene.
Decreased risk of urinary tract infections.
Decreased risk of sexually transmitted infections.
Prevention of penile problems.
Decreased risk of penile cancer.