Despite the many number of parents that choose to pierce their baby’s ears during their infant or toddler years, a new online campaign in England is voting against the act.
The piercing of babies’ ears’ is being seen as “a form of child cruelty” among those who began the online petition, according to Yahoo News.
“Severe pain and fear is inflicted upon infants unnecessarily. It serves no purpose other than to satisfy the parent’s vanity. Other forms of physically harming children are illegal — this should be no different.”
The petition calling for a ban on child piercings has more than 28,000 signatures, according to The Guardian. This specific issue has reportedly been raised in parliament in 2013.
“If we allowed parents to do other things to their children’s faces, like tattooing, that would be appalling, but although piercings can heal, they can still cause distorting affects on the ear, in the skin and muscle,” stated Labour MP Mark Tami.
“I would like to resurrect the issue, see it discussed again in parliament, and look to see what a potential age restriction should be. The question is, what age is appropriate? Certainly a baby or a child has no opportunity of consenting to having the procedure done.”
Despite the concerns of those who began the online petition, experts reportedly stated that the risk of physical or psychological side effects from the procedure is fairly minimal.
“In terms of the length of pain, it’s like getting an immunization,” stated Dr. Deborah Gilboa, a family physician and parenting expert.
“However, unlike immunizations, there is no life-saving reason to put a child through this pain. So a parent has to decide if there is a compelling enough cultural reason to have their child do it.”
Others aware of the campaign have defended the decisions of parents who choose to pierce their baby’s ears.
“As someone who had their ears pierced as a baby (a month old), I find this campaign absolutely and utterly pointless,” commented one critic.
“I am pleased that my parents got it done for me when I was a child and I have no regrets that they did.”