h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Gruesome Twosome (6 and 7) had their ears pierced 6 weeks ago (at Claires in Meadowhall, and I can't praise the two women who did their ears highly enough)

They are not supposed to wear earrings for sport at school, and at the moment we are covering the earrings with plasters for these sessions, which nobody (including the teachers) minds too much.

Today (because the "time" was up) I let the Gruesomes change their "piercing" earings for something else for the first time. Their holes look fine, and we changed back to the gold ones for bedtime. Because we still have plenty of the stuff we were given at Claires, the Gruesomes will continue to bathe and turn their earrings twice a day until it is used up.

Finally, the question. Can anyone tell me when I'll be able to get the Gruesomes to take out their earrings for sport, and put them back in again afterwards? PE lessons are 45 minutes each time.

Obviously I'd make sure, first, that they are comfortable taking out and putting in earrings before we introduce this.

I'd wait three months at least, but you could always argue the point that studs are not likely to catch on anything during PE and if they did they'd just fall out.

On a related note, make sure that the butterflies are big enough not to get pulled into the hole, some earings for children have very small butterflies,

I think the school are more worried that they might get hurt if something squishes the earring against their head. To be honest, the way their butterflies are fixed on, I'm quite worried that they would rip their ears rather than fall off, they are quite stiff (although experience tells me they'll probably get looser with use)

The butterflies are nice and big
at the idea of them going into the hole! (I have 4 holes in one ear, and used to wear studs of decreasing sizes going up the ear, until I went to sleep with them in and the 2 smaller studs went into my ear holes and... well, ouch!)

I think I'll wait until at least after Christmas then, if not Easter time.

I'd have thought that in theory they can take their earrings out now for PE - much the safest option. If you want to keep up constant wear for a bit longer, carry on taping them over. Even studs can catch in hair & clothing.
As a general rule, if they can't manage to insert & remove the earrings themselves, they shouldn't wear them to school on PE days.

With all due respect it might have been better to wait until they reached double figures in age before going for the piercings.They are going to lose a lot of butterfly backings and earrings by then.

I think also that you should wait a little longer about leaving off the plasters for PE as it is my experience that children vary in their healing abilities and ear lobes are funny things when it comes to healing.The school will not mind and it's better for your little ones not to get a ripped hole just yet.Frankly they do not need to see just how much blood can come from an earlobe.

At thirteen when I had mine done it took longer than the recommended period despite all my precautions.The same happened when my daughter had her ears pierced at thirteen.She also gave up on the eyebrow one(she was 18) after 6 months because it just would not heal and it has taken at least three months for her belly button ring to heal despite all her scrupulous cleaning and care.

Incog.

What are your kids going to have left to rebel against
I remember having my ears pierced
At least half the reason for doing it was because it would be disapproved of, what will your children have to get done to provoke the same reaction

This advice comes from my now immortal granny who is wandering the stars. The best solution for cleansing your piercings is: first thing in the morning use your own saliva around the said hole and allow it to dry naturally, as this contains anti-bacterical lifeforms! as a young man I pierced my ears five times on the right and three on the left, using the old method of an ice cube on the lobe until numb and then the needl. Using this method I never had any infection!

Saliva is wonderful stuff in its owners own mouth and does indeed contain some immunoglobulins. It's sterile until it enters the mouth where it picks up bacteria.

Since a 'clean' mouth contains around 10,000,000 bacteria, saliva would not be my first choice of substance to use on newly pierced ears.

I did think a long long long time about allowing them to have the earrings, but I know so many kids who have them with no problems I thought 'why not?'

I think I'll keep up the plasters for a while, because I know #1 Gruesome - she'd forget her head if it wasn't attached. #2 is a bit hectic for me, she's lose the earrings.

As to piercing: I mentioned I have 4 holes in one ear, I have 3 in the other. One in each done at 13 (my mum insisted I wait until 16, but capitulated suddenly and unexpectedly - possibly guilt induced as I was about to be sent unwilling to boarding school). The remainder were done on boring Saturday afternoons at school using either snow (winter) or Waspeeze sting relief (summers). And oh my, yes, I know just how much blood can come out of an ear lobe.

at the memory.

As for rebelling: I have tattoos, pierced my own ears and have had hair every possible colour it could be deyed. I listen to all sorts of music, some of which comes under the weird category. As for clothes: they've seen the photos of the teenaged me and laughed uproariously.

Basically to shock me they would have to take Christian religious orders or something. (but then, I'm not easily shocked)

Poor little Gruesomes!