For those that have little girls, you can be confident that pierced ears will eventually become a reality. Some will pull the trigger within the first year and some may wait until their girls can clean those dirty little things themselves.
Regardless of what you chose to do as a dad, be sure of this…you need to have a plan before the needle is pulled from the drawer.
Trust me; I am speaking from an ill-conceived point of view here. My wife and I just recently decided that there was sufficient desire from our girls to warrant some piercings. So, we loaded up the 2, 3 (almost 4), and 5-year-old and headed to Claire’s.
Now picture this….you’re walking up to the store of your choice to do the deed….what is your next step?
Choices Laden With Errors
Let’s focus for just a moment on what you shouldn’t do:
Mistake #1
You should not allow your daughter’s to watch another piercing without a complete vetting of the subject. The last thing you need is a little girl that responds to her piercing with “Oh no, that hurts so bad!” Depending on the personalities of your girls, that could be a deal breaker.
Mistake #2
Allowing the tension to build while waiting stagnantly is not the best plan. Any parent can tell you that immobile waiting builds one of two things; hyperactivity or deep-seated fear. Neither of which is something you long to experience.
Mistake #3
Allowing siblings to watch as their sister is tormented by a very nice lady that, apart from clothing, looks eerily similar to a nurse. Strangely, most kids don’t really like the doctors when they are little…you know, with all of the shots and what not.
Easing The Anxiety
With covering what you shouldn’t do, surely there are some obvious remedies.
First, if you’re going to allow your kids to view something prior to them saddling up, make sure that it is going to work in your favor. You can either have them watch an older girl, or a younger one that has nerves of steel.
Second, try a place that has other attractions that can distract your girls from the “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” A slight-of-hand maneuver is very effective, especially when you have multiple punctures waiting to happen.
Finally, do yourself a huge favor and use something that will help deaden the pain. Although there are some Jewelers who use a prescription numbing agent to help, most places avoid the liability. But, never fear! I have found several places that recommend using an oral numbing product such as Orajel. All that I have heard of that have used this method said it worked great by almost completely eliminating the pain.
Certainly there is still some chance that havoc can ensue, but a little planning will go a long way.
Happy piercing dads!
