I was horrified today to find out a young girl in my sons class had her belly button pierced yesterday. She is in Y2 ... ages 6/7.

I cannot get over how irresponsible that is of her parents to let their child be mutilated in such a way. Now don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of piercings and I love them, I just
DO NOT agree with piercings on small children. Ears are bad enough, but a naval piercing is down right horrendous.

I also belive that the piercer has to take responsibility for this too. Who on earth in their right minds would do this to a child? Most reputable piercers have notices up saying no body piercing under the age of 16, even with parental consent. When I had my nipple pierced at Primal on West Street, my then, 2 year old, fast asleep son wasn't even allowed in the shop in his buggy! I was pretty impressed by that.

Are there any rules/legislation regarding ages and piercings?

Can piercers mutilate children in this way as long as the parent says it's ok?

I have no idea who the peircer was but IMHO they want closing down!

Find out who did it and report them. I'm sure its illegal practice. Sadly i'm not suprised its happened, some parents are extremely ill-informed and/or dumb.

Chris.

Unfortunately, theres no law regarding age limits on piercing. As long as the parent gives consent, its legal for a minor to be pierced (except for nipple and genital piercings). Any good piercer would refuse to pierce anyone under 16 even if they did have parental consent, but, as has been proved here, there are some less-than-good practitioners out there. Id personally find out where she got it done and get health and safety to pop in and check up on them. Id also make sure everyone I know was told about them, and reccomend they dont go there. Just out of curiosity, any idea who did it for them?

Sorry to hijack here but it seemed dumb to start another thread. Just wondering, anyone know what gauge your nose is pierced at? Just because I wanna get some more jewelry and I don't have a clue! Thanks. :)

Depends what you had in it in the first place. Usually done at 1.2mm, but sometimes at 1.6mm.

today i got my belly button pierced and i'm only 14. they said they would pierce anyone of any age as long as they knew exactly what they were doing and were in the right mind. i had 2 have my mum sign a thing though 2 say i could have it. i think 6/7 years is way too young though, fairy normal, i think it is outragious.

Hi SammieT,
Im glad that you had to have your Mums permission to do it though.
Take care honeybee,
x

I join you in your outrage FairyNormal- quite apart from anything else, what's supposed to happen to the piercing as the child's body changes as she grows up?

I'm sure when she's grown up looks back at the scar tissue resulting from a grown out piercing that she was too young to give informed consent for in the first place, then the little girl may well agree with you too.

That is shocking. There is no way a child that young can provide proper care for the piercing and keep it clean enough to prevent infection. These aren't things to mess around with, wasn't there a teenager in Sheffield died after a lip piercing became infected last year? As Medusa mentioned, this piercing is likely to grow out, and in a child of this age whose cells are reproducing rapidly, it'll happen very quickly.

Oh my goodness thats shocking that a girl aged 6 or 7 has got her belly button pierced!
I got mine done when i was 12 with my mums permission, because she understood how much i wanted it and it wasnt just a phase i was going through where i would get it done then get bored with it.

Surely the piercer knew she was that young? Yet they still allowed it?

unfortunately, there is no real legislation (outside of London - which again is decided by local borough councils) governing body piercing. As most people have stated on here already, any piercer worth her or his salt is not going to pierce anyone under the age of 16. And I won't go anywhere near someone with a needle under the age of 21 without valid photo ID.

I would love for the industry to become regulated. It would get rid of alot of hacks and really up the standard of the bodmod industry in the UK.

There should be an age limit on piercings/tatoos of at least 30 years but less than about 40/45 years. By the time people are allowed to have this done to them they will have grown out of such childish nonesense. The upper age limit is for people going through a mid life crisis who think a piercing will make them look tendy - it doesn't, you just look like an old git with a piercing.

i wanted piercings since i was 11. my mom sed i could have them done wen i am 16 and if i was serious about them then i would wait , and i did.

Ohh My Gosh Thats Just Badd I Mean Im 13 And Havee Had Mine Done 4 A While But Im 13 Not 6/7 Soo Yanoo And My Mum Had 2 Sign This Paper Thing Show I.D To Say She Is My Mum Andd Then I Was Finaly Alowd It Done Lol Also Does Any1 Know The Age You Have To Be To Have A Wrist Piercing ? Olivia

Ohh My Gosh Thats Just Badd I Mean Im 13 And Havee Had Mine Done 4 A While But Im 13 Not 6/7 Soo Yanoo And My Mum Had 2 Sign This Paper Thing Show I.D To Say She Is My Mum Andd Then I Was Finaly Alowd It Done Lol Also Does Any1 Know The Age You Have To Be To Have A Wrist Piercing ? Olivia

might i suggest against wrist or surface piercing as they are prone to grow out of the skin and more than likely scar the skin surface,,
even for an adult surface piercings are a big decision and shouldnt be taken lightly but as a teenager you really should think about why you would really want it before you are left with a nasty scar instead of a nice piercing .....

Hi guys I'm a bit late adding into this thread but if any of you are still interested I'm making an educational DVD for use in schools about these issues. The lack of an age limit and the fact that a piercer can still today legally pierce a 6 yr old's belly button with or without parental consent.

Most responsible piercers wouldn't do this but there are obviously those out there who will.

I'm working with a charity called Dan aid who are trying to raise awareness, get some legislation and encourage people to go to a responsible clean piercing studio.

If any one reads this post and is interested in being interviewed as part of the DVD post back.

thanks

I cannot get over how irresponsible that is of her parents to let their child be mutilated in such a way. Can piercers mutilate children in this way as long as the parent says it's ok?

I have no idea who the peircer was but IMHO they want closing down!

Rather similar to religion really.