Pierced Ears on 18 year old son

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-06-2007
Pierced Ears on 18 year old son
7
Wed, 06-06-2007 - 9:48pm
My 18 year old son, just graduated high school and pierced his ears 3 days later. He has been an honor student and generally a good kid throughout HS. We are incensed that he did this as we think it will affect him in the future as far as employment, etc. Is this a normal form of self-expression for young guys, is this a sign of bad things to come....I just don't know what to think.
Can anyone give me some insights?
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-23-2006
Wed, 06-06-2007 - 10:16pm

While I agree that I would prefer that my son, 19 not get any piercings... at age 18 it is their choice. At one time he and some friends were talking about getting a tatoo..... I shared with him that I thought he was too young at 18 to make that decision... but if he did, to please think about the fact that you want it to be somewhere that will NOT show unless you particularly want it to. Some employers will frown about tatoos and piercings... I would be less concerned about pierced ears as the rings can easily be taken out... where tatoos are not easily removed.

Sometimes kids can be pretty short sighted no matter how smart they are... when we had the conversation about the tatoos, I said for instance you wouldn't want to get one on your forarm... He said well, he could always wear long sleeves.... So, next time he left for his job where he wears a dress shirt and tie and came home with the sleeves rolled up as usual... I said, now wouldyou want to have a tatoo on your forearm... Sometimes you can get better results from going at it that way instead of just being upset....

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
Wed, 06-06-2007 - 10:21pm

IMO, piercings and tattoos by themselves are harmless... I don't like most piercings and any tattoos, but two of my DSs have tattoos, and one of them had multiple piercings until the USMC got hold of him.

Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 06-06-2007 - 10:51pm

I wouldn't worry about this too much - it is very common for guys his age to pierce their ears. I'm not a big fan of pierced eyebrows, tongue or nose so I'd be thrilled if all he pierced were his ears!

IMO, most employers realize that this is more mainstream now and not a big deal. If he had plugs in his ears of a pierced lip or eyebrow, they may hesitate, but not for the ears.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2000
Thu, 06-07-2007 - 9:57am
I'd hate it if my ds's got piercings, too, but unfortunately at age 18 they are legally able to do it without
Pam
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
Thu, 06-07-2007 - 10:26am
It's only pierced ears. Nothing to worry about.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
Thu, 06-07-2007 - 12:06pm

Don't overreact--it's only a fashion statement. A lot of boys have pierced ears nowadays. They are copying music stars like Justin Timberlake. My friend's son pierced his ears when he went to college cause she wouldn't let him when he was still in high school. It certainly hasn't changed who he is. He still goes to school and works and isn't in any trouble.

And as the other people said, earrings can be taken out. My DH had 2 earrings in one ear and yes, he was a biker, actually still is (at the age of 52). He had to remove the earrings when he had shoulder surgery a few years ago and for some reason, he could never put the earrings back in his own ear and, conveniently, I never did it for him. I kind of convinced him he was too old for that look.

As far as tattoos, my DH got a number of tattoos starting when he was a teenager. He does have some on his forearms that aren't the pretty kind. One of them is a skull w/ a bandanna on it and it says "rebel". He actually worked as a NURSE in a hospital but I think they did ask him to wear long sleeves not to frighten the patients. lol I do think tattoos are much more acceptable today, depending on where they are, how big, etc. I don't think a conservative environment would really want someone who had big tattoos on their neck that couldn't be covered up, but a lot of men & women in "respectable" jobs have small tattoos. I would never get one, however. I just can't think of anything I like that much that I would want it permanently on my body.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Thu, 06-07-2007 - 1:08pm

Good grief!