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Needle or Gun? Where Should You Get Your Child’s Ears Pierced?

June 16, 2015 by Janice

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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At some point in your parenting career you will probably face the question: Needle or gun — where should you get your child’s ears pierced?

where should kids get ears pierced

If you are like me, you might have childhood memories of heading to the local jewelry store to face the piercing gun and those ugly gold stud earrings you had to wear for two long months.

Perhaps, like me, your piercing gun history also included years of infections and a permanent, annoying lump in your ear lobe that still bothers you today.

So, when my seven year old daughter began to beg to get her ears pierced, I didn’t know what to do. What type of ear piercing places were best?

Do I just I take her to Claire’s to get shot with the piercing gun?

Since I have had such a bad experience with my pierced ears, (I haven’t even worn earring for two decades because they inevitably get infected.) I was stumped.

So, what does a mom with a question do?

Yes, I turned to the Internet.

I asked my friends on Facebook for their ear piercing advice and I am so grateful for my friends’ wisdom and experience about where to get ears pierced.

Tattoo Parlors Are for Kids Too

I learned that I had options — I didn’t have to take my child to the mall and the infamous piercing gun.

As I had suspected, piercing with a needle appears to be less traumatic to the flesh with less chance of infections. (Please note – these are just my opinions from anecdotal examples. I am not a medical expert.)

Some of my friends had their children’s ears pierced at their pediatrician’s office. But, since here in Canada you need a referral to see a pediatrician, I don’t think piercing a seven year old girl’s ears qualifies.

Other friends reported they had had success with the piercing gun at Claire’s. (And I am sure it was a much less expensive option.)

And finally, some friends told me to go to a professional piercer — at a piercing salon or “tattoo parlor.”

Choosing a professional piercer allows customers to have a skilled, experienced piercer who follows extremely strict sterile protocols — and has experiencing piercing all kinds of body parts. A child’s ear lobes are dead simple for them.

One of my friends, Julie, had even written about her daughters’ trip to a piercing studio and another friend recommending an article on Time about getting a child’s ears pierced at a tattoo parlor.

I have a feeling that tattoo shops and piercing studios probably don’t still use the term, “tattoo parlor.” And the piercing and tattoo shop we went to certainly didn’t look like an old “tattoo parlor” cliché.

One of my local friends suggested we go to Westcoast Piercing and Ink and it was fantastic.

Westcoast Piercing and Ink is the first Association of Professional Piercers member run studio in the Lower Mainland and we were very impressed with our entire experience.

The shop was clean, professional and gorgeous — it felt like a high end office.

where should kids get ears pierced

Olivia was super nervous but determined to make it through.

I was emotional myself as I helped her breathe through her pain and fears. I wondered how fast would the years go by and I would be helping her push through labor pains…

where should kids get ears pierced

where should kids get ears pierced

There was a huge variety in earrings and Olivia chose a lovely pair of arctic blue cubic studs. All of their jewellery is high-quality implant grade which is critical for healing.

Our piercer, Julie, was fabulous. She was extremely kind and patient with Olivia, who was experiencing some significant last-minute fears.

Getting pierced at a professional studio definitely wasn’t inexpensive, but it was well worth the investment. Our cost for the procedure and the pair of earrings was around $130 Canadian.

Olivia loves her earrings and was super proud of herself for facing her fears and getting her ears pierced. Thanks to our friends for their helpful suggestions and to Westcoast for doing a fantastic job!

where should kids get ears pierced

I didn’t video Olivia during the procedure as I wanted to let her have her privacy as she coped with her emotions.

But Olivia was so thrilled with her whole experience she did want to make a video later to tell kids what it is like to get your ears pierced at a professional piercer…

Olivia’s Advice On Where To Get Ears Pierced

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We’d love, love, love a tweet or a pin… Thanks so much! 🙂

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Needle or Gun - where should you get your kids ears pierced


Do your kids have their ears pierced? Where did you go to get your kids’ ears pierced? Were you happy with your experience?

Written by Janice Croze, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom, and photographed by Andreas Bernauer.

Please note we do NOT have any affiliation or ties to Westcoast Piercing and Ink, nor are we giving medical advice. We are not medical experts and are simply sharing our experiences with ear piercing.

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About Janice

Janice is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. She's been working online since 2003 and is thankful her days are full of social media, writing and photography.

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16 Comments

  1. Spring says

    October 28, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    I got my second piercing in grade 2. it did not hurt at all but the earrings were big

    Reply
  2. Liana Babych says

    June 16, 2021 at 2:15 pm

    Hi. Where are you located?

    Reply
  3. Kathleen says

    September 8, 2020 at 12:42 am

    Don’t forget Absolute Kids Spa Party salon for another kind of resource for ear piercings. We are State Board Licensed professionals, that had continuing education to ensure your safety. Disposable piercing guns, and done at the same time. We are centrally located in New Berlin WI

    Reply
  4. Marianne Trocola says

    October 19, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    Hi,
    I so enjoyed Olivia’s video about Westcoast Piercing and Ink. I live in Chgo, IL and would like to take my niece to get her ears pierced for her birthday. Where would you recommend taking her in Chicago, Il?

    Reply
  5. JD says

    October 2, 2019 at 10:03 am

    I had no idea that the piercing gun might have been the reason my earring hole got infections and still gets infected! I’m 38 and had earring for a short time when I was 5. I assumed I was allergic to the metal in the studs or something. Now that I have my own 5 year old who potentially wants earrings I’m glad to know that it’s trending for kids to get pierced at tattoo parlors. Will def check it out.

    Reply
  6. OV says

    September 22, 2019 at 1:36 am

    Good information. As to needing a referral to get a pediatrician, my son had one in Toronto and then in Winnipeg. We didn’t need a referral for either. Pediatricians are basically GPs for kids. I also go to pediatrician for my flu shots, they use smaller, painless needles.

    Reply
  7. Amy says

    June 8, 2019 at 12:02 am

    Thanks Janice and Olivia! I have the same sad ear story as you Janice, and my daughter will be turning 7. This helps a lot with our quest!

    Reply
  8. KSL says

    May 2, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    I, too had my ears pierced with a gun at the mall. They never fully healed until I stopped wearing earrings, and I will always have the lumps of scar tissue in my ears. The piercing guns are just garbage. The worst thing is they’re not sterile. They may replace the needle, but the rest of the gun (that touches your ear) is quickly wiped down with alcohol. THIS IS NOT STERILE AND SHOULD BE ILLEGAL – in fact, piercing guns ARE illegal in some areas. The instruments used by professional piercers are either disposed of or autoclaved (the sterilization procedure used in surgical standards).

    On top of the risk of blood-borne pathogens, the “training” that is typically given by the companies that use piercing guns is distubingly minimal. Numerous employees of these places have shared stories of watching a 15 minute video before being sent off to pierce ears (again, totally unacceptable for a procedure that exposes the peircer and the piercee to risk of serious infections). In addition, the needle used in guns is not hollow, meaning it uses blunt force trauma to “shove” the flesh to the sides, which often causes scar tissue and issues with healing. Thank you so much for sharing your experience – it is so important people know what their options are and the risks involved. Piercing gun? That’s gonna be a “no” from me!

    Reply
  9. Lorraine says

    December 4, 2015 at 11:27 pm

    What a great idea to go to a tattoo and piercing place!
    When I was 12 (39 years ago), my dad pierced my ears with a sterilized needle. He used a dot of iodine to mark the place and make sure they were even on both sides. He used a bar of ivory soap to support the lobe and wham! Done is seconds. It hurt but wasn’t too bad.
    I really think he was onto something. Because when I got my 6 month old’s ears pierced (my logic was that she wouldn’t remember the experience) I went to a salon. They had two guns and two girls counting down 3, 2, 1 with the idea that they would pierce at the same time.
    Unfortunately they weren’t synced when counting! Half a millisecond off and as soon as that first piercing went in my daughter flinched. The second piercing was uneven because of that. *Sigh* We had to pull that one out and redo it. So much for less trauma!
    Anyhow, she’s 19 now and no worse for wear.
    Thanks for this article to let others know from your good experience! I also enjoyed your daughter’s video. Very sweet! <3
    Peace,
    Lorraine

    Reply
  10. Jill says

    November 1, 2015 at 6:50 am

    I’m still trying to find a studio near me to get my daughter’s ears pierced. The state and county I live in have rules against tattoo studios piercing children, but Wal-Mart and Claire’s are allowed. Crazy rules.

    Reply
  11. Katie says

    September 26, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    I can’t remember if someone told me this or I read it but anyways…Piercing guns only push stuff around in the lobe that is why you have that lump. The needle that is used at a tattoo shop or piercing parlor is hollow so instead of moving the meat around it comes out on the other side. It makes it a cleaner pierce and the heal time is dramatically lessened.

    Reply
  12. Angie says

    August 12, 2015 at 10:51 am

    I never even considered a tattoo parlor for getting my ears pierced. That’s a great suggestion. I, too, have had to deal with annoying lumps in my ear lobes and eventually just gave up on wearing earring all together. I’m not sure I’d want to spend that much on my daughter’s ears (if she’s anything like me, she’ll let the holes close up the first two times she gets them pierced), but I may consider doing that for my own ears if I decide to repierce them yet another time.

    Reply
  13. Diana @ Toronto Teacher Mom says

    June 16, 2015 at 11:48 pm

    This article couldn’t have come at a better time. We tried piercing at a salon using a piercing gun about 4 years ago but it didn’t work out so well and so we let the holes close up. Now my daughter, who will be turning 10, wants to try again and I am considering a tatoo parlor. I will definitely show this video to my daughter since it’s so helpful. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Janice says

      June 18, 2015 at 12:58 am

      Oh so glad the post was helpful! Tell your daughter that Livvie is SO glad she did it. Good luck!

      Reply
  14. Gaia says

    June 16, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    Looks quite painful for a girl. I had my 9 yo daughter’s ears pierced at the local chemist’s and everything went fine. Fast, painless, no tenderness no infections. All the equipment was disposable. I’d recommend it for any girl longing for her first pair of earrings.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      June 18, 2015 at 12:56 am

      Glad yours went well. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

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