Ear Piercing

My mom told me that she ear pierced me when I was newborn. However, for my daughters, I think I let them have it when they are older.

The reason is because ear piercing guns cannot be sterilized, which means that it's possible to contract hepatitis or some other infection from them.

If you think to have your child ear pierced, remember that your child will be constantly touching her ears and the pierced area can easily become infected. To help guard against this, you'll need to clean the posts and the area around the ear with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide several times a day (or as often as your doctor recommends). Watch for increased redness or tenderness around the piercing hole and on the earlobe that could indicate infection.

There's also a chance that your child will have an allergic reaction to metals after getting her ears pierced. If she develops a rash around the piercing, you'll need to take the earrings out. To avoid this, you can try to make sure that the parts of the earrings that touch her ear are made of surgical steel or 14 karat gold. (This includes not only the posts but the backs as well.) If the rash doesn't subside, your child will probably not be able to wear earrings.