Parenting Advice: Would You Let Your Teen Get Her Nose Pierced

Need parenting advice on Piercings and teenagers?! Many teens are getting more than just their ears pierced and parents have very different thoughts on this topic. Check out our thoughts on this subject and tell us yours!

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When my boyfriend’s daughter was 13, he took her to a tattoo parlor to get her first facial piercing (aside from her ears). It was a tiny little stud in her right nostril. Nothing too innocuous. It actually looks really cute on her! Still, I had very mixed feelings about piercings and teenagers! I tried to keep my feelings to myself. After all, he is her father and her mom had signed off on it as well.  My boyfriend has 13 tattoos and used to have multiple piercings. Apparently his ex-wife also has quite a few, so piercings and teenagers isn’t a “big deal” to them the way it is to me.

I thought 13 was too young to have extra holes punched into her flesh. Sure, it’s not quite the same as a tattoo. Piercings can be taken out and left to close up if she decides she no longer likes them. Still, the former nursing student in me worries about things like infection, scarring, hygiene and hitting vital nerves in the face. She’s such a pretty girl and I didn’t want to see something go wrong.  My boyfriend had reasons for his decision and I respect them. I don’t like to give him parenting advice when he’s been a parent longer than I have.

Parenting advice from our Readers  on Piercings and Teenagers
We asked OurFamilyWorld Facebook fans what they thought about teenagers and piercings. I wanted to know if I was alone in my opinion. I wasn’t really surprised to find that many other parents said “no way” to letting their teenagers get piercings. I was a little surprised, though, at the number of parents who really seem to have no problem with it!

I’m totally not judging. I don’t have super strong feelings about this topic and believe that every parent knows their child best. Personally, I agree with Jodi, our reader who said no one would ever be able to convince her that it’s not a breeding ground for bacteria.

See, that’s really my only major concern. I think piercings and tattoos look great on other people when done correctly. I think my boyfriend’s daughter looks absolutely adorable with her nostrils pierced (she got the other one done recently). To me, it has nothing to do with the way it looks. I’ve been a punk rock girl most of my life. My hair was dyed strange colors way before it became a social norm.  I personally have no piercings or tattoos simply because I’m afraid of pain! I just want to make it clear that as far as looks go, I’m totally good with piercings. Yet I can’t get past the worry of something going terribly wrong.

What do you think about piercings and teenagers? Would you allow your young teen to get a facial piercing? Why or why not? We want to hear your parenting advice on this topic!

 

13 thoughts on “Parenting Advice: Would You Let Your Teen Get Her Nose Pierced”

  1. ( As a 15-year-old girl myself), I have many piercings, 5 other piercings, and a nose ring. Currently, I’m trying to persuade my parents to allow me to get my Septum piercing. My mom told me she would think about it at Christmas, and I’m not sure about my dad. I’ve made a 10-slide essay on why I want my septum. I would pay for it myself. My main goal with this piercing is to feel happier in my own body and express myself in a way I think is socially acceptable. I wan’t my parents to trust me enough to allow the piercing. My mind won’t change because of it, I won’t turn evil if I have another hole in my nose. I’m still their daughter and get good grades in school, have a job, and keep my room clean. I want people to like me for me, and maybe being me includes having piercings. If I had total control over my own body I would get piercings and tatoos in a heartbeat, but I respect laws and my parents wishes, I just hope they respect mine, and they have so far. Having a piercing does not define my personality, (I am a very kind and smart person).

    A lot of parents are confused, and problably are searching up why their teen wants a piercing. Each individual has their own reasons, though, I have some reasons that your teen might agree with, but won’t know how to express. I feel more comfortable in my own body when I can do what I want with it (with limits). It makes me feel like I am my own person in the world and how I don’t need to “fit in” to live the life I want to. Having piercings doesn’t affect my goal in life either, (I’m planning to get my Doctors degree in Phycology.) And I fully intend to pull through with that.

    But overall, listen to your teen and give them respect. If you don’t want them to have the piercing, give a very descriptive and valed reason as to why, so they will not be upset and secretly do it on their own. And really listen to why they want it in the first place. I can tell you, like most teens can, that having piercings has made me feel better and happier over all.

  2. The above comments don’t account for the way employers look upon facial piercings, and certainly teens don’t take into account that they may be denied a professional career or clients one day because they have metal on their face. One could rant about the unfairness of prejudice, but no one can deny that it exists. So you won’t find many doctors, lawyers or corporate executives with a nose piercing. Even if you get in the door, promotions may be impacted – they won’t say the reason, just that your not a good fit. It is up to parents to help teens think about the financial impact on a teen’s life.

  3. Chances are if ya don’t let them they’ll get a shady prison tat or poorly done school washroom piercing.

  4. I agree with the choice my parents made with me. I have always had an appeal towards tattoos and piercings, much in contrast to my parents who have no tattoos and a mom with only her lobes pierced. They decided that I could get my lobes pierced at age 10 (they felt that was when I would be responsible for cleaning them at that age), and then when I was sixteen allowed me to get my cartilage pierced. As for anything else (including additional ear piercings) They would not “sign off on.” In other words I had to wait till I was 18. I am 19 now and have my nose pieced along with my rook, whole cartilage, and an industrial. They have no problems with any of them.

  5. I have my belly button done and have to wear gold due to metal allergies. Would I do it again, probably not. I have had my piercing for over 8 years now. I wouldn’t allow my children to get their nose or another part of their body pierced until they are adults. If they are like me they probably also have a small allergy to traditional metals and I don’t want to deal with infections because they don’t know how to properly take care of it.

    I remember after I had mine done it hurt for a few days and I had to keep it clean to avoid getting an infection.

  6. I have had my nose pierced (as an adult) twice. There are a couple reasons why it is out of the question for my teens until they are adults. First of all- infection. Yes, you have a hole in your face…in the region known as the triangle of death, because an infection there can go straight to your brain and kill you. Both times I had a piercing, it required a lot of upkeep and cleaning, especially at first. Do I want to leave that to the person that can’t remember to pick their socks up? And, at the ripe old age of 27 with my second piercing, mine accidentally got ripped out when it caught on a blanket and I ended up with a small tear and an infection. Not good. My other reason I wouldn’t allow my teen to make this choice is because I want them to be old enough to decide if they want to deal with having a scar in that spot for the rest of their life if they remove it. I do. It is small, granted, but it is a hole in my nose that frequently gets plugged and then develops a pimple. Never mind that a lot of jobs, schools and sports do not allow teens to have them in and nose piercings close very fast. I have told my daughter she has to wait until she is an adult.

    1. I completely agree with you on the part about letting someone who can’t even remember to pick up socks be responsible for ensuring they don’t get a life-threatening infection. That is my biggest worry about the whole thing.

    2. teen (14) with nose piercing here, i can completely understand why you wouldn’t allow a teen to get a nose piercing, however, with enough aftercare they are completely safe and very pretty, as i research piercings extensively before i go along with the procedure as i am really into body mod. infection is not as common as people seem to think, and an infection serious enough to kill you is extremely rare to come from nose piercing, and most infections can be cleared up by using the same saline rinse that you use to clean it, or antibiotics if the infection is a little worse. i often forget to pick my socks up however i’m more than capable of cleaning my nose piercing, it takes 5 mins or less on a morning and the same on a night, and i’ve built it into my routine. i feel the pain of a ripped out piercing but as someone who also ripped it on a blanket, if it doesn’t tear, just reinsert the jewellery, clean the site and everything is fine. although scarring can be an aesthetic issue, the majority of the time if it is done with the correct equipment, ie a needle and good quality jewellery, and the healing and cleaning process goes well, the scar isn’t noticeable, from someone who knows a number of people with closed piercings. in my personal opinion as long as you’re old enough to clean it yourself and take the slight pain of it, and also accept responsibility if things go wrong, any teen should be able to get one, because for me it increased self confidence and makes me feel less boring :)

      1. I feel like getting piercings at a young age is based on why you want it and not age, i’ve been begging my parents for one when I was 10-11 and they caved in but i had to convince them with a slideshow I made about my knowledge,facts,Pro’s and Con’s, and what I would do in different scenarios, And I showed them the stud I wanted which isn’t very noticeable it is a holographic stud but since there aren’t any piercing places near us within a drive of 2 hours we bought a five star home piercing kit which is exactly like the holographic stud i’ve wanted but my parents were too scared to do it and I didnt want to do it alone I went to my friends house (her mom pierced all of her ears with home kits.) The whole reason why I wanted my nose piercing is because it makes me feel better about myself, and not because I see others with a piercing and think im going to follow them. Just like the classic mom question; If your friends jumped off a bridge would you?

  7. I would. There are worse things in my opinion. Hoops and such, I would protest because I think young girls just don’t look good with spikes, hoops and whatever else coming out of their face. But a little stud I would be fine with. Also the nice thing about a nose piercing is when they get tired of it, it closes right up and you can’t even tell there was ever a piercing there. (I mean super quickly.. mine closed within a couple of hours). As far as the worry about something going wrong… research and talk to friends who have gotten piercings and find a good place that people trust and you know is clean… and your mind will be at ease.

    1. Wow, I didn’t know they closed up THAT fast! I think the smartest thing my boyfriend did was take his daughter to a very reputable place. The lady who did it spent a lot of time explaining things to her and making sure she understood how to keep it from getting infected.

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