A mum who sparked outrage after posting a video showing her four-month-old baby girl having her ears pierced has defended her actions.
Crystal Lynn caused a rather fierce debate after she took her now five-year-old daughter Emily to have her ears pierced at such a young age.
In the video, little Emily screams out as she gets both of her ears pierced – she cries for 30 seconds, but then appears to be fine.
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The footage, which was taken in 2012, was recently posted on a piercing social media site which caused yet another debate on piercing babies.
But Crystal, 34, says she wants to spread awareness of piercing children’s ears at such a young age.
Crystal said:
I hope to give everyone a better understanding to why we pierce ears at such a young age.
We chose to pierce our daughter’s ears at a young age because it is proven that most who wait until they are older, around the age of five to 10 years of age, usually end up with an infection because they don’t stop touching them.
When you pierce them young they don’t feel, but maybe 30 seconds of pain, if any pain at all and we as parents take care of the piercing and they are less likely to mess with them.
Emily, who was four months old at the time, and she does not remember the piercing at all – and she loves her earrings. You see, if at anytime she wants to take them out – then she can.
However, Crystal has been attacked in the online comments under the video with people calling the procedure ‘abhorrent’ and likening it to child abuse.
Karen Telford Shaw commented: “Cruel, just cruel. Hope mum is happy putting her lovely daughter through this trauma.”
Verity Miller said: “Why would you want to cause your baby pain when it is meant to be mum who protects them? Let them choose when they are old enough!”
And Karen Needham said: “Something else that needs to be made illegal until the child can decide for itself. It is abuse, pure and and simple.”
Crystal said she doesn’t regret getting Emily’s ears pierced, saying her daughter looks ‘beautiful’ in her earrings.
Adding:
Did she cry? Yes for a split second. Do I regret it? No.
My daughter loves her earnings and she sees herself as batman with pretty ears. It’s much easier to get them done as a baby than when they’re older. Fact.
She looks beautiful in her earrings, and she loves to change her earrings when mummy does and wears all different ones.
She’s now two-and-a-half and has her own little jewellery box like mummy with lots of earrings in.
Each to their own, I guess.
