Lucy Beaumont splits opinion on piercing babies' ears as she says 'it should be illegal’
Lucy Beaumont, the star behind hit series such as Meet the Richardsons and Hullraisers has sparked a new debate on social media after she revealed she thought it should be illegal for parents to pierce their babies ears. Taking to Twitter to draw attention to the practice, Lucy hit out at high-street chain Claires Accessories in particular, as the brand is well known for offering on-site piercing in store.
“Why isn’t it illegal to pierce a baby’s ears? @claires," began the star. “ I’d like to boycott them to make it stop, it’s mental, I recently saw a baby go from smiley and happy to in complete shock and in pain.. plus the risk of infection. Babies don’t need earrings! #boycottclairesaccesories."
Following the post, several fans were quick to weigh in on the situation, with many of Lucy’s followers sharing her belief that piercing babies was cruel and should be reserved for when children are older.
“I remember seeing a two year old in there, sobbing and begging them not to do the other ear. Staff member and her aunt wouldn’t back down, and told her she’d get a toy when it was done. It was a few years ago now but I’ve never forgotten it and regret not intervening,” wrote one fan.
A second fan also agreed adding: “Yes! I’ve always said this, it’s completely unnecessary pain to inflict on a child for the sake of the PARENTS' vanity. The law needs to be changed, no one under the age of 13 should be allowed it to have it done.”
Meanwhile a third fan echoed: “I hate to see babies and young children with their ears pierced. It should be illegal. If parents pierced a hole in the child’s skin at home they would be arrested.”
In fact, some of Lucy’s followers felt so strongly about the issue, they drew parallels between ear piercing and FGM (female genital mutilation) and circumcision, as they condemned cultural norms which commonly involved piercing a baby’s ears.
“Some say “it’s a cultural thing” as if that excuses it... FGM is a cultural thing. Foot-binding was a cultural thing. Just because a thing is cultural doesn’t make it ok,” argued one follower.
A second agreed adding: “I completely agree, however it's not just Claire's, there are many places that do this. It's wrong, no matter religion, culture or tradition. The person having it done at that age is not choosing to have it done, they're having it done TO them with no choice.”
Despite the strong opinions, not everyone was quite so convinced, with several fans also defending the practice. One fan wrote: “Babies scream when they have their jabs and get over it pretty quickly. I’ve had my ears pierced since I was a baby and I’m absolutely fine, no PTSD, nothing.”
A second fan added: “Immunisation makes them cry too shall we take those away too? They even cry when they’re born and Doctors/nurses have to make them cry if they don’t. Shall we just not bring them into the world at all. This is the most useless argument and boycott suggestion I’ve seen in my life!”
Meanwhile a third wrote: “I had mine done when I was a baby. I'm so glad I did too because I love having my ears pierced. I don't remember it and I don't feel traumatised by the event.”
