Viral video of a baby having her ears pierced is labelled 'child abuse' by some parents

A video of a baby getting her ears pierced has kicked off a heated debate online about the rights and wrongs of piercing children’s ears.

In the short clip, a baby is held by her mum as workers prepare for the procedure to take place.

Though the baby seems at ease at first, she begins to cry when her lobes are punctured by the piercing gun, while the staff and her mother do their best to comfort her.

Since posting earlier this month to the Piercings Facebook page, the video has been causing quite the stir. Not only has it been viewed over 3.8 million times but over 12,000 people have commented on the controversial clip.

Many seemed to be of the opinion that it was wrong to put such a young tot through the procedure, while some went as far as labelling it “child abuse.”

“Barbaric !!! Why would anyone do this to a baby,” one woman wrote.

“If they aren’t old enough to consent and ask to get them pierced then they shouldn’t be getting pierced,” added another.

“OMG!!! This makes me soooo angry!! Why would anyone do this to their baby???? Let THEM decide when and IF they want to do this to their bodies! This should be outlawed. I mean you wouldn’t take a baby for a tattoo would you?!?!” another Facebook user commented.

But though the majority of the comments seemed to be against the practice, not everyone was against the piercing of babies’ ears.

“People need to chill the F*** out! There is REAL child abuse going on all over the world…” one user commented.

“It’s not wrong or child abuse… It is less painful to do when they are younger then older… It is like getting a shot… Everyone is so quick to judge learn the facts…,” another added.

“She cried for 5 seconds, and then was fine. If they wait until she is 6 years old and wants them, she will have to endure days and weeks of dread and fear, anticipating the pain, as well as the pain. This way is much easier for her. 5 seconds and done! She is fine, and people make a huge deal over nothing now days. Mind your own babies and business,” another woman wrote.

Another parent pointed out that ear piercings are actually part of some cultures.

“I am surprised to see so many negative comments on this. While Western people think this is not right/hurting baby/child abuse, in my country people ask when are you going to have your baby’s ear pierced? And suggest, sooner the better!! Will be less painful when she is still a baby, etc. And we even have a special day in a year to have ear or nose pierced. My ear and nose was pierced when I was a baby and I had my baby girl pierced when she 25 days old,” one user explained.

It isn’t the first time the ear piercing debate has made headlines. There was outrage when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter, North, flaunted her newly pierced ears on her first birthday.

Gisele Bundchen also caused a stir when she posted an Instagram snapshot of her then eight-month-old daughter’s pierced ears. While some labelled the Brazillian-born model ‘cruel’, for most Latina mothers it’s simply a cultural tradition.

Whether or not parents should be allowed to pierce their child’s ears is always widely debated. But one woman believes the practice should be made illegal, accusing the act as being tantamount to “child cruelty.”

Campaigner Susan Ingram has started a petition on 38 Degrees to try and stop parents having the right to pierce their baby or toddler’s ears believing there to be a minimum legal age requirement in place.

“Severe pain and fear is inflicted upon infants unnecessarily. It serves no purpose other than to satisfy the parent’s vanity,” she writes on the campaign profile. “Other forms of physically harming children are illegal – this should be no different.”

Ingram’s petition currently has 84,977 signatures.

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