Baby Ear Piercings - Right Or Wrong?

This is one of those debatable topics about whether or not you believe it's okay for a baby to have their ears pierced.

More than 41,000 people signed a petition to ban baby ear piercings, believing that it was a form of child cruelty. They weren't alone in thinking this. Dr Christian of 'Embarrassing Bodies' fame, tweeted 'NO, IT IS CHILD ABUSE,' in response to the question.

Is it a form of child abuse? I mean, a baby cannot make the choice of whether or not they want their ears pierced. Rather, it is a decision made by their parent or parents. A baby may experience pain in the name of fashion, culture and vanity which is considered unnecessary by others. A baby also cannot look after their ear piercings. They may catch an ear infection, or cause damage to their ear lobes by ripping earrings out of their ears. It's understandable that people may be against the practice.

Personally, I had my ears pierced at a few months old. I cannot relate to those that say baby piercings are a form of child abuse. I have no recollection of getting my ears pierced. In fact, I do not remember most of my younger years. On reflection, I am actually glad that I got my ears pierced at an age where I cannot remember getting them. I think I would have been too scared to get them at a teenage age. Even now, I would love to get piercings at the top of my ears but I have delayed getting them for years because I am afraid of the pain I might feel.

I do not want to go into detail of child abuse, but it is a subject I will touch upon. Child abuse is a traumatic experience that I imagine will affect a child going on into their adult and teenage years. I cannot imagine ear piercings to create the same effect. Maybe I am wrong. I have not had a bad experience from my ear piercings as a baby, but perhaps there have been others who have.

What do you think? Are you against it? For? Neutral? Let me know!

Thanks for reading! 

Off My Chest: The Thing About Stress

Hello and welcome to my blog! If this is your first time visiting, then be sure to check out the other stuff I have on here! I have a number of posts and 'series' on here to hopefully keep you entertained!

Anyway, I have written this blog post because it has hit the news recently that actress Sheridan Smith is taking four weeks off from theatre production Funny Girl due to stress and exhaustion. This was after Smith had missed three performances of her show in a row, rumoured by some to be because of her drinking.

Sheridan Smith

Stress is not uncommon, we all go through it. Work gets on top of us, the stress of adulthood, bills, family troubles, relationships....it doesn't matter what it is because we all experience stress at some point in our lives and some more than others.
I think stress can often be undermined in that it's perhaps not viewed as an illness, but stress can be extremely detrimental to your health. Mental illnesses in general are difficult because it's not visible. It's easy to see a bruise, a cut or a physical injury, but no one can read or experience the thoughts which you carry around with you on a daily basis. It is because of this that it's easy to be misunderstood. Unless someone knows you extremely well or cares deeply for you, they are not going to realise the differences in your character and they are certainly not going to realise that there is any sort of problem unless you talk about it.

Personally I find stress difficult to handle at times. When you go through things without sharing your problems or venting your stress and it builds, it's only a matter of time before the volcano erupts. Pent up frustrations and emotions roll into one and it all comes flooding out at once. The situation seems bigger then it may actually be and it all becomes a bit too much. That's why it's important to deal with these stresses before it all becomes a bit too much.

I haven't followed Sheridan Smith's works all that much but what I do know about her is that this girl is on TV all the time. She seems like an incredibly hardworking actress who is constantly filling the boots of a new role and deserves the much needed break. Hopefully she is able to make a full recovery and do what she does best!

So what do you think? How do you handle stress? Let me know!

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out my other blog posts and follow! :)