They are smaller than we are, and that means it's our job to protect them from harm.
When they can't talk, it doesn't mean they shouldn't have a say in what happens to their own bodies.
Their voices are quieter than ours, so that means it's up to us to make sure they're heard.
Children have the right to not only feel safe, but to BE safe. They have the right to unconditional love. They have the right to voice their opinions. They have the right to be angry. They have the right to be happy and to sing as loud as they want. They have the right to live without fear. They have the right to have everything they need, and some of the things they want. They have the right to an education, no matter what form that comes in. They have the right to bodily autonomy. They have the right to say no, and for that to mean something! They have the right to clean clothes, a warm house, and food at EVERY meal. They have the right to have parents that are excited to see them, and who take joy in those little moments that shape them into who they're going to be as adults. Children have the right to make choices for themselves, as long as they aren't going to get hurt. Children have the right to play. Children have the right to be treated the way we expect to be treated...as human beings with feelings.
When I see things like this...it was in regards to piercing a baby's ears...
I generally try to keep my nose out of "Would You Pierce Your Daughter's Ears?" discussions because I tend to get so mad I have to stay of the computer for a week until I know that thread is loooong gone.
FTR, my stance on it...
NO, I WOULD NEVER HAVE ANYONE PUNCH A HOLE IN MY CHILD'S PERFECT EARS AGAINST THEIR WILL. EVER.
I have four holes in each ear. I got the first ones when I was...about 5, I think. And I wanted them. Well, atleast I thought I did. My mom had cut my hair in that boy-style that was oh-so-popular in the '80s, and people were asking me if I was a boy. (I was a hater of pink, so my clothes were all blue or brown.)
I asked my mom to get my ears pierced so people would stop asking me if I was a boy. It hurt my feelings. So, being a good mom, she took me.
(Could have just STOPPED CUTTING MY HAIR, but whatever...)
Anyways, I got them pierced. I wanted to stop after the first ear, but my mom (and grandma) made me get the other one done. My mom told me that I'd had one done already, I HAD to get the other one done.
FTR, I would NEVER make my child get the 2nd ear done if they decided after the first one, that they wanted to stop. It's effing MEAN.
Well, as much as that memory irritates me, I did go on to get three more holes in each ear...as an adult.
But is that to say I would want the same for my girls? (Or my son for that matter?) Not a chance. I love their little ears exactly like they are. They're perfect. And I'm not going to alter my children's bodies to look like mine...or my husbands...or anyone's.
If they want their ears pierced they will not only have to be able to want them, but they have to be old enough to understand that it IS going to hurt, that they CAN get infected, and be able to care for them themselves. There will be no 5 year olds getting pierced in this house!
I know it's "just ear piercing", and that this is probably going to piss off a few people, but I just can't take it anymore! Children are not our PROPERTY. They are not ours to change. We should be protecting them from unnecessary pain, and telling them that they are perfect exactly as they were made. And the fact is that ears DO get infected. It DOES hurt. And every time I see a little baby with earrings, it makes me sad.
So if you want to get angry because I'm speaking out about this, go ahead. Be mad. I can't stop you, and you have the right to whatever feelings you have. But so do I.
Children have the right to believe that they were born perfect...because they WERE.
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