"Mommy, why does that girl have a ring through her nose?"

So I was browsing FML this evening and came across this one:

This got me thinking, because I have a nose piercing and a healthy relationship with my parents. I was also a camp counselor for a while and had to figure out how to explain to kids why I decided to put a piece of metal through a hole I had made in part of me.

So I was wondering, what do you tell kids who ask about your various body modifications?

I'm pretty sure 90% of the stories on that site are fake.

Yeah, but the point still stands. Little kids ask about piercings, tattoos, etc., and it's not always easy to just say "well I like it..."

I say "my parents didn't love me."

Why isn't it that easy? Kids accept things way more than you seem to think they do -- is it the parent's reaction you're actually thinking of?

Maybe I've just run into persistent kids. It's not that they're not accepting, they just seem to keep asking "but why?" Except that one camper whose dad had full sleeves, she seemed to get it.

I have gotten this out of my curious 9-year old. I am the only person in my family with tattoos and piercings. She asks why i have tattoos and piercings.

My answer:

"i like it"

Kids are smarter than most people give them credit. In so much kids are generally much easier to deal with. They aren't old enough to understand stereotypes and other such things, their minds are still somewhat clean of those things. It's the parents reaction that usually come up with ridiculous answers about the person's history.

About a week after my nose was pierced I picked up my nephew and he asks while grabbing it "what's that"

This.
I work with children, and it's not them you have to be concerned about, it's the parents.

I work with kids all the time and I only hear two things in general:

"Did that hurt?"

or

"Cool."

I agree that kids are pretty open and smart, they don't care so much about what is on the outside, just if you care about them and are a good person to be around. I've been lucky I guess, I've never had problems with facial piercings and working with kids!

That's what kids do. It's not about acceptance, it's about learning about the world. Kid's ask "But why?" about everything. Caterpillars, bridges, song lyrics...

Then there is the kid of a good friend of mine who's mummy and daddy and all of their close circle of friends have tattoos and piercings as daddy is a tattooist.
One day we had a gathering of friends and he got so upset when one of the guests had no piercings or tattoos and no one could explain, in a way he could understand, why the person in question had nothing to show. I've never seen a kid so upset.
Kids will always question what is outside of their norm, it's how they learn and develop. I love it, when kids don't question, I start to worry.

The earring comparison is exactly how I handle questions at the preschool that I work at. "Some people think it looks pretty to have things in your ears, and some think it looks pretty to put things in lips/noses/etc." And luckily our staff is fairly diverse in terms of personal style. Mohawks, dreadlocks, piecings, and tattoos adorn half of our staff.

But really, they only notice piercings (or any other deviation from the societal norms) for a few minutes anyway. Kids I have been with for three years will suddenly take a good look at me and ask me about them for the first time, or I get the same kids asking me the same questions weekly. It's all about what they may repeat to their families at home, so you have to make sure that you stress the age requirements for piercings.

Hahaha, that is fantastic. (Not the upset part, obviously, but the cause.)

I have been a nanny with 2 different families, the kids were all under 5.

The kids were really cute about my piercing and tattoos. They always asked me who drew them, and how long they would stay. The 5 year old I took care of most recently would tell me at least once a week that "I was the silliest adult she knew, because serious adults don't put sparkly things on their faces." She was talking about my monroe piercing.

She would also draw on her arms and tummy, and lift up her shirt and show her parents that she had tattoos like me.

He parents didn't mind at all...in fact they especially wanted me to tell her how much it hurt, to try and discourage her from getting them before she was old enough! Haha.

In short, I just tell kids the truth. They think it's funny and silly, they love it. I really don't see the problem.

I volunteer at a head start where the kids are three and four. They always ask me about my two piercings and stretched ears even though I don't think any of them are super noticeable. I always tell them that I like them and I think they look nice and then I try to change the subject. It's something that's hard to explain to the kids.

Kids are fun. Parents are frequently horrifying.

Back when I had a mane I would occasionally here a high pitched voice

"Mom, look at that really tall girl!"

"That's a boy, dear"

I agree that the kids don't have any preconceived notions. When I lived in NYC, random kids would see me on the subway or whatever and ask "what's that?" and I would say, it's a faerie, they're flowers, whatever. They just liked that I had pretty pictures, and that made me happy about my pretty pictures too.

i used to get that, back before i cut my hair. apparently, i have a really nice ass.

I get that question pretty often at work. I tell the kids, I can't wear earrings, so I got rings in other places instead.
I do have my ears pierced, but because of an allergy, I can't wear anything other than pure gold, which I hate. I got tattoos on my ears instead.

wait, that's supposed to be a secret?

Children are way smarter than we give them credit for. They are full of basic logic and untainted judgement.

They completely understand doing something that you like, and appreciate without fear of what other people around you think.

I have been asked many times and i put it to them in as simple a way as i can so they can understand,

"Because it makes me happy and my parents said i could"