Carole, they do have their ears pierced. The oldest has two holes at the bottom and one at the top of her ear. We have no problem with ear piercings. It is the others that hubby objects to, mainly because he's a teacher and knows that teachers, employers, and so on judge a kid based on what they have pierced, tatooed, etc. It might not be right, but thats the way it is. He feels that if they truly want it, then they can think of what they want and how it will reflect who they are... some day when they DO get it, thy will be old enough to know that it is what they really want and it is who they are. By then, they can then proove themselves and carry themselves in a way that they speak for themselves, not their appearance speaking for them (as is often the case in youger people).

Think about it: you are out and see 2 people with a tongue piercing. One is 15, the other in their late 20's. What do you think of the young one? Follower? Trying to be cool? What do you think about the older one? An individual? Confident? Trendy? What do you think of these people? Most often, your impression of the two people with the same piericing will be different when they are worn by two people in different age groups.... mainly because you expect the older persomn to have made the decision on what to pierce based upon a mature decision that represents who they are. Most of the time, we expect a "kid" to have done it because they saw it on their friends, on tv, in the magazines, etc and they think it'll make them a part of somethng they want ot be a part of.

Did that make sense?