Piercings In Childcare, What Are Your Thoughts?

[catchmeifucan]

Hi All,

I recently got a facial piercing and my director had asked me to take it out, when I went to work the next day. I clearly explained that having just gotten it pierced that I was unable to remove it at this stage. She was really nice about it and Im not sure whether that it is correct for me to remove it.

Isnt it my choice? I was wondering your thoughts and experiences for any of you who was asked to remove their piercings while at work.

Thanks

[Lorina]

Hi Everyone!

My opinion is that if it doesnt cross any ethical boundaries and you enjoy your job I say remove it.

Due to ethical reasons/culture some piercings are considered unethical if removed.

You have to also consider the OH&S issue on this and thats why your director probably had asked you to remove it. If a child accidentally pulls it well then thats definately going to hurt.

Same reason you wear covered shoes and tie your hair back its in the best interest of all staff, families and children within your centre.

Let us know what you decide, I know this can be a hard desision but deep down you will know whats right and you stick by any decision you choose...

Good Luck!!

[ashlloyd]

Hi

i have my nose and tounge pierced and have never been asked to take any of them out, i have worked with other people with more piercings such as wrist, neck, eyelid, lip, eyebrow, some such as the wrist piercings caused problems with managers for obviose health and safety reasons but comprimses were made, (i.e covered during work hours) but also have you seen the clear plastic bars (i think they are called ptfe bars) they have out now they are really good and hardly noticable i would deffinatly reccomend them as i feel its personal choice to get a piercing and as long as it doesn't harm anyone else it shouldn't be anyone else's buisness,

Let me know what happens and if you try the plastic bars and how your director reacts :idea.
Ashley

[Lorina]

Good point...Ashley.

I never thought of that. .

- L.A

[RaRa]

I had a small ring through my nose that was hardly noticeable & it was brought to the directors attention by other staff & I ended up getting a written warning for that, a few other girls have studs in their nose & apparently that's okay, bit rough if you ask me

[bree]

Ok im 33 and old, but then so are most of the parents you work for. I personally think piercings look tacky, unless it is for cultural reasons. Ask youself if u would have been hired if u wore it to the interview and would you have worn it to the interview?

[ashlloyd]

Bree i think that is abit harsh piercings are a personal choice and as i said previosly unless they pose a health and safety risk it should be no one elses business as are peoples choice of clothes and hair styles among other things and yes i did wear my piercings to my interviews and was taken on for my qulifications and experience in child care.

[bree]

im glad that ur qualifications and experience got you through, sorry if u think thats harsh, but like u i have my personal opinions too...personally i think they are tacky and dont look nice, but i respect ur choice to wear them if you choose to.

[harleybear]

I think there is a line with piercings - it's okay if you have a few small ones in your ears or on your face, but anything more - i think is unprofessional. I have a lip piercing and my tragus pierced. I worked for one company (for 7+ years) where the director asked me to take it out and i flat out refused and then i heard nothing more about it. I then moved companies a few months later and I was hired with the lip piercing in and it has never been an issue. It all depends on who you work for and how strict your director is. At the end of the day if it's not causing anyone harm and your doing a good job then what's the big deal?! that's my thoughts anyway.

[rikkay85]

I think that as a parent and a worker that teaching tolerance is the real issue here. We encourage children to express themselves however they want. Piercings, tattoos, hair colouring are just another form of expression. It is that person communicating who they are through a visual means. It doesn't hurt you when you look at it, it makes you feel uncomfortable so really it's you who has the problem.

[emmastudent]

My first thought on this topic relates to the management of the centre, i think our job is to be good role models and as parents continually think of child care as a brand and expect higher and higher professional standards that facial piercing are not really appropriate for childcare. However i think we should also let the children see many varieties of people to reduce stereotyping. imagine if we protected children from seeing any diversity. It would not be good for children to stereotype people who look different - isnt that what we are all working towards?
Then again if you look at other industries such as corporate and even hospitality they generally have pretty high dress codes.

What about tattoos? - we have had a few employees with multiple tattoos and they have had to cover them up.

[jacsta88]

I worked at a centre and at the interview and when I was offered the job, not once did the Owner mention anything about piercings(i have a small diamante lip bar thats not very noticeable), however, on my first day the manager said I needed to take it out. So i did and by the time I got home it had nearly closed up and was a bit painful to put the bar back through. I went and bought one of the plastic bars but found it stuck out too far and the kids were able to easily pull on it and noticed it a lot more. I sneakily put my original bar back in and they never mentioned anything again.

However, where I work now they have a very relaxed view on piercings i think as long as its not over the top and full on its ok. We've had people with nose piercings, labret, lip, and tongue piercings and nothings ever been mentioned. The kids have never noticed my lip piercing and wouldnt be able to pull it out even if they did

I say keep it in and as long as you keep it tasteful.

[fchaudari76]

My last centre clearly stated you were only allowed to wear one set of earings and not much jewellery or piercings.
I have a nose stud (cultural) but neverthelessa piercing. It is a very small one and is a stud not a ring. My Director had no issues with it as it did not pose any danger as it is so small and if a child pulled it it would just come out as it was a simple bar.
One of my assistants had 4 sets of ear piercings and she was asked to remove 3.

Piercings and necklaces rings etc can pose a difficulty... it is a safety issue just the same way if you work in a professional kitchen you have to remove or tape up piercings.

I have nothing against piercings but a few is ok, I think people who are covered with tattoos and piercings do not look professional but that is my opinion

[shmollie_hollie]

Im 19 and I have a nose ring and have never been asked to remove it in childcare or when i worked in an aged-care home, I had it in the interview, parents have never commented on it except to say it looks nice and the kids love it too because its different. You should be able eto express yourself and embrace being/looking different. we try to teach the kids to accept everyone no matter what they look like or choose to wear etc but then we go and judge eachother because of how they like to express themselves? Complete contradiction if you ask me. Wear it and rock it!

[Heathermayer]

Piercing in Childcare is ok with me as a Director as long as it is small and tasteful.

[Alhena120]

I think there is a line with piercings - it's okay if you have a few small ones in your ears or on your face, but anything more - i think is unprofessional. I have a lip piercing and my tragus pierced. I worked for one company (for 7+ years) where the director asked me to take it out and i flat out refused and then i heard nothing more about it. I then moved companies a few months later

[Alhena120]

I am glad that ur qualifications and experience got you through, sorry if u think that's harsh, but like u i have my personal opinions too...personally i think they are tacky and dont look nice, but i respect ur choice to wear them if you choose to.

[indego]

I coordinate an OSHC service, and we rewrote our policy regarding tattoos and piercings at the start of the year after one of our staff got those spacer earring things done over summer.

The wording we ended up choosing was "All piercings/implants must be safe, and pose no safety risk to the employee or others. Facial piercings must be removed, or replaced with a very small stud. All earrings must be small, and not pose a safety risk to the employee of others. All tattoos must be appropriate for the work environment, or be completely covered."
(Implants is in there because my 2IC joking threatened to get dermals on her head. The loose phrasing about tattoos is because we all have them, and none of us cover them up. But then, none of us are as silly as Mr Spacer Ears, who went on to get a swear word tattooed on his arm even though he's planning a career in child care...)

While the spacer guy ended up getting fired for a host of unrelated reason, his earlobe was injured on the job before he left.
While he never claimed it as a workplace injury, he actually had the right to. If his ear had have torn a little bit further, and he needed to have it repaired, my service could have ended up paying for all of that.
Because it poses a risk to my service, I feel that I have the right to impose a "no spacer earrings" rule.

The same goes for any piercing likely to be grabbed and pulled. If there's a chance my service will have to pay to repair the damage done, I feel I have the right to tell an employee that they need to take it out.