Hilary Duff is being mom-shamed after posting a photo of her eight-month-old daughter with pierced ears
When it comes to raising a kid, no two parenting styles are the same. The onus is on you, as the child's mother or father, to bring them up to the best of your ability - and ultimately in any way that you see fit.
And broadly speaking, it's your prerogative to do so. But what if your particular parenting style happens to encroach on your child's right to consent?
While the right to consent is considered a pretty serious issue; for some, having your ears pierced is as much a matter of consent as any other.
In fact, Hilary Duff is now being slammed by some fans on Instagram after taking to the app to post of a photo of her eight-month-old daughter showing off her newly pierced ears.
Credit: Hilary Duff
The photo, posted on the former Disney starlet's Instagram story, shows the little tot sporting a mini-ponytail and, of course, the offending stud earrings.
Duff and her fiancé Matthew Koma welcomed baby Banks in a home water birth last October, meaning the little one is just under four months shy of her first birthday.
"Oh and yes we pierced her ears," Duff wrote in the Insta story, apparently having anticipated people drawing attention to it.
Indeed, a number of people called the actress out for piercing her daughter's ears.
"Just won an unfollow after seeing you pierced her ears, poor baby. Bye!" one person wrote while another accused Duff of "causing unnecessary pain", calling it "child abuse."
"The risks are unreal and that throbbing pain in her ears, no matter how happy and looked after your child is, just isn't justified in my eyes," they continued. "To put a baby through it with no choice but to deal with it isn't right in my opinion. "If a 'young kid' wants it, then I support the parents’ decision ... they aren't fashion accessories."
"I agree," added another. "I just don’t get why you would do it. Babies are beautiful, why would they need their ears piercing?"
However, not everyone agreed that Duff should be condemned for doing what many parents have done for generations, seemingly with no negative consequences.
"It is not abuse," one person argued.
"My ears were pierced at the hospital, a day or so after I was born in Venezuela," another wrote. "It’s a very common practice there. I’m glad it happened there and by a nurse, rather than [when I was] older when I can remember the pain. Sure, some may want to wait until the child can make that decision for themselves, but it’s not that big of a deal if parents don’t always wait. Plus the child can always choose not to wear earrings or close the holes if it’s really that big of an issue."
"Piercing the earlobe is just not that painful," another commenter added. "If it hurt then a young child wouldn't sit there for the other side [to be] pierced too, would they?"
"I am 51 years old and my sister and I had our ears pierced when we were babies as well and done with a needle," a fan shared. "I’m OK, I’m not traumatized and I don't remember because I was a baby. People need to stop judging what other people do, and look at what goes on in their own home."
This article first appeared on VT.co and was shared with permission.