How To Choose The Right And Best Earrings For Babies?

In your search, remember that there’s a little more to it than just cute shapes and colors when looking for baby earrings. You also want to focus on kid-friendly features and the type of materials used.

Being a jeweler means being part of and guiding people during milestones in their lives. Aside from helping their clients pick out engagement and wedding rings, jewelers are also part of one of the most memorable life stages for little girls. The first ear piercing is an important childhood tradition that many children and their parents are looking forward to. Choosing the right piercer is important, but it’s also important to take this opportunity to choose the right jewelry.

Make the experience safe and happy for parents and children by learning how to choose the right earrings for young people to wear for the first time.

Why Baby Earrings Are Not The Same As Adult Earrings?

The best earrings for babies are designed exclusively for a baby’s ear. First, you’ll see that they are noticeably smaller than earrings for an adult. They generally have shorter posts because of the size of your baby’s ear, are lightweight so they don’t weigh little ears down and have backings designed with extra measures to keep them in place for a more secure fit.

The differences help to prevent babies from having discomfort because the earring is too heavy, or the post scratches them, or they pull it apart and it gets lost. Direct supervision is always a good recommendation with any type of jewelry for children under 3 years of age, the small parts can create a choking hazard.

So, as you can see it’s important to ensure you get earrings that are designed just for babies. Here’s what to look for.

What To Note When Selecting Your Baby Earrings?

There are three things you should focus on when buying your baby’s earrings, whether it’s your baby’s first earring or not:

Material – hypoallergenic is best
Size – petite and lightweight
Design – screw back preferable

Size Of The Kids Earring

They should be lightweight and not too heavy for your baby’s ear. Earrings for babies are also much smaller as you may have noticed. Typically, earrings with sizes ranging anywhere between 3mm-4mm make for a better fit for babies and toddlers. Another important thing to look is the size of the posts as well! This is often overlooked, earrings designed for babies and children should have shorter posts than those designed for adults. Shorter posts combined with covered earring backs are much more comfortable for little ones.

Say “no” to dangling and hoop earrings for now

To avoid the possibility of getting their ears hooked during playtime or even at rest, it’s best to steer clear of dangling or hoop earrings for now. Post or stud earrings are the safest bets for babies and children until they are old enough to be mindful of their movements and surroundings. Make sure also that the earrings’ posts are much shorter than those made for adult earrings to avoid the possibility of their earrings puncturing or rubbing against their skin.
Additionally, simple non-flashy designs are good bets to avoid unwanted attention.

Hypoallergenic Material For Baby Earrings Pierced

For the delicate skin of babies and children, it’s best to err on the side of caution. Avoid possible allergic reactions by choosing hypoallergenic options, particularly those that don’t contain nickel, which may cause irritation. Sterling silver, 14K 18 K yellow gold, and white gold are skin-safe choices for children or first-time wearers of any age for that matter. Earrings with medical-grade titanium and plastic are great too – the latter is especially a preferred option for babies as they are gentle and won’t dig into their skin even while sleeping.

In California, the CA Department of Toxic Substances Control ( DTSC) summarizes the lead, cadmium, and other requirements for baby earrings contained in the CA Metal-Containing Jewelry law. It specifies the types of materials allowed for jewelry making and restrictions for lead and makes special provisions for children’s jewelry. For example, lead, nickel, and cadmium are toxic at certain levels and will likely cause an allergic reaction in your baby’s skin.

The post and base of the earring sit directly on your baby’s skin. So, these parts of the earring must be made from hypoallergenic metals to avoid an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, many inexpensive earrings may contain higher levels of nickel and even possibly lead or cadmium in the post and base. These materials, specifically high amounts of nickel, will likely irritate a baby’s – and even some adult’s – skin, causing the skin to become red and inflamed with a painful and annoying itch. This is called contact dermatitis, where they have an allergic reaction to the materials.

So, it’s a good idea to be sure that the type of jewelry you get does not contain these substances or at very minimal amounts at the very least. Wherever you plan to buy your baby’s jewelry, make sure to check that they are adhering to at least the minimum standards for your baby’s health. Precious metals with a karat gold content of 14k or higher and sterling silver are a safe choice to avoid these issues.

Types Of Hypoallergenic Metals For Baby Earrings

The best types of metals for baby earrings are the ones that don’t irritate the skin. These can include gold, sterling silver, or surgical stainless steel.

Gold Earrings for Baby

Gold earrings should be of high quality. The higher the karat content, the less likely there will be other components that will cause irritation or an allergic reaction. 14K earrings for babies are an excellent option. It has usually had enough karat gold to avoid reactions mixed with the benefits of other metals for durability. For very sensitive skin you may want to consider 18k gold.

Sterling Silver Earrings for Baby

Silver is another precious metal considered to be hypoallergenic and makes a good choice for baby earrings. As with gold, silver alone is a soft metal. Sterling silver is made up of 92.5% silver – look for the 925 hallmark stamp – and typically will not cause skin irritation for most people. Yet, silver is prone to tarnish and will require a little maintenance to keep it looking nice. For our children’s silver earrings, we use sterling silver coated with a rhodium layer to prevent tarnishing – giving the earrings lasting shine.

Stainless Steel Earrings for Baby

A durable and hygienic material often used for ear piercing jewelry. Stainless steel can be a hypoallergenic metal and a lower-cost option you may consider for your baby. However, this metal can be made up of several different metal alloy combinations so just make sure it doesn’t contain a high amount of nickel as it is not uncommon in some stainless-steel jewelry.

Titanium Earrings for Baby

A very strong metal often used in piercing jewelry as well as medical implants. Titanium is a hypoallergenic metal that does not contain nickel making it a good choice for those with ultra-sensitive skin. This metal is less expensive than precious metals such as gold but the design choices are a bit limited.

Experiment With Colors And Designs Earrings For Baby

While some parents may prefer simple designs, others leave the design choice to their children, and we all know children love colorful and bright things. Some hypoallergenic earring options come in pretty and dainty designs such as flowers and hearts. They can also be adorned by Swarovski crystals that come in different colors.

Skin-safe Kids Earring Backs

Even if they go behind the ears, choosing the right earring backs is just as important when buying a pair of earrings for children. Again, make sure the material doesn’t contain nickel to avoid possible allergic reactions. You also have to make sure the earring backs are sturdy and can properly secure the jewelry to the child’s ears.

The best options are the specially designed screw-type earring backs that are embedded in high-grade silicone. Screw-type earring backs are much more secure than push backs, while the silicone material ensures the child’s skin is kept healthy and allergy-free. Plus, they are also lightweight and comfortable, which makes it the perfect choice even for babies.

Other earring back options like the french wire and lever back are best suited for older kids and teens.

Screw Back Vs Butterfly Back Which Is Better For Baby Ears Pierced?

Butterfly Back

Butterfly backs, also known as friction backs or push backs, are popular because of the ease with which you can slide the back onto the earring’s post. They’re easily recognizable because the backing loops back onto itself like a butterfly. If you are looking for ease and convenience this style may be considered, yet they are not as secure as a screw-back style earring. So, what exactly is a screw-back earring and what should you look for?

Screw Back

Screw back earrings are made so that the earring back twists onto the post which has a threaded design. This allows you to screw the earring back into a place where it stays firm and secure making it very difficult for babies or toddlers to remove. A great design for little ones, right? Absolutely! But not all screw-back designs are created equal. For example, some screw-back earrings do not have a covered back which leaves the earring post exposed. This type of screw back earring may poke your baby behind her ear. The more preferred screw back style for baby earrings is designed with a covered earring back so it protects the earring post from causing any discomfort or irritation behind your baby’s ear. Our screw back earrings are all designed with covered screw backs and is not at all uncomfortable.

Screw-back earrings are the most popular type for babies for a reason, and especially covered screw back earrings. Let’s recap some of the pros of screw back earrings.

Difficult to remove: This is a very good thing for babies and toddlers who may play with their earrings. You want to make it difficult for them to remove it on their own.
Hard to lose: You know how often you lose a butterfly or push-on earring back and how annoying it is trying to find another one. With a screw back, your baby won’t accidentally lose a back very easily while it’s in. Although they should still be checked regularly to be sure they are secure.
Added safety: Covered screw back earrings are one of the safer choices for baby jewelry. When screwed on properly, it’s difficult to remove decreasing the chance of it becoming a choking hazard.

However, all things in life do come with both pros and cons — and screw back earrings are no exception after all. Keep in mind it is still possible to lose earring backs even with a screw back design. They still need to be checked regularly to ensure they are on securely. Also, if the earring backs are over-tightened or pulled off the post, it can strip the threads and the backs will no longer work. So as with all things, bear in mind screw back earrings still require some diligence and care on your part.

Studs Vs Hoops Which Is Better For Baby Ears Pierced?

Studs versus hoops is a style preference. Hoops are classic and make a beautiful accessory for your little girl. If deciding on hoop earrings, as with other earrings, just remember to check the closure regularly to ensure they are on securely.

Studs are often preferred for babies because of the endless amount of cute designs available and they do offer a bit more security. If your preference is a hoop-style earring, make sure it sits very close to the ear lobe. They should be similar to our huggie hoops earrings, which are designed to hug tiny earlobes to avoid getting snagged on anything. Remember comfort is key!