The haters are getting a little nosey.
A mother of three is under fire for letting her 9-year-old daughter get her nose pierced, as people call her a “bad mom.”
Meghan Black, 28, posted a series of clips on TikTok championing her young daughter’s bold personality and shameless self-expression, justifying to the haters that “it’s okay” for her to have a piercing and to even wear makeup.
“You’re a bad mom for letting your 9-year-old have a nose piercing,” Black quoted on a clip with over 998,000 views, flipping off the camera.
In the caption, the tatted Illinois mama questioned why it’s “cute” for toddlers to wear crop tops, but suddenly a facial piercing doesn’t fly. Some users in the comments agreed with her, saying that a nose piercing is the same as the ears — which some parents give to their babies “without consent.”
“People are freaking out like most parents don’t peirce [sic] their newborns ears without consent,” one TikToker argued.
“My parents pierced my ears at like 5 it’s no different than facial piercing,” another agreed.
“People are gonna hate either way just do you,” one user encouraged.
While some people wished their parents were more like Black, others were horrified to see a facial piercing on such a young girl.
“I think it’s unusual to see a child with a nose piercing,” read one comment, which amassed more than 17,000 likes in agreement.
“The piercer needs to be reprimanded lol I blame them for actually doing it. But yeah, she’s too young,” another griped.
“That definitely seems a bit early,” someone else agreed.
“Nine really is a bit young,” someone else wrote. “You‘re not a bad mom and if I was your child and I’ve been begging for it I’d be very happy … but I’d be too afraid that they‘d regret it later or that their nose isn’t completely grown yet.”
VeryWellHealth claims that the human nose doesn’t stop growing until about 12 years of age, while some experts argue it can continue to change until 16 or even into early adulthood.
Other viewers cited legal concerns, claiming that the law doesn’t allow facial piercings — even with parental consent — under the age of 14. While Black assured users that she took her daughter to a licensed shop, piercers’ websites located in Illinois say they will not pierce the noses of anyone under the age of 14.
In the clips following Black’s controversial statements, she justified her decision to allow her daughter to express herself through body modifications and mascara.
She describes her kid like any other, saying she “loves to be silly and make others smile,” is adventurous and enjoys spending time with her family.
“It’s okay if she wants to express herself with a nose ring or mascara,” Black wrote on the video.