?What music do you like" Taylor Swift"? 
I?m at an east-end Toronto tattoo studio, but the question isn?t for me. It?s aimed at my 5-year-old daughter, who is here to get her ears pierced. 
I giggle nervously and say that Elmo is more up her alley. Minutes later, ?Elmo?s Song? is playing throughout the studio. 
When my daughter asked just before her 5th birthday to get her ears pierced, I was totally on board. But I knew I wanted to do it in a safe way that respected her body and her right to have control over the process, since teaching consent is an important part of my parenting. 
I had a good experience getting my ears pierced at a hair salon as a kid, but I had heard horror stories from my friends about their piercings getting infected after having their ears pierced at the mall.  With all this in mind, I sought out an experienced, professional piercer, who is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), a California-based organization that sets industry standards for safe piercing. After some research, we found ourselves standing in a brightly lit studio, with potted plants and cool artwork surrounding the tattoo and piercing stations last October. 
The studio was super clean and the staff was friendly and welcoming. The piercer, a sweet young woman with brightly coloured hair, chatted with my daughter to set her at ease and happily answered all her questions about her own tattoos and piercings. 
The main difference between getting ears...