Kim Kardashian made another North West parenting choice that has critics calling her out.
Last month, a family vacation in Italy drew eyes to North’s “grown up” fashion choices. She’s 12.
Now, however, the parenting scrutiny is about a piercing that can be controversial even when it’s on an adult.
Is this dangerous? Is this just plain in appropriate? Or are critics blowing things out of proportion?
Is Kim Kardashian letting North West do too much?
A close look at photos of 12-year-old North West show that the eldest daughter of Kim Kardashian appears to have a hand piercing.
Now, it could be a statement piece and not a true piercing.
We all know about clip-on earrings. There are more sophisticated fakes for every type of piercing.
This particular piece of body jewelry is called a dermal finger piercing, also called a single-point piercing. North appears to have one on her middle finger.
12 years old North West and her mom, Kim Kardashian.. pic.twitter.com/q7RchBrrv0
— Daily Vibes (@vibewithmedaily) August 25, 2025
Dermal piercings are exactly how they sound — a piercing of the skin. This means that they are not a solid through-and-through piercing of cartilage like you would see in an ear or nose.
Even professional jewelers and piercers may warn about the risks of such a piercing.
Hand piercings in particular can be risky because we, as humans, are constantly using our hands. This can slow healing, increase the risk of infection, and increase the risk of a piercing snagging and causing an injury.
Does North have a finger piercing?
byu/Useful_Grape3559 inKUWTKsnark
Fans are expressing their concern
“Oof that looks like it’s infected!!” one redditor observed, observing a possible red bump close to the piercing.
“Who the f–k lets their 12 year old have piercings? And who the f–k pierces a 12 year old?” the social media user ranted. “My kid didn’t even have her ears pierced at 12.”
Another agreed: “She’s 12. Wtf is Kim doing?!”
“It already looks rejected and painful … Poor girl,” expressed another Reddit denizen.
And another commenter wrote: “I am speechless.”
“Surface piercings are notoriously hard to heal,” noted an additional comment.
“I can’t imagine that getting one on one of the dirtiest and most used parts of the body is a great idea.”
Is this a parenting fail?
In real life, there are parents who err on the side of letting — or making — their kid do too much. To put things into context, there are parents who full-on push their kids to try hard drugs, to participate in acts of violence, and more.
However, it is much more common for parents to err on the side of allowing too little.
Especially with eldest children, who are more likely to receive strict bedtimes and panicked overmanagement from first-time parents.
We do not actually know that North even has a real finger piercing.
Presumably, Kim does. Hopefully, Kim knows what is best for her daughter better than random internet strangers do.