There is a family that I have known for over 5 years. We have very different views on parenting, discipline, child rearing, etc. But one practice of this family (that I thought to be interesting) is that, about 1 month after each of their sons were born, they would pierce their son's left ear.
Normally, I would write this off as something unique to these particular parents, except there is no central motivating reason for the parents (i.e. neither of the parents have any piercings). Also, I recently encountered another family who seems to have the same practice of piercing their sons' left ears when they are about a month old.
Not having seen this before and knowing that this is not a common practice among parents, I just want to learn more.
Are there reasons (other than preference) for parents to do this? Or is this just a new fad that is on the rise?