Is it permissible to pierce the ear of a boy or a child and put an earring in it? And was a ring placed in the ear of Imam Ahmad when he was a boy, which he then sold to help his mother?

Scholars have differed regarding the permissibility of piercing a child's ear. The preponderant view is that it is permissible for a girl but not for a boy, based on Ibn Muflih's statement: "It is permissible to pierce a girl's ear for adornment, and it is disliked to pierce a boy's ear." Ibn al-Jawzi, however, definitively stated that piercing a girl's ear is impermissible because it is a painful wound. As for what was mentioned about Imam Ahmad wearing an earring in his ear as a child, we have not found anyone who stated this, and it is highly improbable.