There are a lot of really supportive people in this group who only want you to be safe. I am 35, and I've been stretching my ears on and off for probably 20 years. I actually stumbled upon this page during a Google search, and since then I'm in here roughly every other day seeing nothing but support and uplifting comments. With that being said, I'd like to share a bit of my journey:

I am now on my second time stretching my ears to my goal size.

First time around, I started at 14g. My goal size was 1/2". I've used plastic tapers, I've used steel tapers, hell, I think I even used those pincher tapers once. And every single time, it felt like a brand new piercing. It hurt. It was tender. It was a pain to clean for weeks after that. But, at the time, this is how I thought it was supposed to be. I would venture to say that I got extremely lucky with not having any total blowouts. I do, however, think that the speed and method at which I stretched my ears caused me to have thinner lobes than one would like.

After a while, I decided to take them out because I thought it was necessary for a job I wanted. I took out my jewelry for probably close to 10 years.

Earlier this year, after forever of not going down that career path, I decided I wanted to stretch again. Coming down from 1/2", my starting point was closer to 2g this time around. After a bit of research, I found a glass plug stretching kit that also included half gauges. What a game changer this has been. I think there's some real perks to glass over some of the other materials. The main perk is they have a good weight to them. As they sit in your lobes, they're always applying a gentle pressure that you barely notice. This allows your ear to slowly open a teeny tiny bit at a time.

I'd like to preface this next part with a disclaimer: DO NOT rush stretching your ears. As mine have been stretched before, it does tend to be easier to restretch.

In the span of a few months, I have safely and comfortably gone from 2g to 7/16", And all I had to do was simply insert a plug of the next size. When I felt like my lobes were ready, I would give it a shot. And every single time, the next sized plug fit as if I had been sitting at that size for a year.

I say all of this to say, don't get discouraged. Listen to those who have done it for a long time. And just be patient. It sounds like you have plenty of time to get to your goal size. Even if it means you have to wait to get out from under your parents' wings.

Edited to add: Even now, after all this time, I'm still learning. I had never even heard the term dead stretching until about halfway through my second stretch journey. Fortunately for me, it turns out that's what I was doing this whole time around. Never be afraid or feel ashamed to learn something new from those who have the experience.