Would you let your kid get tattooed before 18?

[Sean Rakos]

I worked in detroit and you can tattoo minors with parental consent and it was horrible!!! I never had one of the minors that wasn't a complete train wreck accompanied by an equally train wreck of a parent.

[Tommy]

Gia, hope yer well, my young fella tormented me for years, but never actually got the tattoo, 26 and he still has none, the middle one I told to wait till she was 18 cause she is a girl and I reckon girls should wait, haha, but she went and got 2 tattoos, so I ended up doing a nice 3/4 sleeve on her, it's nice, she had a baby with her fella, it's a boy and I'll drill him when he's 8 or 9[joke]. Anyway, the youngest girl, I told her if she really wanted I'd tattoo her anytime because of what happened with the middle one but she waited till she was 19, I think because I said I'd do it anytime, that way there was no rush.

OK, peace out, hope life is good over there.

[Hands On]

My son was always much more mature and he now at 21 is in the Army and has a career whether he stay in the Army or not! My daughter on the other hand is still trying to "find herself" which is fine with me as she supports herself and her son BUT she is not set in a career!

It may also stem from the fact that I have been a tattooed woman for 26 years and i know the stigma that society attached to me because of that and how hard it was for me at times. I know that the stigma has been lessened a bit now because of tattoos going mainstream BUT I would prefer her not to have any obstacles put in her path until she is set in a career!

If she did decide to get one there obviously is nothing I could do about it and I would also make sure it was an artist at the top of the craft!

Hope this makes sense!

:)

I don't have any kids yet, but hope to someday. I think Bunny nailed it. We're all different and mature at different rates. I've come across plenty of adults who want a tattoo but don't know what they want and may not be ready for or deserve a tattoo. They're not for everyone, so it's very circumstantial.

Since this thread asks if I would let my kid get tattooed, I guess it can't truly be answered until I see what kind of person they are at the point when they want one. I imagine, like the tattooers who have already replied, that my child(ren) will be around it enough to be informed and make a good decision when the time is right. I wonder when Filip Leu and Doug Hardy were first tattooed.

That being said, I'm sure my wife will have the final word.. so it just depends on how well they can smooth talk her.

[David Flores]

I don't have any kids yet, but hope to someday. I think Bunny nailed it. We're all different and mature at different rates. I've come across plenty of adults who want a tattoo but don't know what they want and may not be ready for or deserve a tattoo. They're not for everyone, so it's very circumstantial.

Since this thread asks if I would let my kid get tattooed, I guess it can't truly be answered until I see what kind of person they are at the point when they want one. I imagine, like the tattooers who have already replied, that my child(ren) will be around it enough to be informed and make a good decision when the time is right. I wonder when Filip Leu and Doug Hardy were first tattooed.

That being said, I'm sure my wife will have the final word.. so it just depends on how well they can smooth talk her.

Doug posted a picture recently of him getting his first tattoo by his dad in July of 1984. That would have been right around the time he turned 18 as he was born in July 1966.

[hgiles]

My kids don't want tattoos, but if they did before 18 then I would pick the artist and the subject matter. Simple, right?

[anthem]

I won't tattoo anyone under age. The way I see it, if you can't get it without your parents permission then you can't have it.

[David Flores]

Every once in awhile i feel bad about turning away some 16-17 year old kid. Especially when some of them conduct themselves better than people who are of legal age to get tattooed. I remember one time, answering the phone and it was a mother asking for her and her 16 year old son to getting matching tattoos for her mom who's funeral they were in town attending. I had to explain to her that our hands are tied because of state laws, but really in that scenario I see nothing wrong with doing a tattoo of that nature. Also the human in me tells me to try to make things easier on people who are going through some shitty times.

[Shannon Shirley]

My girlfriends daughter let a friend of hers put a totally f@cked up name on the back of her neck, I covered it with something nice. I never had kids either. hard to say. Iv'e always been that crazy uncle.

[Bunny Switchblade]

Update on my son......he is now 22 years old and before he deployed to the Middle east this past December he came home for his leave! The tattoo had to be reworked some as he has grown and added a lot of muscle so his back has grown a lot since he was 15/16!

Anyway....Brady Duncan re-worked the original concept my son had started with....and Brady finished my sons tattoo!

3 to 4 hours on his back and a big piece....Brady works fast.....but my son took it and left for deployment with an awesome tattoo on his back!

I am just proud because he finished something he had started!

Can i also say this......the concept of the tattoo did change so i think just based on that, that you should be of legal age to be tattooed! What you want at 15/16 probably is not gonna be what you want 5 years later!

I could be totally wrong....but it's how i feel now!

;)

[Shannon Shirley]

It's easy to look back, It's hard to look forward.

Update on my son......he is now 22 years old and before he deployed to the Middle east this past December he came home for his leave! The tattoo had to be reworked some as he has grown and added a lot of muscle so his back has grown a lot since he was 15/16!

Anyway....Brady Duncan re-worked the original concept my son had started with....and Brady finished my sons tattoo!

3 to 4 hours on his back and a big piece....Brady works fast.....but my son took it and left for deployment with an awesome tattoo on his back!

I am just proud because he finished something he had started!

Can i also say this......the concept of the tattoo did change so i think just based on that, that you should be of legal age to be tattooed! What you want at 15/16 probably is not gonna be what you want 5 years later!

I could be totally wrong....but it's how i feel now!

;)

[bulldog]

Its a hard one, my dad told me not to get tattooed so i did it behind his back at 16 anyhow..

As for my two young boys i think ill ask them to wait until they are 18 but if they feel the need then speak to me first, i can then at least advise before they do it behind my back.

[Scarybones]

I'm pretty sure in the UK the law is 18 or nothing (correct me if I'm wrong), but even if it wasn't I don't think I'd want my kids getting tattooed before they were 18. If I had got tattoos at 16 or 17 I'd have some proper nonsense covering me right now, and the few people I do know who got tattooed younger have either bad quality work or designs that they hate. I'm sure there are some exceptions but I don't think it would sit right with me.

[Reyeslv]

My feeling behind this is my children can do what they want we THEY can pay for it. To be more specific, when are on their own and no longer on my payroll. While they are under my roof, the goal is doing well in school and getting a college education. Or some type of trade development that will make them productive members of society. There is plenty of time to tattoo and pierce things. I am or will be heavily tattooed but that doesn't mean my children get a pass. Take the time to become a person, there's more then enough time for tattoos after that.

[ZachZanone]

I think it's important to wait until 18. I grew up in a military family where I was threatened daily that if I got any tattoos or piercings they would be ripped out, etc. Due to this, I thought over the tattoos I wanted for years and years. Now I'm 21 and every tattoo and piercing I have was thought through and planned out. Though I hated my parents for it at the time, I'm glad they did that when I was younger. Now I don't have any stupid rainbow colored owls or anything dumb like that hahaha.

And also I have to say, all of that time I took researching tattoos and looking up meanings turned into studying and building interest which lead to the tattoo career I'm working on now. Now I have respect for all of the older tattoo artists and tattooed people. All of these kids and "hipsters" nowadays just get whatever tattoo they want, or is "cool" at the time without any thought. Anyways, rambling! You get my thoughts haha

ZZ

[bulldog]

In all honestly i would prefer my boys never to get tattooed but if they must i would prefer to know, i can then make sure they get the crap they want tattooed on their shoulder's not their kneck's

Yes as you get older you make better decisions in life, so does that mean we all wait until retirement and really wise to get great tattoo's? When i got them at 16 i just wanted to be tattooed, i was rebeling, didn't give a f**k about anything and wanted everyone to know that. Knew the old man would go mental, and he did.

nostalgia...:D

Thats what getting tattooed is all about isn't it?............:p

[Gloomy Inks]

NO WAY! And I may do something weird like them to Catholic school too. I'm not kidding either. I wouldn't put it past me.

[TrixieFaux]

Now I don't have any stupid rainbow colored owls or anything dumb like that hahaha.

Rainbow owls sounds kind of sweet. I've seen worse ideas put into action. Ah well, to each his own.

[polliwog]

Nope. I hope I don't offend anyone here, but I also have mixed feelings about people who achieve extensive coverage at a really young age. Mostly because I don't usually see heavily-tattooed early 20somethings where the good work outweighs the bad, unless they themselves are tattooers. When I see 18 year old girls with terrible chest pieces that they think make them look sexy, my heart sort of hurts for them. I guess that makes me one of the olds.

[Bexter]

I was recently looking through my "box of memories" and found a sketch of a tattoo idea I wanted that I did when I was 14. I've just booked in 14 years later for pretty much the same thing minus the music notations. What is it with kids and music tattoos? Even if I had have gotten that song, it's still one of my favorite, and I'm sure I'd love the tattoo still.

I was pretty surprised to learn that 14 year old me actually had some taste. PROUD! :)

I also remember the tattoo shop I wanted to go to. It was where I got my piercings and is still recommended to me now when I ask around, so it couldn't have been all that bad. Go me.

All kids are so different, I guess I'd take it one case at a time. I sometimes forget my nephew is only 14 sometimes, his head is so screwed on. I have better conversations with him than I do with people in work. He'd get a rad tattoo from the best artist. My brother on the other hand is 25 and all of his tattoos are rubbish and he regrets most of them, even the one he got just last week.

[iowagirl]

Nope, sure wouldn't. Neither of my kids has expressed a desire for tattoos, but even if they did, no.

[GateKeeper]

Hi All,

First time replying to a thread. As mentioned before by others there is plenty of time to get inked.

The age of 18 would be when I give my son my blessing to go ahead and do it.Another condition for me

is that it has to be a concept that has had a lot of thought put into it. I have often mentioned to my wife that if

my boy wanted a tattoo when he is old enough that we would get one together,the same design he has if at

all possible. I am keeping my right forearm tattoo free on purpose for this reason.He is only 4y.o. and adores my ink, especially my favorite which is his portrait God love him.

[spookysproul]

My first tattoo (inside my lip) I got when I was 17. It's not the most embarrassing thing in the world, but is a band tattoo of a band I can't say I particularly care for anymore. Luckily, my first visible tattoo - my forearm - that came about 6 months later, after I turned 18. I still like. I accidentally ended up going to a very good artist, and I'm still proud to have it in my collection.

However, I don't know that I would have gone with the same subject matter if I knew who I am now. While a zombie pin-up is pretty slick, it's not exactly my style these days. I ended up pouring every penny I had into getting tattooed and have had about 3/4 of my body covered since I was around 24. Now that it's in there, I definitely wish I'd waited more. There are so many incredible artists that I want to get tattooed by, but don't have the room for; there are many tattoos I have that I wish I'd thought out more before going to get it.

I think the only exception I would make for my future children would be to allow them to get a small piece of iconic flash in an area that could be covered by a t-shirt or shorts, but other than that I wouldn't allow them to get a pre-18 tattoo, especially since I have first-hand experience on how you can regret post-18 tattoos.

[titforatat]

My first tattoo (inside my lip) I got when I was 17. It's not the most embarrassing thing in the world, but is a band tattoo of a band I can't say I particularly care for anymore.

Did the band's music change? Or did your music tastes evolve and change?

[spookysproul]

@titforatat my tastes changed. Oddly enough, things that seemed so incredibly cool to me when I was 17 didn't really in the following years. If only someone had told me...

[Victor]

If children know that their parents are supportive of what they want to do, the lines of communication stay open and parents can hopefully help their kids make better choices in life. Kids are going to get tattooed if they want to, anyway, 18 or not, whether their parents support it or not. Some people are mature early in life and can think things through and make good decisions on a lot of matters, tattoos or otherwise. Some people will make bad decisions their whole life. The number 18 is arbitrary at best, there is no magical age of maturity. When somebody thinks they are ready, they will get a tattoo, 18 or not, and realize the consequences of that decision. Hopefully they do not start with a face tattoo.

I would let my kid get tattooed before 18 and I would help them get an awesome tattoo.