Tattoo Question

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LauraMacNCheese
LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
in Chit-Chat
I've had this conversation with a few people recently and I'm curious to get some more opinions...how young is "too young" to get a tattoo? Here in NV, under 18 requires a parent's permission. For my kids, I've decided that I'm ok with 16 or 17, as long as it's not like a full sleeve or something like that. And, if it's a tasteful piece...I've seen some pretty horrid ink out there and I'd put my foot down on something like that.

What do you all think?
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Replies

  • booshay71
    booshay71 Posts: 20
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    In New Zealand its 16, my daughter turned 17 today and would like one. I would let her but maybe draw one on for a week or so.. I got my first when i was 18 and have since had it covered, my second at 20 and have had that lasered off so its a bit tricky. I love tatts but you really have to think about what you want, the meaning and if its just a fashion statement will it be un cool in 10 years time..I have 5 and would like a sleeve but maybe a bit old now. lol
  • jboccio90
    jboccio90 Posts: 644 Member
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    Personally I would not let them get one past the elbow and not on the side of the neck.
    Thanks my rule for myself anyway
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    In New Zealand its 16, my daughter turned 17 today and would like one. I would let her but maybe draw one on for a week or so.. I got my first when i was 18 and have since had it covered, my second at 20 and have had that lasered off so its a bit tricky. I love tatts but you really have to think about what you want, the meaning and if its just a fashion statement will it be un cool in 10 years time..I have 5 and would like a sleeve but maybe a bit old now. lol

    That would definitely be one of my conditions...to sit down and talk about something that means a lot to them before letting it happen AND to put it somewhere that can be concealed when necessary.
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    I think it depends on the maturity of the person wanting the tattoo. in junior high, I knew people who did 'home made' tattoos...they looked horrid. Thinking about it now, do they really want the initials of some guy they had a crush on when they were 13 on their hand NOW?

    If it's a 'memorial' tattoo, I'm more okay with it than something 'trendy' like a Lady Gaga tattoo.
  • DBiddle69
    DBiddle69 Posts: 682 Member
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    If you saw my son you would think 24 is too young!!
  • rammsteinsoldier
    rammsteinsoldier Posts: 1,556 Member
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    I made my daughters wait until 18. I figured it is permanent so that decision had to be all on them. I did sign for piercings before they were 18 because they can just remove a piercing so I wouldn't get the blame placed in my lap.
  • jonbobfrog
    jonbobfrog Posts: 294
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    Once they're 18 you can't stop them anyway ...
  • mandamama
    mandamama Posts: 250
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    I think if it is a memorial tatoo for someone they love, then that would be one thing.. to get.. winnie the pooh or whatever fad they are into at that age, I wouldn't allow. I think the rule should be, have it where you can hide it. No matter what people think, People who hire for jobs, DO look at tattoos as a bad, and unprofessional thing, so keep that in mind for their futures. I say, when you are old enough to go ahead and do it yourself, that is when I would allow it. I can't even imagine what I would have on me if I did it at that age, I would most likely regret it, A lot of people I know who have tats have them re-worked becuase they regret them.
  • HelloHayleyKC
    HelloHayleyKC Posts: 15
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    I think it does depend on the maturity of the person. I've waited 6 years to get the tattoo I want (I'm getting my first in a few weeks!) because I did not want to regret it or do it on impulse. I'm very confident in the getting the ink on my body now, but I have several friends who got their tattoo without much thought behind it. Some regret it now, others don't. It really does depend on the person.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    I think it does depend on the maturity of the person.
    Good God, I'm 50 and too fickle to make up my mind...
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
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    This is kind of funny, talking about rules for tattoos. On some level, that might make it unattractive to kids, right, that their parents discuss the pluses and minuses of tattoos?

    My grandfather had a tattoo that he got when he served in the French Foreign Legion. It was on his forearm and scary looking.

    (He had a Popeye sized forearm, and he would be 112 if he were alive today, so he probably got his tattoo in 1920 or so).
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Sounds like you are taking a really level headed approach to this, visible tatts can affect jobs later in life, names of GF/BF are really bad so trying on a tat is a great idea.


    I have three, got my 1st at 40, 43 then my halfway (weight loss) tat at 55!!
  • indianlarry11
    indianlarry11 Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm all about letting kids learn from their mistakes, or experience. However, I'm very glad I didn't get tattooed that young when I first wanted to. What I thought was super cool back then I now think is pretty lame at 35.
  • cruiser3004
    cruiser3004 Posts: 72 Member
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    If its just to be cool, or stand out from the crowd, I would try to explain that not having a tattoo these days will make them more individual.
  • prettytothinkso
    prettytothinkso Posts: 290
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    I'm making mine wait until they're 18.
  • YennaBean
    YennaBean Posts: 77 Member
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    Here it's 18, no exceptions unless a kid has a gang tat or something obscene and a judge gives them an order to get it covered. At least that's how it is here in Texas. I have a tattoo I regret, it's a piece of a song that me and an EX best friend shared. We're not friends anymore. I think she actually got hers laser removed, but I'm stuck with mine. :explode: Anyways, my little girl is only 5 and she's already raving about tattoos. (uh oh.) I think the only advice I have for my kids is to obviously really think about it before you do it. I love all my tattoos except for the song. Everything else I have is just art to me. So I think 18 is TOO YOUNG! But hey, tattoos I learned that you would NEVER regret, are your children's names. (Some portraits turn out horrible though. lol) :laugh:
  • indianlarry11
    indianlarry11 Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm all about letting kids learn from their mistakes, or experience. However, I'm very glad I didn't get tattooed that young when I first wanted to. What I thought was super cool back then I now think is pretty lame at 35. At the same time, the mustache I put on my finger, and the heart on my arm that says "yer mom" will probably seem pretty silly when I'm 55. It's all relative, but if I were 17 again I would still wait to get tattooed. Of course there are exceptions, but most people don't seem to really know who they are until they are at least in their late 20s. If they do go ahead, I would advise them to avoid easily visible areas until they figure out who they are going to be and what they want to do, which again, is usally later in the 20s. I didn't get anything on my arms until i was sure about my career and possitive it wouldn't hold me back.
  • QueenDiva27
    QueenDiva27 Posts: 11
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    I am not opposed to getting ink, but my kids have to be legal age I would say 21 yrs old and in college. If they want a sleeve and its tasteful I am fine with it being that I don't have to live the ink LOL:flowerforyou: :heart
  • csw92
    csw92 Posts: 35 Member
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    I was 16 when I got my first tattoo, the only thing I regret about it is that I got it on my forearm which causes some issues with the work place.

    If a kid really wants a tattoo, they'll find a way. Hopefully they'd wait until they can get a professional one, some garage artists can really mess up some ink.

    And getting a tattoo just to be cool will come back to haunt you.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    My mom signed off for me to get one at 16, and I got a bunch of silly stuff between that and 18. I wish I had waited a little longer so that I made better decisions about placement.

    I will not sign for my daughter to get a tattoo. She's 16 now, so we don't have much longer until she's old enough to do it herself, but I'd rather make her wait than sign for a potentially stupid decision.

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