Question 22. Girl and tattoo

Dear 21st Century Dad, my fourteen-year old daughter wants to get a tattoo at the base of her spine. She says no one will be able to see it but her.

Right, no one unless she’s wearing her bikini!

I know everybody gets tattoos these days. I don’t know what to say to her.

Dear Branded Forever,
Relax. Until she is 19 in BC, she needs your legal permission. That may or may not present negotiation problems for you. The tone of your question does not seem to present any antagonism toward her getting a tattoo.

And, there are more exhibitionistic body sites a child can tattoo.

If we are not resistant to our daughter tattooing, Google ‘tattoo’ in Images and be prepared to have a discourse on likes and dislikes and what’s acceptable and not acceptable in our household. Be warned. Google Images presents tattoos that will no doubt lead to some interesting discussions.

Have our daughter research into the designs she wants on her body. She can either choose a store design or design it herself and get the tattoo artist to finesse the details.

The best thought we can place in our daughter’s brain is to emphasis the rising cost of real estate in the 21st Century. When there’s less, the cost is always more.
What’s that got to do with a tattoo?

There’s only so much skin on the body. Make sure what our daughter puts on her body will be art, not merely a goofy drawing. Is the person doing the tattoo a technician or an artist? Let’s ensure our daughter understands she’s not just picking a fancy coat in Winner’s. She will be wearing her tattoo long after we’ve realized global weather patterns have forever changed our mindscape.

Can she foresee her aesthetic sensibilities in ten years time? No way! Let’s ask her if she would redecorate her bedroom in Micky and Minnie Mouse wallpaper? We can point out to her that at one time she saw the world through Walt Disney eyes. Will she still like her tattoo in ten years?

Tattooing skin at fourteen? Unless we both are in favour, keep her talking about tattoos in Google images for at least a couple of years, or help her to find the best tattoo artist in your community or outside of it.
A tattooist who is both a technician and an artist will guarantee she will be able to wear her consequences with pride.

Google:
1. Health Canada alerts Canadians not to use "black henna" temporary ...

2. [PDF] PHI 079 Guidelines for PSEs

Key into YouTube:

1. Getting my first tattoo