to wonder why parents let their kids get tattoos?

[butterfly2015]

I'm watching the benefits thing on c4. There's a 16 year old with a full sleeve tat. And mum is standing there talking about how she wants the best for her son. Eh?

2 of my dds friends have tats. They are also 16. Why on earth do parents think it's a good idea?

Oh dh and I are the only ones in our (very middle class) families to have tattoos :) I think you either like them or you don't. No big deal. It's very personal.

slw95xx, yep, there's a studio like that near my shop. The youngest they've tattooed (to our knowledge) is 14. Consequently, a big chunk of our workload involves covering up their substandard shit (on the over 18s, obviously! ) and fixing the terrible piercings they've inflicted on people. It's ridiculous.

AGP- Yup, There is also a studio in my area that was in the DM a few years back for tattooing a 15/16 year old girl, Its pretty rife where I live (don't know if it is as bad elsewhere?!)

My DD is 14. Doesn't want a tattoo herself, but was talking about a friend who did and was apparently looking to find someone to go to. I gave DD all the arguments against an underage tattoo, including the point that if someone was willing to break the law in one way, what else would he be skimping on? Was her friend willing to risk infections, etc?

I've since heard the friend has wisely decided to wait.

I have tattoo, the last one done about 2 years ago. I'm mid-40s and still had to prove age, etc to my tattooist. He wasn't willing to compromise, quite rightly.

slw95xx, I've worked all over the place, and trust me, it's just as bad elsewhere! For every good studio in town, there are 3 or 4 crap ones. There are about 14 studios where I live now (small city), and only 4 of those are any good.

Our health authority are also shockingly lax. During an inspection at one of my old shops here, the health inspector pointed to the corner of the back room and said 'What's that?'. It was the autoclave

Your DD is very wise FOFM! You did the right thing explaining everything in depth as opposed to just going "nah you're not allowed its illegal" as that just makes it a forbidden fruit, i'd advise everyone else do the same

You have to be 18. A lot of parents will say "if you pass your exams you can get a tattoo" because their kids won't stop going on about it! my cousin has one on her back and her wrist and she's 15!But her dad's a tattoo artist and was done in a clean shop, but still. It's a pet hate. it looks awful - i have tattoos but these kids who get them; they're done by shakers and scratchers and looks simply vile. they regret them after 5 years then get it covered over with something better. Most of the time, anyway.
Every time I go into my tattoo shop, they know who I am, but they still ask me for IDbecause if someone walked in and they didn't ID me, they got shut down. simple. They weren't taking any risks. the sterilisation equipment is brand new, so clean. the shop is just so clean and one of the best I've seen (the art isn't fantastic but I like it.)
I'm so glad I waited until I was over 18 to get one. It was the one thing I looked forward to - I already smoked and drank. Parents who allow their DCs to go to a dodgy shop or someones kitchen is seriously deranged - it's illegal, harmful and tacky.
You can't tattoo people under 18, it's as simple as that. it's not a hard law to comply with.

AGP thats both hilarious and worrying.
My boss was surprised with how "thorough" my inspection was, If you read back you'll see i didn't have to do much!

slw95xx, when my old boss opened his shop didn't even have to set up a machine for his initial inspection - the inspector quite literally glanced around the place, asked how we intended to keep it clean, and approved the licence. I was stunned.

meowth, if your 15yo cousin's dad is a tattooist, he should really know better! Bloody hell And you're quite right, it's not a hard law to comply with!

slw95xx I have an 11 year old DS, so sooner or later I think this will crop up again, so either DS or friends will be thinking of tattoos, as they do have that image of "forbidden fruit".

In DD's case, I know it wasn't DD wanting them it was a real friend and I knew which friend before DD told me.

In a hilarious way, it seems both DD and DS have friends who think I'm cool , so I'm happy to use that wisely to nudge the kids into waiting until they are old enough. As if a cheerful fat mum can be cool; I think it's because I'm the only mum they are aware of who likes heavy metal..........

(Actually, can anyone PM any recommendations for the Leicestershire area? My previous one has closed, and I'm toying with the idea of another tattoo.)