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Is It "Child Abuse" To Let Your Child Tattoo You?

By Brooke Wilson, 8 years ago

Here's a question for you Moosers! Is it an offensive act to let your child give you a tattoo? I think when my son is old enough to write, I will let him write his name on me somewhere. But then again I already have several tattoos. Some Canadians are calling this act "offensive" or "child abuse" but what do you think? There is a Florida tattoo artist who let his four year old daughter give him a tattoo. She drew an image of a strawberry on her father's arm in permanent tattoo ink. Yes, with a tattoo gun.

Her father posted an image of the finished strawberry on Facebook of course, and soon after the image was under fire. The image had been reported for "graphic violence", "child abuse" and other reasons. But really, is this considered abuse or violence? I understand that it is a little alarming that a child this young was allowed to operate a tattoo needle, but I wouldn't consider it abuse or violence by any means.

The father added that he discussed the whole idea with his daughter before actually attempting the task. They had agreed on the image of a strawberry prior to even entering the tattoo parlour, and had thought about the task ahead for quite some time. The strawberry has meaning to both father and daughter in this story. The dad says that they sang some nursery rhymes to pass the time while she drew the adorable little strawberry on her daddy's arm.

The little girl didn't have complete control over the tattoo machine of course. Her dad controlled the foot pedal that turns the ink gun on and off. That way he could prevent any accidents or pokes - for the little girls safety mostly but also to control the angle of the gun on his arm. He also said that he even guided the machine with her. This photo has definitely gone viral, and I can understand why. There is a lot of controversy. Some people think this is child abuse, and others think it is a cute idea and would do it themselves. For this father and daughter, the dad says:

It doesn't matter what they think. My daughter's happy and excited. She is proud of it!

So Moosers, should a child be allowed to operate a needle to give their parents a tattoo?

Comments

Carmil
I don't like tattoos much but if I did I would love it if I could have a permanent drawing from my little 4 year old! This father put his daughter in no danger from the needles and she understood the situation and was excited - I see no harm and in fact think it is a very special thing to have as a tattoo. I think this was a great idea and handled well.
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Moe
I think people need to chill out a bit. It is not child abuse for Pete's sake!
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Lisa
It's not child abuse. It's a loving moment that will last forever between them. Heck lets save the term 'child abuse'; for those that are the monsters in our society.
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Maggie
I agree. This little girl was not harmed in any way, and to call it abuse is an insult both to her loving father and to those children who are actually abused.
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Tricia
Look at his body. Does he look like a guy that gets any old tattoo? The story says they discussed it, they're wearing protective gloves and he's guiding her. The strawberry is meaningful to both of them. This was a gift for each of them and I bet out of all his other tattoos, this one will be the most treasured.
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kevynm
To call it child abuse shows how people pick up a stupid cause to vent (too much time on their hands; go tv binge, help at a shelter, etc...), while there are more important issues being totally ignored.
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Mei
How is this saving Moosers money or a bargain? So this is irrelevant.
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- Yvonne
  It's valuable information that this Dad wanted to share....that's the ":deal" here. It is not always about Money. I applaud this father and daughter. How amazing to have this great tattoo the rest of his life to remember his little girl when she was young. Love has no boundaries. No abuse there !
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Nisha
people need to chill out and stop calling everything abuse, when actual abuse happened back in the day nobody did anything about it and now EVERYTHING is abuse. apparently people can't do anything with their children without people in the world judging, stupidest thing i heard.
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Pgordonme
As a teacher, I can see this from a child's perspective. The kids in my class (6-7 year olds) make lots of awesome mistakes. That's what learning is about. We use lots of paper, and even more erasers. Most 4 year olds cant draw a strawberry that you would recognize. Many draw people that look like lollipops. But imagine how your kid would feel growing up if their mistake was tattood on you. I think it is charming, if you like tattoos, to have your child draw something, then ask their permission to have it tattooed on you by a professional, but cut the kid a break. No one needs a permanent reminder of an error tattood on a parent. What might be a charming error to you might be something your kid would like to erase.
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