Daughter wants a tattoo!

I am a little late to the party but for what it is worth:

I would say absolutely not.

I have no problems with tattoos. I have one myself, and I may get another one one day. However, I got mine when I was 21 and had really researched them and what I wanted, and I paid for it myself.

Fourteen is VERY young. In fact, I am pretty sure a few tattoo shops around our area won't even tattoo until someone is 16.

She has her whole life to get tattoos and wear them. There is no reason to rush and get one now.

I teach high school, and SO many students are walking around with MULTIPLE tattoos by the time they are sixteen. Some of them have made some poor choices that will make job hunting difficult (bc they have very visible tattoos that will be difficult to cover).

I have a stepdaughter, who is three, and DH and I hope to have a baby of our own in a few years. Our stance is tattoos are fine...when you are eighteen and pay for it yourself. Ink is forever, you can weight a few years.

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"She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. " Proverbs 31 : 12

14 is too young,IMHO. I personally have many tattoo's and three young children. It hasn't happened yet, but if(when) the day comes one of them wants one, It will only be once they've reached 18. In fact my artist turns away anyone under 18, even with consenting parents present. On nearly a daily basis too. Only one of mine do I regret, the first one. I was 19 and just picked something off the wall. I've never had it covered though because it is a reminder that these things are forever and to think it through before sitting in that chair.

tell her you will buy 12 henna tattoos. that is one a month. she can see what she feels about it then.

Great suggestion! If most parents do this, their kids probably won't be so driven to get tattoos until they are old enough to responsibly decide.

I don't judge others for getting tattoos, find a lot very attractive, cool, or masculine. It wasn't for me, that's all.

Funny thing? I wouldn't have cared if my tough DH would have gotten tattoos, as it wouldn't have mattered to me at all. He, on the other hand, doesn't like tattoos on women. Go figure!

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I don't have any tatoos, have seen some really beautiful ones, but not ever had the desire to get one. When I was first married I was thinking of a belly ring, never decided to get one because of the fact I was worried about it being rubbed by waistbands.
When I was visiting family, my cousin had a peacock on her thigh, I told her it was a beautiful tatoo. My aunt almost had a heart attack, (your mother would KILL me if you went back with a tat) lol told her don't worry I just think its pretty. I was never against getting one but it would need to be VERY special, I have a problem with needles, I can watch people take my blood, but can not watch a needle or I will faint.
I remember reading about a girl who had her mothers favorite flower and the date her mother died tatooed on her foot, I always thought that would be special.
Rea

Tattoos done properly are a story of your life worn on your skin.

For one thing, no 14 year old on the planet has lived enough to have a story worth wearing...
I have a strong appreciation for body art and the guts it takes in adulthood to rock it. If ever I see someone that has clearly had a lot of work done that clearly is on the mature side (and not some poseur punk) I ALWAYS compliment it-- even if it's not exactly my taste.

Here are my rules for tattoos.

1.)If you are too young to get a tattoo on your own (and able to pay for a good quality work) you are too young for a tattoo. Period.

2.)If you want to get a tattoo, choose your design. Then print it on a piece of paper and hang it up on your bedroom wall, or frame it for your dresser or nightstand. If you still like it in a year of looking at it, then you can ink it.

3.)Money is no object. Interview your shop and artist like you're marrying them ('cause in a way, you are!) Grade them on safety, sanitation, and all licences up to date with the health department. Ask to see a portfolio of the artist's work. Heck, google them for online reviews. There is no such thing as a "bargain" tattoo. Choose an artist who has done jobs similar to what you want before.
Let some other poor fool be their "learning experience". Go pro. ALWAYS.

4.)Take every precaution... if there are any letters, symbols or words in your design insist on the artist taping a paper copy up in view so he can double check every.single.detail. Don't assume they know how you want to spell "Mary".

5.)Take your lifestyle and interests into account. Sure, a kid may just work retail at Hot Topic now... but is that what she wants to do forever? It's good advice to have a "plan" to cover your ink in case you need or want a more professional career someday.
Want a cuff? are you cool with wearing long sleeves to work every single day year round? want a calf design? abandon all hope of wearing business casual skirts...

6.)Also take into account if you really are cool with having people make snap judgments about you. Not only in judging the image you chose to brand yourself with, or the fact that you have ink at all, but are you prepared for people misinterpreting what your tatt means?
Is it going to sting if middle aged women clutch their purses tighter when they see your cool tribal design? If teenage girls cross the street to avoid you because they think your crown of thorns tattoo means you were in prison? Or if the mother of the boy you might want to marry thinks that confederate flag on your ankle means you're a bigot?

Yeah... these are all too deep for most 20 year olds... much less someone who doesn't even have a drivers permit.
I've been on the fence for years because I'm not willing to risk getting an image that I outgrow as I leave behind hobbies and interests etc. I only just figured out a design I want and think I can live with long term back in July at the age of 29. I'm still on the one year waiting period

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I know it's kind of an aside to the topic, but I just found this so profoundly true I had to quote it.

Sure, we are saved by grace even if we don't follow the Levite Laws to the letter, but there are some seriously good practices in there that were thousands of years ahead of their time. Like the humane practices of kosher killing, washing hands under running water to prevent disease, circumcision, etc.

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There is a time and a place for decaf coffee.
Never, and in the trash.
Are you an AZ farmer too? Arizona Backyard Farmers on facebook

As our children grew and came up with stupid ideas like tattoos or nose piercing or other things, my husband would quote that scripture over and over to them. All our kids are in early 20s to 30-something now. And none of them have any piercings or tattoos.
One day at church another teen boy showed up with a nipple ring. His dad, a policeman, stomped into the youth group and pulled it out when some of the teens let the word out that "sam" had it. It was awful.
The Word of God works a lot better than trying to reason, or acting in anger like that. I would highly suggest quoting that scripture repeatedly to children who come to you wanting something like that. God's word never returns void. It never fails.

I am so glad none of the kids have marred their beauty with crap like tattoos or piercings. Thank God for His Word. It is the sword of the Spirit and the only weapon in the Armor of God. Every other part of the Armor is for defense. The sword of the spirit is the only power we have to change things. And I know my husband changed things in my children's lives by using that scripture. It doesn't matter who has what that they see now. They all think tattoos and piercings are gross and ugly because God's Word put that into their hearts.

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I say tell her she can have a tattoo when she's 18. I've always wanted a tattoo myself but have never been able to pick something I wanted stuck to me for the rest of my life.

I'm 25 and still thinking about it lol.

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I think she's too young at 14 to get a tattoo.

My youngest DD has two large tattoos and I hate them. It made me so sad when she got them because it was like my baby had defaced the perfect body God gave her.
However, she was in her 20's when she got them, so her decision, not mine.

This whole discussion reminds me of...

Well is this enough advise?

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At age 14, she's a child and cannot even imagine being 30, let alone have a clue of the consequences to her actions. She just wants to be like all the other kids. That's not maturity; it's normal adolescent behavior.

Hopefully, it's illegal for your girl to get a tattoo, parental permission or not.

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Looking at a picture of me at 14. The hair and clothes choose I made have me shaking my head and laughing at myself. I would hate to think what I would have gotten a tattoo of.

My daughter wanted a tat 2 years ago at 16. I told her if she still wanted one at 18, she could. She turned 18 last Monday, and has been thinking about this for a long time. I have explained the "forever" part, and we have talked in detail.

This afternoon, she will get a horses head on her upper thigh with the words RIDE COWGIRL RIDE.

When she was smaller, we had a mule that she was very fond of, and rode alot. I always encouraged her to get back on if she fell off.

I just printed this pic out and laid it on the table by her laptop...just one final thought before she does this, lol.