Share

10-year-old gets tattoo

Image: Via Shutterstock

Some people are tattoo-crazy. They spend lots of time planning their next ink and showing off their artworks to their friends and families. If you’re the child of tattooed parents, chances are, you’ll see them as a natural form of expression, and maybe, like this kid did, ask for one yourself.

His mom is facing charges for allowing her son to follow through with his request to memorialise his late brother by getting a tattoo done, according to ABC news.

She claims she didn’t know it was illegal for a minor (under the ages of 18) in the US to be tattooed, but instead assumed that as his parent she was perfectly within her rights to grant her consent.

“Can I get Spongebob?”

“What do I say to a child who wants to remember his brother? It’s not like he was asking me, ‘Can I get Spongebob?” Tattoo mom said. “He asked me [for] something that’s in remembrance of his brother. How can I say no?”

SA: No age limits

South Africa is one of few countries with no age limit governing tattoos. In theory, your kid could save up his tooth fairy money and head off to the local tattoo parlour. Fortunately, most formal tattoo artists are more responsible than that, and set their own restrictions (besides following formal regulations governing their industry).

On the Council for Piercing and Tattoo Professional’s website, Derek Baker of Metal Machine in Cape Town offers his opinion on the subject:

"If a child younger than 18 comes into my shop and wants a tattoo, I insist they bring their parent to the shop. They have to sit with the child the entire time. Sixteen is the lowest I would go, and then only if the child has a parent's permission and the parent stays with the child while he or she is being tattooed."

He said parents often phoned him to ask him to try to persuade their children to wait until they are 18 before having a tattoo.

"Back in December 1996, a man came in and he wanted us to tattoo a butterfly on his 8-year-old daughter. I told him to get out of my shop. You just can't have a eight-year-old child getting a tattoo,” he adds.

Would you allow your kids to get tattooed?

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE