What kind of parent are you?

I dont have to worry about them going behind my back for a couple of reasons..First off they know better and know what a truly bad scene it would be if they did....and secondly, I've already told both of them they could get their first tat and piercing when they turn 16..I'll be going with them and paying for it as well....My kids have been bugging me for a few yrs now about it and they've given serious thought to it plus we've spoken at length about it so its not like they'd be going into it blind...My son actually wants to become a tattoo artist when he's older which is very cool :-D

i think i am pretty cool. i wouldnt let my kid get a tat before 18 simply because she is still growing (one of her friends wanted to get one @ 14) i think they are ok but wouldnt get one as i HATE pain! lol

I sure hope I don't sound like an old fogy here, but I definitely wouldn't let my kids get any tattoos until they are old enough to walk into a facility and do so without parental consent. Not having ever had any tattoos myself, I don't know what that age is, but I'd guess it's 18. As for piercings, I would only allow the kids to get their ears pierced once, maybe twice, while they are under the age of 18. There would definitely, under no circumstances, be any piercing of any other body parts until they are of age. And even when that time would come, I'd definitely put my .02 worth in to let them know that I don't particularly agree with body piercings. It's not mine to criticize or judge when someone choses to pierce or tattoo themselves. But I would be thinking of how others in society--like potential future employers--may view my child coming in to look for a job with a lot of metal and ink all over their face and body. That and I always have to think that the body ages. Skin starts to sag and bag. What looks good on a 20 year old won't look that great on an 80 year old. A tattoo of a chihuahua might end up looking like an english bulldog after about 60 years of sun and gravity. lol (Keeeeeding!)

Whether my children pierce or tattoo their bodies is ultimately their decision. I would tell them that I want them to wait until they are 18 years of age. This way, they are a legal adult and should they later decide that they were unhappy with the piercing or tattoo, I would be able to remind them that it was their choice made when they were a legal adult.

All but one of my kids have them. They were out of school but I still was not happy and I let them know it. My feeling is that while the artwork is pretty in most cases I think that tats make a person look cheap and trashy. But it is their body. My stepdaughter laughed when I told her to "wait until she is sixty and the little butterfly on her lower back is now all big and stretched below the cheeks"

I am not sure about the age thing, but not younger than 16 and I would definitely want to be there whether it was a piercing or a tattoo. I have three tattoos all in concealed places, the first one I got when I was 16. I have no piercings now but I have had many. I have less convictions about a piercing because it can easily be taken out. No offense to anyone here that has them, but really the only things I don't like are those ear spacer things.

Hmmmmm...I told my daughter she could get her ears pierced finally (she wanted to get her lip or nose pierced first). I felt if she could handle the pain, after a year of getting her ears done and taking care of them, we'd chat again. I've talked to several people with piercings and she's not scared--I am! I told her to consider waiting until she's 18 for a tattoo, since they're more permanent and to NOT get someone else's name. So far, she's rather agreeable to that. Once you get one, they're addicting!

I don't have a problem with tattoos, but I would want my son to make the decision very carefully. If he were 16 or so and wanted one in a place that could be covered then I would probably let him get it, as long as it wasn't something horribly offensive. I don't have any tattoos currently, but I've been searching for years for the exact raven design I wanted. It has to include Celtic knotwork, be recognizably a raven, and just feel right to me. I've finally found one I really like, but I'm going to wait a bit longer just to make absolutely sure it's the one I want, and until I have the money of course. After the raven, I'm going to get a few other tattoos... mostly religious themed.

i dont think age is so much a problem as thought of the tattoo and such. i got my first tattoo at 17.. i had wanted the tattoo for over a year. i wanted it in the same spot and the same design.. so my mom knew i was ready for it, and i wasnt going to change my mind in a month, and not want it anymore.. i thought her decision on it was good.. i've actually started tattooing.. i do it in my home. i have STRICT guidelines to that.. as my daughter is only 1. i WILL NOT tattoo, or even TOUCH the equipment until shes in bed, not even while shes napping will i touch it, even if i want to so bad. i dont want her thoughts on tattoos/tattooing to be altered because i do it in home.. i dont want her thinking its ok for someone to tattoo her, that doesn't know what they are doing or isnt in a steril environment. i will probably still have that rule until i find her of age to even get a tattoo. piercings... well i would be a hypocrite if i told my daughter no when she turned 16.. but i want her to think of A LOT before she does it.. like understanding that people will look at her different if she has a facial piercing.. ect. i got my nose pierced at 16 my mom paid and brought me.. i defiantly wasn't ready for the change that it brought.. always having to defend myself because of it.. my family picked on me, and still does for all the piercings i have.. so i want her to be prepared and understand that people will look differently at her.

I'm not a parent and I have no idea how I will be for my kids. I don't have any tattoos on my skin, nor I will let my children take one, at least not before they are grown-ups and can choose for themselves. I personally think that childen have a different personality than the one of their parents and whatever the parents do/say/want for their children... they will do the opposite. You have to give them credit and ability to make mistakes out of which they can learn something on their own.

I would allow my children to get a tattoo once they hit 16. I got my first one at 16 and I have gotten several more since then. My hubby also has a tattoo so I wouldn't feel like a very good person telling me children they couldn't have one. My 3 year old son puts temp tattoos on now so that he's like mommy and daddy. I dont have any piercings but wouldn't stop that either. I have my ears done and thought about getting my nose done

Well, as for me, i'm gonna allow my child to have their tattoos when they already have a stable job because some of the companies here in the Philippines are not willing to accept people who wear tattoos.

I have 5 tattoos and plan on getting more in the future. I'd let my kids get tattoos once they were 18. As for piercings... it would depend on what they wanted to get pierced.

I will let my son get percings as soon as i think that he is mature enough to make the decision that he really wants it... I have percings and tattoos and i like them... but i also waited until i was an adult to get them...

I wouldn't stop my daughter from getting a tattoo - that would make me a hypocrit because i have them. I have a 'baby grim reaper' on my left shoulderblade & a little purple dragon blowing flames on my right one! You have to be 18 to get tattoos here anyway so i don't have to worry about her doing it early without my consent coz the artists here check to make sure you're of legal age before they start :) Piercings is a different story, i guess it would depend where it is & how old. I believe i was 16 when i had my belly button done & that was how old you had to be for that type of piercing so if it's a normal one, then whatever age, if it's a body piercing then i think 15 or 16 is an ok age :)

Leanneg, I have 3 tattoos and I could never tell my kids not to have something done that I have obviously got done. I would however make them wait til they are 18 to get the tattoo and I would be more than happy to take them there to get one. LOL!! Now about the piercings I have a tongue ring and a nose ring and regular earrings. Like my aunt I would let me child express herself with those as long as she kept her grades up in school LOL!!! Now my tattoos are one is of a butterfly with tribal symbols on my shoulder another is of a butterfly floating above a daisy and the last one is one the bottom of my back and it's a kitty with wings and paw prints leading to and from the kitty. Thanks for the great topic and have a nice day.

I'd let them get a body peircing at 16 and a tatoo at 18. The only reasons I would wait on the tatoo is because they are permanent and painful.