16 Year old nephew...

pajodublin

...wants a tattoo
I have a few myself. Have tried having a talk with him about everything
having a good think about what he wants and where he wants it etc etc. hoping to get him to consider waiting until he is 18 AT LEAST

he seemed to take it all on board until i got a text earlier saying he is getting it done this weekend. His ma is bringing him to get it done.

One of the reasons he gave me why he wants to get it done now is "if i dont get it done now i'll never get it"

I'm actually a little pissed off about it.
I thought long and hard about all mine and hoped that since he came to me about tattoos in the first place, that he would take my advice on board.

I'm disappointed more than anything i suppose.
He's getting it done in Drogheda. Wont mention the name of the establishment
I told him already that any place that is willing to let him be tattooed at 16 with or without an adult is not worth shit
there should be a law against it.

Is it me or is it a fashion item for KIDS now to have tattoos?

Pierced Off

Thanks to pop stars it's now the must have accessory! I recently took over the Tattoo/ Piercing studio where I was working. Under previous ownership, bring in a parent and you could get what you wanted, tattooed wherever you wanted it to be, from, and this horrified me when I found out, 15. Since taking over I've adopted a strict "18s" only policy, no exceptions. The abuse I've been given, not just by "17 yo Tommy", who already has 5 tattoos and "wants to get to 6 before his birthday", but by parents who believe its their right to allow their children to disfigure themselves.
So all I can say is , in this case its not your nephew who needs educating, its his parents. Send them to a responsible studio and get them to talk to a responsible artist and let him explain how many 21 year olds come in looking to have tattoos that they had done at 16 or 17 covered up. And thats without discussing skin growth, stretch etc!

Splinter

i'm not happy with the parlor that tattoo him with his mothers consent. i honestly don't believe it should be any lower than 18 regardless. hoever, the "if i don't get it now,ill never do it" mindset is one i had myself but i was early 20s at the time. (and i mean this as no disrespect to your nephew), i hope he bottles it

tread_softly

Let him get it, give him 4 years and when he regrets the mess permanently inked on him, you can laugh in his face

Tallon

Nephew? mother? Is she your sister?

If so, give her a slap, or at the very least, find out the name of the shop off her and ring ahead.

alwaysadub

My nephew was exactly the same! He was showing me pics of what he wanted since he was 15. Was at me to bring him,told him he'd to be 18, turned 17 a while ago so off he went to Spain on holidays,and got his girlfriends name(who he was with about 3months at the time) tattooed on his wrist. :rolleyes:

But,according to him,a lot of his school friends have them,and got them done in Ireland. I was 25 getting mine,and still had to produce ID!!

Atavan-Halen

I remember I was on holiday in Gran Canaria when I was about 15, and really wanted to get a tattoo (well I always have, just particularly when I was on holiday :P) There was a place that was sort of willing to do it and my mam was allowing me to get it, but sort of putting me off the idea at the same time. Anyway, that night I was talking to the receptionist at the hotel and discovered he had loads of tattoos and a sleeve. He said definitely wait until you're older as he has some he got when 15 or so and regrets them now. And I'm sooo glad I took his advice on board. I know I probably would have regretted a tattoo that I just got on a whim on holidays instead of something that I thought about seriously. I got my first tattoo the day I turned 18 and can't see myself ever regretting it as it mans something to me and was thought about.

Without being mean or anything, I hope your nephew doesn't go ahead with it. He'll more than likely end up regretting it down the line if it's something he's getting just to be cool or whatever (god I sound so old now :P). Maybe point him to this thread and let him see that it's really not recommended, and that there are people that regret their tattoos they got when 15/16?

There are people in my school year who have tattoos, but one guy in particular got a big tribal thing on his back when he was 16 and ended up hating it a few months later.

Will

If I got the tattoos I wanted at 16 I'd be mortified now at 24!

Toots

Will wrote: »

If I got the tattoos I wanted at 16 I'd be mortified now at 24!

+1, I actually shudder at the thought of what I was sure I wanted to have inked onto my body for the rest of my life. Lets just say if I had gotten the tattoos I'd wanted at 15/16/17, there'd be a laser tattoo removal clinic somewhere that'd be making an absolute fortune off me right now!

pajodublin

Tallon wrote: »

Nephew? mother? Is she your sister?

If so, give her a slap, or at the very least, find out the name of the shop off her and ring ahead.

no my brothers kid and he hates tattoos
he's not with the mother anymore (they split years ago, no badness or anything)
both nephews parents married with kids and families of their own

anyway.... he got it done today.
one of these on his chest.
so disappointed, he texted me during the middle of it to say he was having it done.



to the tattoo studio which i would love to mention but wont
a BIG FUCK YOU
you should know better

Atavan-Halen

Did he get it done really big in the middle of his chest (if you know what I mean? :eek:

pajodublin

don't get me wrong i love tattoos
i only have 3 (or 6 whichever way you look at it) if i had the money i would have more
but is there not some duty of care on the artist to realise that this is just a kid who likes something now and may not like it in 6 months

i thought long and hard about mine and it pays off.
i'm not sayin all of mine would be to everyones taste but i like them

sorry, i'm just a little peeved at the minute
i tried to be objective
i tried not to be the overbearing adult giving advice. i'm only 27.
on a normal day i speak to him like a friend, like an adult so came across that way when we spoke about it
we'll see in 5 years when he comes and asks me who the best artist is for cover ups.

i will refrain from " i told you so"..............MAYBE!!!

pajodublin

atavan-halen wrote: »

Did he get it done really big in the middle of his chest (if you know what I mean? :eek:

no, on the right hand side of his chest about the size of the palm of your hand

Pierced Off

pajodublin wrote: »

but is there not some duty of care on the artist to realise that this is just a kid who likes something now and may not like it in 6 months

Unfortunately not every studio feels the way all of the posters here feel. As I've said, we won't, as we care about our art and reputation, but so many others just care about the money.
What do we do? As we all know the body mod industry in this country is unregulated and uncontrolled. Since most of us here are over 18 and therefor voters, is it not time we stood up and let ourselves be heard. Think, how would you feel if your 16 yo son/daughter or even brother/sister, came home with a palm sized tattoo or a skin punch? Horrified? Livid? Thought so. Then do something about it. 1 voice can't do much, but surely if enough shout about it, then maybe, just maybe, threads like this will become a thing of the past!

Jimmy Bottlehead

So what can be done??

Hellrazer

This is an issue that Ive openly tried to get recognition for over the last few years.Ive even gone so far to contact my local TD and even the health minister about looking into the issue of licencing Tattooists and Piercers.All you get back is the usual one line reply "we will respond to your message in due time"
Its crap.Someones going to have to die or catch a deadly disease before they get up off their arses and do something about the body mod industry.Self regulation does not work and it will never work.

But on a similar note-Heres my response to a pm from Damo asking whether a petition would work.

Re: Underage tattoo
Damo--Thats a great idea but not an online petition as they arent worth a fook.
And Ive changed my mind about naming and shaming.

Lets start a stickied thread about this and ask people to name and shame if they personally were tattooed or pierced while underage.

Lets get people to post their disapproval of this practice and lets email every studio in teh country and ask for their policies on it.They are all listed in the thread.Lets grab this issue by the balls and try get some solid policy in place for the industry.If a studio refuses to give their policy or says that they openly tattoo or pierce under age we take them off the recommended studios list.
As far as I can see we`re the biggest tattoo/body mod forum in Ireland-surely we should be able to get something done about this practice.

Richie

Pierced Off

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

So what can be done??

Ok, The newbie thread here has over 1000 comments. Middleton Convention is this weekend and expects well over 2000 visitors, The Dublin convention facebook site has in excess of 1600 friends and Dublin Inks page has passed 16,000. Petition the HSE. Get them to look towards the USA or Europe for leads.
Remember when we used to have a smoke with a pint? They were able to take care of that one easily enough, listen to the news, the blood alcohol level for driving has just been lowered to 50 mg. Our glorious Government managed that. Why? Because the health of the nation was being affected. Does not bad/ underage tattooing and piercing not potentially affect our youths health?
I'm sure the moderators could,with their considerable skill and savvy, organise an online petition for the introduction of minimum safe standards within the industry, start a similar one at each of the upcoming conventions and within a very short time we should have a very loud voice!

Star Lord

Pierced Off wrote: »

I'm sure the moderators could,with their considerable skill and savvy, organise an online petition for the introduction of minimum safe standards within the industry, start a similar one at each of the upcoming conventions and within a very short time we should have a very loud voice!

We've currently got our thinking hats on about how to best go about this, spurred on by discussion amongst ourselves, which came about over this actual thread! (So it could end up being a good thing for tattooing/piercing in Ireland that the OPs nephew got tattooed... ironically )

Will

It's a great idea lads, but really outsiders in the industry trying to regulate it? Would be laughed at.

Also Hellrazer's idea could get us in a lot of dog doo, legally and otherwise. I was a lot more out spoken on this forum earlier and have had fall out due to it - anyone remember the celestial ring debacle? Ended up emailing the owner a few years back over it, who was very nice by the way but it's not something i want to get into again.

Also just because studios only tattoo over 18's doesn't mean they are any good, and vice versa.

Hellrazer's idea of "forum approved studios" would be good, but again just because some studios adhere to specific guidelines doesn't mean they're anyway decent/sound or good :-/

If people wish to go ahead grand but tread very carefully. Gonna mull it over some more i think.

Hellrazer

Will wrote: »

It's a great idea lads, but really outsiders in the industry trying to regulate it? Would be laughed at.

Im not trying to regulate the industry--Im actually hoping that some insiders get a hold of this idea and take over.

Also Hellrazer's idea could get us in a lot of dog doo, legally and otherwise.

Only if we name and shame.A recommended studio list who will openly list their policy preferably on thread wouldnt cause that.

I was a lot more out spoken on this forum earlier and have had fall out due to it - anyone remember the celestial ring debacle? Ended up emailing the owner a few years back over it, who was very nice by the way but it's not something i want to get into again.

Agreed.

Also just because studios only tattoo over 18's doesn't mean they are any good, and vice versa.

Hellrazer's idea of "forum approved studios" would be good, but again just because some studios adhere to specific guidelines doesn't mean they're anyway decent/sound or good :-/

Its not about whether theyre good or not--Its about one particular issue ie the tattooing and piercing of underage kids.In the UK you go on the sex offenders list if you tattoo or pierce someone underage.

If people wish to go ahead grand but tread very carefully. Gonna mull it over some more i think.

Unless we all agree unanamiously(sp?) then its going nowhere.

Pierced Off

As an industry insider,I don't want a "suit" telling me how to run my business. I used to drive a taxi so believe me, I've been down that road. But something will have to be done or else they will move in. We need to sort ourselves out. 10 line messages back and forth on a forum may get there eventually but realistically this is a sit down and serious chinwag time. We need to get together and devise our own realistic code of practice and then, like a co-operative, studios from all around the country can join in and sign up to the same standards. An elected comitee making the rules that the members adhere to, with each member flying the logo so that the general public know that they are getting tattooed/pierced by a commited professional.
Then if the suits come knocking we can tell them where to get off.

TheMetalComet

my god yet again adults have forgotten what its like to be teenagers. can you not be glad its a tattoo he wanted and not drugs or sumthin worse?

Pierced Off

TheMetalComet wrote: »

my god yet again adults have forgotten what its like to be teenagers. can you not be glad its a tattoo he wanted and not drugs or sumthin worse?

It's not that we've forgotton, most of us still think we are teenagers. Our annoyance/ dismay is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the teenage body is still developing and maturing, so that the way a tattoo looks at 16 is absolutely no indication of what it will be like at , say, 26. Second, the teenage mind is developing so what is cool,(or whatever word you teenagers use now) at 16, will be hated at 26. As a studio owner, I see at least 7-10 people every week, trying to have "teenage" tattoos covered up because they hate them. Some we can, some just can't be changed.
And finally, it's that by openly tattooing children, and lets face it at 16 you are still legally a child, a studio is drawing a spotlight onto our industry and reinforcing the typical stereotypes that some people unjustly have of our industry.
Do you feel its ok for a 13 year old to get tattooed or a 14 year old to have her nipples pierced? But thats the next step after tattooing 16 year olds. We settle on 18, as its a fairly universal age of consent and we need a bench mark figure by which we can say "Yes this is acceptable or No this is not". A line must be drawn somewhere and for various reasons the World has drawn it at 18 and the responsible members of our industry go along with it.

gambitthefirst

Pierced Off wrote: »

Do you feel its ok for a 13 year old to get tattooed or a 14 year old to have her nipples pierced?

I see your point it's a slippery slope where do you draw the line but i personally feel piercings are not that bad for under 18's, as you can take them out and just be left with a little hole or mark and i understand it's a whole standards issue. but i was 15 when i convinced my mother to bring me to get my first piercing and have 5 now and no tattoos because she would never let me get one.so when i turned 18 she made me promise not to get tattooed till i was 25 and i haven't as i'm only 23 now and to be honest i'm glad i didn't cause i'v had so many that would be cool moments and later thought that would be stupid. so i say the parents of these teenagers if nothing else need to remember how fickle a teenagers mind is and help them understand that.