Parenting

Monday, November 30, 2009

Baby Ink: The Right to Tattoo Your Child

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A 7-year-old wants a gang tattoo just like his daddy. Awe, that’s so sweet. So daddy holds him down while he gets it. Hmmm, are we liking this parental freedom or not? I’m sure you can guess what the story is about, but now it is going to a judge. Is tattooing your minor a form of permanent disfigurement that can land a parent in jail with a life sentence? Maybe it’s something less than a mayhem charge? That remains to be seen.

This case made international news because a father, along with a fellow gang member, tattooed his 7-year-old son. Yep, a quarter-size pawprint that represents a dangerous gang in Fresno, the Bulldog, was forcibly placed on the child’s hip. The child did want it, but the reality of the painful process seems rather abusive.

The defense attorney is arguing the idea that routine circumcisions are equally painful, so getting a tattoo is no worse. Right, right, right. So getting a circumcision in the hospital when you’re a tiny newborn is just as bad as getting a gang tattoo that will last a lifetime. Then again, parents can pierce their baby’s ears easy-peasy. Is it really that different? We’ll soon find out.

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Comments 1-2 of 2
  • onedesertblonde's Avatar
    Posted by onedesertblonde Sat Oct 3, 2009 7:24am PDT

    WOW! I have four daughters, and I did not pierce their ears until they were old enough to ask for it and could take care of the maintenence of the piercing, them themselves. All of my nephews were circumsized, and I never gave it much thought, BUT... HOLY SH#*!!!!! Tatooing a kid???? Just doesnt seem right!

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  • SorenaL's Avatar
    Posted by SorenaL Sat Oct 3, 2009 7:41am PDT

    I refused to have my son circumsized due to the pain and that I feel it is his decision to change his own body. Tattoos fall in the same category for me.

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