Underage Tattooage

This is a 15 year old girl who's gone and had a 5 inch tat of Winnie The Pooh on her arm as a tribute to her Grandad. (or GrandpaH as the tattoo calls him).

Her Mum is furious and is having the tattoo artist investigated for assault. In the full article it suggests that the girl was accompanied by an adult but even the quote "Julie was accompanied by an adult and so it was assumed her mother had given her consent" just goes to suggest that they knew she was underage but thought it was okay.

Is it ever okay? Anyone here have any tattoos done when they were underage? Any regrets?

My mum's been going on about this for a while (we live near there)
I've never been asked for ID for a tattoo, but I have a 31 year old friend who's always had to sign consent forms before getting tattoos (but she does look about 12 when her hair's in pigtails though)
I don't believe the girl at all when she says she'd change it, because it is a nicely done tattoo and was memorial to her granddad. She just regrets that she's got trouble for it. Wouldn't surprize me if that was the start of a whole Winnie the Pooh sleeve when she's older. As for the artist who did it... If she had an adult with her... It's hard to say... Maybe it should be compulsory that all studios should make clients sign consent forms... The guy obviously made a mistake, but I think there are quite a few tattoo artists who have done something similar. An ex of mine had some tattoos done while she was underage that she regreted and wanted them covered up (which is how we met) and they were much smaller and concealable. Because of the size and location of the tattoo, the NHS might even pay to have it lasered off. (they wouldn't with my ex because the tattoos were small and concealable)

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by Spike]

I have to sign a consent form every time (even though I am friends with my artist ) and photocopy my id. That said, you can get tattooed underage in New Jersey with parental consent and for this they get ID from the parent (and child)and have the parent sign the consent form.

edited because stupid computer double posted!

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by LuLuKiTTyFoo]

i dont agree with this at all. she needs to get consent forms signed and i would say that tattoo artist is screwed and rightly so.

I have a couple of problems with this. First of all, fifteen year olds aren't the best decision makers. Despite the fact that it's a tribute to her Grandfather, I'm sure there's a certain part of her that did it to be cool, to be different, to show off. I mean, she's 15. That's what they DO. And a hasty decision is quickly and easily regretted; it might not be that far in the future that she might wish she had gotten something other than a cartoon character to honor a loved one.

Second, fifteen year old bodies aren't done growing yet. People show so much concern over tattoos even on adults because someday the body will change; wrinkle, shrink, etc. The tattoo will distort as a result. This girl might have a head start on that.

As for the company, "assuming" that the mother had given consent isn't good enough. Just because the kid is with an adult doesn't mean it's been okayed. The parent or guardian should be the one there, if consent is truly given. Otherwise, just WAIT the few extra years.

That's the diffrence between the US and the UK... There may be laws here against tattooing underage people, but not all studios enforce that. They may have signs saying you have to be 18 and ID will be required, but as I said above, I've never been asked for ID (and at two different studios) but other friends have, and that's where the problem lies, that there doesn't seem to be any consistency on the part of the artists to get consent forms and protect themself against this kind of situation. The person who was with her may have claimed to be a parent or relative, so the artist thought that they had parental consent. I'll be interested to see how this pans out and what (if any) action is taken against the artist.

This link to a childrens news service gives a few more details:
CBBC

The tatooist was a hobbyist who charged her £40 (USD $73), she's had to have tests because he didn't use clean needles.

It is illegal in the UK to tattoo someone under the age of 18 unless it is for medical reasons. Having permission from the parent makes no difference.

HSE age for tattoos

Google search for Tattooing of Minors act 1969

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by demetrius_z]

You have to have consent forms signed and must show proper ID. There are a lot of places where there arent any laws about this though. It is assumed that laws are in place. In fact, i wish i knew a little more on this, there are some places where tattooing is technically still illegal to do at all! I was just having a converstion with some friends that own a body modificiation shop (Scarab Body Arts in SYracuse, NY www.scarabbodyarts.com) and it was really recently made legal in this area!

15 is too young to get any form of ink, parnet consent or not. You dont have the right decision making skills at that point. A basic piercing with parent approval, sure, you can take those out, but ink lasts a lifetime.

Hell, the ones i got when i was 18 i am working on covering up and changing still!

It wasn't a correction! We posted at the same time, I took a while to hit submit because I was fiddling about with links.
Kind regards.

On the one hand I find it scary that the tattooist didn't ask for proof of age and for her to sign a consent form.

On the other I find it very sweet that she dedicated a tattoo to someone who she clearly cared about. I think she chose to have the tattoo for the right reason - it means something to her, so it is likely that the tattoo won't be a huge regret to her in years to come.

Whoopsie...
I was just about to mention the tattooing of minors act, but was beaten to it I think it's wierd how artists should be aware of this law through their training, but not all studios insist on using consent forms

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by Spike]

From reading the comments here it seems to me that it is stricter in America than it is in the UK. This tallies with my experience of drinking in the States - I'm 33 (and feel old on these boards) and have been carded while carrying picture ID seems ridiculous in the UK.

The girl wanted it done as a tribute to her Grandad and it seems to me that if, when she'd got to 18, she still wanted the tribute done then it would be the right thing to do. Now she doesn't have a chance to come to that conclusion.

I still wish the article told us who the adult was who accompanied her. Was it just a friend of 18 or was it a relative? If the tattoo artist can say that he thought it was okay because he assumed that the presence of an adult meant parental consent had been given then he's saying that he knew she was underage. In which case, consent or not, he should have said no to doing it and explained the law.

That's the scary part. Dirty needles from someone practising in what might be unhygenic conditions., not in a real studio.

It reminds me of when I went into a tattoo shop here in California when I was 16. I asked the guy if I could get a tattoo if my mom gave consent. He told me "You can't go drink in a bar just because your mommy wrote you a permission slip now can you?" He said it really snotty, but looking back it is damn funny and true.

My boyfriend and his brother tattooed themselves a few times when they were between the ages of 12 and 16. One tattoo that my boyfriend did on himself was a tribute to a relative that had died, and he in no way regrets it today. The other one that his brother did however he has mixed feelings about. It is quality work because his brother is a gifted artist, but the tattoo definitely has that '80s feel .

That being said, if I were allowed to have gotten the tattoos I wanted when I was 15, I would have some pretty stupid tattoos today. I am damn thankful that there is a law against it, atleast for my own sake.

i got a tattoo on my back when i was 17 just because my mom said i could. it wasn't a good one needless to say because i went to someone who didn't know what they were doing. it's a chinese symbol meaning "magic" or "illusion." it can mean both. it had meaning at the time but it was so spur of the moment i basically didn't think about it long enough. if i did, i might have wound up with something bigger in a more noticeable spot, that looked even more like shit than this one does. i NEVER show it to anyone. luckily my hair is long enough to cover the damn thing when i have a tanktop on. i hope to finally get it covered this year with this design i've been working on and "daddy's girl."

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by serenity_star]

I think this is how it should be. Because so many people look down on tattoos and see it as some kind of dangerous, dirty world, those people who feel they represent it feel they have a responsibility to be upstanding and do things by the letter of the law.

I have one tat. I had it done in America. I was 31 at the time. I had ID and I'm pretty sure I signed a consent form. I say "pretty sure" because I was blind drunk. Unfortunately for me I'm a very sober drunk who can walk and talk long after the ability to think straight has left me. Many's the time I've been drunk in possession of a credit card and lived to regret it.

I got my first one when I was like 21 I guess. If I had a kid of my own and they wanted to get a tattoo underage, I would sign the form but I would make sure it wasn't something they'd regret later. The girl got a tattoo to remember her grandfather, that's something a lot of people do. My best friend got her first (and only) tattoo in memory of her brother. It's meaningful, and not likely to be something she regrets later in life so that's okay.

I had to sign stuff when I got my tattoo and when I got my nipples pierced. I had to put my tattoo off for two weeks because my ID was gone when I went in. Even though I'd been in several times before and shown them my ID ahead of time, since I didn't have it when they needed to check my age, I had to wait.

I don't think the girl or the tattoo artist thought this one out enough. Obviously for legal reasons the artist should have checked her age and probably should never have done the tattoo. And the girl... well... I don't know how bright it is getting big tattoos like that at 15. By the time she's my age she could regret that a lot. But then again... it is her body and her decision. She's the one who has to live with it.

I guess that's why the law is as it is. It's the licensees fault if he sells liquor to an underage drinker not the fault of the child. Rightly or wrongly, society doesn't expect children to think things through. In choosing to be a tattoo artist, he takes on that responsibility.