I’m tattooed– got all of mine after I was 18. I love them and I will definitely get more. However, when I was teaching high schoolers, I always cautioned them about getting tattoos right away. They are mostly permanent and what you like now, you may regret in a couple months. Most of mine are things I’ve drawn and thought about for months. Miley’s heart isn’t bad; it’s small and easily covered if she decides she doesn’t like it. If my kid wants a tattoo, I’ll tell her the same thing and I would encourage her to think about it for a few months.

I’m less concerned about piercings (as long as they are done by a professional in a sanitary manner, of course!) I was 17 when I got my nose done and I went with my mum. She signed off on it after making sure the place was on the up and up. I had friends who pierced themselves; her reasoning was that she knew this would be done right and if I changed my mind, it was a tiny scar. She also never had an issue with my dyeing my hair wild colours. The only rule was not before a big event (no pink hair at graduation). It was pretty harmless self-expression in her mind. It probably helps that my mum is an artist, though!

I’m definitely following these lessons with my daughter. If she wants pink streaks at 4, that’s fine with me.

Miley’s parents and brother are all loaded up with tats themselves. I even think they took her to get one of them. I hope Miley doesn’t go overboard with the tats. She is so beautiful just the way she is.

Under my roof = under my rules. No tattoos, no dyed hair and no piercings anywhere but the earlobes.

Nope. Rights of passage are important.
5 school
7 sleepovers
10 ear piercing
13 makeup
16 driving
18 vote/tattoos
21 drinking
35 run for president ;)
Anticipation is good.

It depends on the kid and on the tattoo, for me. Most tattoos don’t say much besides ‘I like ______’ (lately swallows or nautical stars) and so it’s just a matter of whether that particular kid is mature enough to understand that other people will have different reactions to it (like thinking it’s sleazy) and care for it…and PAY for it. Other tattoos, specifically those that would make my teenager a target, like tattoos that are or appear to be gang-related, are just not happening. Really, I would take the request to get a tattoo that would be dangerous (looks like a gang tattoo) or severely crippling to his/her future (a Mike Tyson-style facial tattoo, for example) as a sign that my kid is not yet thinking long-term and thus shouldn’t be making this decision.

Other than that, so what? Yes, someone might regret certain tattoos, but that’s life. If an ordinary tattoo on some part of the body besides the face or hands is regretted, you can always cover it with clothing, have it removed by laser or covered with a different tattoo. I actually have a tattoo that I don’t regret, exactly, but wish I’d considered the placement of more carefully, but on my list of things I’d do over, I don’t think it really rates. My husband actually has full sleeves of tattoos, (woo-hoo for sleazy guys!) so I think the appeal is kind of low for my own kids.

As far as piercings, same deal. If I’m convinced you’re mature enough to pay for it, deal with reactions to it, and take care of it, I’ll sign for it.

I’m not sure when dyed hair became that big a deal. It’s not permanent by any stretch of the imagination, the dyed part of your hair grows out! The worst thing that could happen (from getting your hair dyed by someone who knows what they’re doing) is looking silly for a while. I dyed my hair all the time when I was a teenager. My rule with the decidedly non-permanent hair is about the same—if I’m paying for your trip to the barber, you get to choose from the options I offer. When you pay for it, you choose.

My kids can get all the tattoos they want when they are adults and can choose to consent legally.

What about sons with ear piercings, LOL???!!!!

To each! Love my earrings and tatts! Waited 40 years to get my first tatt and I love the 2 I have now.

My hubby and I are both tatted (not sleeves or anything, but the occasional surprise under a strap or two!), and the only thing I will say to my son about it is that he needs to wait and figure out what he really, really wants for the rest of his life (I will forbid girlfriend’s names of any kind however). I had a nose piercing for a while, but took it out when I needed to get a salaried, benefits included job. Tattoos are a big deal when you make them a big deal. My parents absolutely forbid even the mention of it, so of course the day after my 18th birthday I went and got one. But my hubby’s parents were like “It’s your body, but it’s your body forever. Make sure you really want it and you go somewhere good”, so he waited until he knew what he really wanted and saved up the money to go to an artist, not a cheap parlor.

If a tattoo is the worst thing she’s putting into her body, she’s doing just fine. There are a lot of options, in her world, and if this is her most horrible choice, then she’s making great choices. As for my son, he’ll have the same rule about tattoos that I do: if he designs it, wants it to mark a life passage (so that it genuinely means something to him), and he knows the person doing the inking, then he can get one. Hair color can be done with Kool-Aide, and it’s safer to put on your body than in your body. I agree with JBoogle about limitations: hard limits like that give kids something to rebel against, practically insuring an early inking. Given that more than 30% of people under the age of 40 have a tattoo, it’s not exactly socially outre’, anymore.

hoe cute is that tatoo.