by Diana Claude

Created on: September 10, 2009

Getting a tattoo is something no adult should do without considering the consequences. It should only be done after long and careful thought. Having or allowing a child to get a tattoo is territory no parent should ever enter into without informing him or herself first of the impact it could have on his child's life. Call me a "nay-sayer"; but what follows is some interesting insight on the effect of tattoos on children.

A study was conducted by Dort College: Psych-E; vol.4; Bouma and De Wit's Experiment: The Effect of Tattoos and Piercing in ChildrensPerceptionsof People. In this study, children were shown photographs of people of different ages and genders. Some had tattoos, some did not. The children were then asked whether they perceived the people positively or negatively based on their tattoos . In almost all the finding, the boys had more negative impacts than the girls did. The overall perceptions the children had of people with tattoos were negative.

Now some factors that the study considered , were the ages of the children. Noting that younger children tended to base their feelings on first impressions., seeing anyone who looked different from them as bad. Whereas adolescent children were more likely to be receptive to tattoos. Over-all, tattoos were often associated with criminality, bikers' gangs and villains.

Other research has shown that getting a tattoo can effect a child's employment opportunities later in life. There have been reports of people being denied interviews and even fired from jobs for having tattoos. A child with a tattoo could be discriminated against participating in certain activities or attending a school. I suppose one could sue if they had the finances to do so.

There is a health risk with tattoos such as Hepatitis, or infection, and claims that tattoos interfere with MRIs. Children are often targeted by bullies with-out mercy for being different. Having a tattoo would make a child more likely to be singled out for teasing than those without them.

It is illegal for a minor, under 18 to get a tattoo in Alaska, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. The remaining states have stipulations requiring parental consent either in writing or in person.Temporary tattoos are available for the child that "just has to have one", but there are varying opinions on whether or not the henna dyes used in them are harmful to the skin.

Sources :Authors: Kristin Bouma [andyb@netrover.com], Lindsay De Wit, and Dr. Sherri B. Lantinga [lantinga@dordt.edu]

Institution: Dordt College

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