When you were a teen (minor), did you want to do crazy experimental things? Are you glad you didn’t because you would’ve regretted it? That’s why minors shouldn’t be allowed to get a tattoo without a parent’s permission. I believe teens shouldn’t get tattoos because they’re in a very influential part of their lives and might regret it later. Even though some people believe we should let them make those kinds of mistakes on their own, I believe sometimes people need help making the right choice. When your young, your brain is still learning new things every day and being a teen or preteen, your being introduced so many new things at one time.
Teenage years are the time when a child’s mind is maturing. This is the time where a person goes through physical, mental, emotional changes. The whole process of how we mature, what experiences we have in our teenage life, lays the foundation to our adult life. Teenage is the time where we are busy trying to figure out the chaos, where we set our priorities. Many important decisions must be made. For example, what we want to become when we grow up. We also get exposed to new things. We get driving licenses, start drinking, get to vote etc.
During this time, we form a thought process about many things that stay for a lifetime. It is important that as a teenager, we don’t lose our control to our ever-raging hormones and try to do things from an experienced adult’s perspective. According to Sarah Boesveld at theglobeandmail.com, “Everything is established around this time – you establish your relationships, your social life. Especially important is you establish the way you think about yourself, you establish your romantic relationships. And unlike when you’re a child, you must do it on your own.”
127 our experts are availableright now
What if a teen(minor) think they should just go out and get a crazy tattoo so their friends think their cool or because they got a bad dare? What if they get a crazy eye tattoo or a crazy face tattoo? Tattoos are permanent and are very costly to remove. So, by and a minor not getting a tattoo, could save time, money, and ink. Let’s say a minor does get a tattoo, but what if they regret it? Too expensive to get it removed and takes many years to fade (if it ever does). They’re going to wish that someone would’ve stopped them from getting a tattoo at such a young age. Roughly half of all teens who get tattoos end up regretting them, according to a new tattoo survey from casino.org.
That’s only teens. The most common location of an unwanted tat, by a wide margin, is on a bicep. Among people who regret their tattoos, 24 percent picked their bicep as the ink’s location. Calves and shoulders came in second and third with roughly 12 percent apiece. Tribal tats are trouble. Among women who regret their tattoos, 21 percent said their ink included a tribal design. Tattoos of someone’s name are the second-most regretted type, while a face, a figure, or a Chinese character round out the list of most-lamented tattoos. Roughly 37 percent of people who regret their tattoos got their unwanted ink between the ages 17-45+.
Another 20 percent were aged 22 to 25. But once you hit 26, the likelihood of regretting your tattoo falls into the single digits. If you can hold off until age 26—or ideally, 36—you’re a lot less likely to hate your tat. It’s no surprise that the longer you’ve been considering a tattoo, the less likely you are to regret it after the fact. Nearly 30 percent of regretted tattoos are spur-of-the-moment decisions. According to advdermatology.com, “…the longer a someone waits (a few days at least, but ideally a few years) the less likely he is to regret his choice. Even if you’re happy with the design, location, and look of your tattoo, you may eventually regret it for health reasons”. A 2015 case study turned up malignant skin cancer cells in the red portion of a man’s tattoo.
The study authors say the man likely had skin cancer before getting his tat, and the tattoo needle may have poked the cancer and then “re-seeded” its cells. The kind of low-grade inflammation caused by tattoo inks could also raise a man’s risk for skin cancers, the study authors say. This makes me think… why? Is it worth it? On the other hand, some people may say let them make those decisions on their own. Because people should learn from their own mistakes. And I understand that. But I personally believe one’s own uniqueness can be expressed through tattoos. I have many friends with tattoos and they are underage. I’ve seen them get one. I’ve even thought about getting one myself.
And just because your underaged and have a tat, doesn’t mean you should be looked down upon. It’s not as if minors with tattoos are running around with the bloody needles that were used to create their tattoos. Also, tattoos can keep memories alive. For example, some teens show their feelings to their loved ones by getting tattoos of their names or getting a tattoo that reminds them of the one they love or lost. I admit that a lot of teens don’t have anything important to say with a tattoo. They just want tattoos to anger their parents or rebel against society. But that’s not always the case. Tattoos are a form of art.
Teens should be allowed to get tattoos without parental consent is so that they won’t get harmful diseases. This because when teens don’t get their parent’s consent they end up going to an “underground” body art faker or end up doing it themselves, this can be harmful. In article “How old is enough” by Sean McCullum, he states “Body art fakers care more about the money they pocket then they do protecting the nerves in a young person’s mouth or keeping people free of hepatitis B or other diseases” this shows on how parents not giving teens consent effects on their effect on their health. In the article, the author also uses Jo Kaplan, president of the professional tattoo artist guild states’ “That’s why I think the state laws should be 16 to keep kids from doing [tattooing] themselves and going underground dungeons and getting diseases”.
Also, in the article “How old is old enough” Sean McCollum states “…and tattoos done by amateurs are bad news all the way around. Chances are they’ll look lousy. and they can leave a person SICK or scared”. But why go through all the trouble getting your parent’s consent and having to persuade them, if you can take your time to think out your tattoo and wait until you have a job, so YOU can pay for it. If you want a tattoo and you’re underage, you might as well be responsible for paying for it.
In conclusion, I believe you should have to be a legal adult to get a tattoo. And even after looking at this from both sides, I strongly think you should be a legal adult to get a tattoo, but more research and studies should be done.
