# Tattoos for Toddlers? WTF! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905 "2007-03-28T23:24:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/21 "2007-03-29T17:22:51Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Yeah, 10 year tats sounds great! Actually, I’d like a one year tat, so I can have it for a while then it’ll be gone by the time I get tired of it. [/QUOTE] If run a tattoo machine without ink it can leave a red mark that can last for a really long time, in the year+ range. This is essentially equivalent to using your own blood as tattoo ink, it will leave a mark that will eventually fade. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/22 "2007-03-29T19:43:27Z")
Hmm. When you put it that way - YIKES!!! ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/23 "2007-03-29T19:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] If run a tattoo machine without ink it can leave a red mark that can last for a really long time, in the year+ range. This is essentially equivalent to using your own blood as tattoo ink, it will leave a mark that will eventually fade. [/QUOTE] How does this differ from a deep bruise, which lasts less than a year and turns all sorts of colors other than red? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/24 "2007-03-29T19:57:57Z")
What I can’t figure out is: what do you give a kid to get him drunk enough to want to do this? I mean without getting into trouble with CPS. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/25 "2007-03-29T20:11:36Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] How does this differ from a deep bruise, which lasts less than a year and turns all sorts of colors other than red? [/QUOTE] I’m not sure…there’s a cite of sorts for this in Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo:) > [@](#): > > Magician Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame) writes in his book “Penn & Teller’s How to Play in Traffic” that he had a special tattoo made on his arm that used no pigment (The tattoo machine was run without ink). Penn states that the tattoo left a red scar that had a discernable pattern, but would heal to near invisibility after five or six years. Except this does nothing more than repeat the exact same anecdote I heard. Google turns up references to the same anecdote as well. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/26 "2007-03-29T20:35:08Z")
[QUOTE=ENugent] [Rose for a Rose](http://fatdoctor.blogspot.com/2007/03/roses-rose.html) [/QUOTE] Roses are red, violets are blue, Let’s get our daughter a real tattoo! ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/27 "2007-03-29T20:39:16Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] I’m not sure…there’s a cite of sorts for this in Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo:) Except this does nothing more than repeat the exact same anecdote I heard. Google turns up references to the same anecdote as well. [/QUOTE] Penn’s essay in the book on his experience is very detailed, and gives the name of the tattoo artist who did it on him, as well as other checkable facts, so I’m assuming it’s true. I’ll try to dig up my copy later to see how long he said it lasted. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/28 "2007-03-30T13:23:30Z")
I haven’t seen inkless tattoos, but I HAVE heard of people being branded. Basically, using a hot branding iron to make a cool scar in some design. Uh, wasn’t that once a punishment for slaves back in the antebellum South? Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/29 "2007-03-30T13:28:23Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] I haven’t seen inkless tattoos, but I HAVE heard of people being branded. Basically, using a hot branding iron to make a cool scar in some design. Uh, wasn’t that once a punishment for slaves back in the antebellum South? Jesus. [/QUOTE] Yep. Whipping was also a punishment, but when it’s consensual, it’s loads of fun. 😉 Branding is especially popular with darker skin, where many pigments (especially older ones) don’t show up well. I knew a latino guy once with a stunningly beautiful branded tree all across his shoulders. It was done a little bit at a time, and went from shoulder to shoulder and nape of neck to middle of the back. It was so beautiful, in this really strange (to me) way, and I couldn’t keep my hands off it. He said that where he was from, brands and scarification (from tiny knife cuts) were more popular than tattoos. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/30 "2007-03-30T17:17:36Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] I haven’t seen inkless tattoos, but I HAVE heard of people being branded. Basically, using a hot branding iron to make a cool scar in some design. Uh, wasn’t that once a punishment for slaves back in the antebellum South? Jesus. [/QUOTE] So what? The Nazis tattooed serial numbers on Jews, but that doesn’t reflect at all on modern tattooing practices. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/31 "2007-03-30T18:32:15Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] So what? The Nazis tattooed serial numbers on Jews, but that doesn’t reflect at all on modern tattooing practices. [/QUOTE] That’s right. And I still, to this day, enjoy a friendly round of dwarf tossing despite the sport’s questionable history. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/32 "2007-03-30T19:37:32Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] If people can legally chop off a piece of their baby’s genitals, why can’t they get a tattoo for their kid? [/QUOTE] Good point, if parents are allowed to subject their children to cosmetic surgery without regard to their kid’s feelings why shouldn’t they be allowed to tattoo them? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/33 "2007-03-30T20:31:33Z")
[QUOTE=Danalan] Somebody tell me [this](http://www.tattoos4toddlers.com/) is a joke. Firstly, who would be stupid enough to get a semi-permanent design on a kid? Never mind, I just remembered that the most popular TV program is pro wrestling. [/QUOTE] At first I was going to point out that the most popular show on TV is actually American Idol. Then I thought, now, wouldn’t it be cool if they wrestled on American Idol? “Dina and Kevin, you’re the bottom two this week. One of you must leave us now, so… LOWER THE STEEL CAGE!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/34 "2007-03-30T20:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] So what? The Nazis tattooed serial numbers on Jews, but that doesn’t reflect at all on modern tattooing practices. [/QUOTE] Meh, you have a point there, but I still think it’s nuts. I’ve heard sometimes you may have to go back and get it redone. I guess it’s just that the idea of burning oneself on purpose squicks me out a bit. I don’t even like it when I accidentally burn myself on my curling iron. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/35 "2007-03-31T15:01:03Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I saw a boy, around 4, shirtless, walking with his Biker dad. The boy had a HD tat covering his chest. No, it wasn’t one of those temp “lick and stick” tattoos. [/QUOTE] They make amazingly realistic fake tats now. My friend bought me a pack of children’s Spongebob Squarepants tats and I put Squidward on my lower leg. Everyone thought it was real, even looking at it closely. The colors were brilliant, it didn’t sit above teh surface noticeably, and it lasted a few weeks. It was a lot of fun fooling people. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/36 "2007-03-31T15:42:00Z")
I would consider tatooing something small [like a set of initials] on both of a pair of seriously identical twins just to be able to tell them apart, although something like the social security number or other ‘safeword’ inside the lip to do a positive ID in case of a kidnapping would be within the realm of possibility [how many times has there been stories of people claiming to be whomever that was kidnapped or vanished and not being able to be identified … true you can do a genetic scan but flipping the lip and looking for a special mark that only the parents know would work also.] ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/37 "2007-03-31T20:43:57Z")
I wouldn’t be too surprised to actually see this happen. Years ago I started having people come into my store with babies and small toddlers in strollers that had already had ear and nose piercings. For real - I asked. I have seen quite a few pre-teen girls with real tattoos also. I guess it went well with the lipgloss and mascara they also were wearing _to school._ ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/38 "2007-03-31T21:19:09Z")
[QUOTE=aruvqan] I would consider tatooing something small [like a set of initials] on both of a pair of seriously identical twins just to be able to tell them apart, although something like the social security number or other ‘safeword’ inside the lip to do a positive ID in case of a kidnapping would be within the realm of possibility [how many times has there been stories of people claiming to be whomever that was kidnapped or vanished and not being able to be identified .. true you can do a genetic scan but flipping the lip and looking for a special mark that only the parents know would work also.] [/QUOTE] As a kid I knew a set of indentical twins who’s parents had a similiar idea. They had one **circumsized** and the other left intact. Granted by the time they were teenagers everybody who knew them could tell them apart just by looking at their _faces_. I don’t know how often their parents checked to see who they were talking to when they were kids. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/39 "2007-03-31T21:32:04Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] As a kid I knew a set of indentical twins who’s parents had a similiar idea. They had one **circumsized** and the other left intact. **Granted by the time they were teenagers everybody who knew them could tell them apart just by looking at their _faces_**. I don’t know how often their parents checked to see who they were talking to when they were kids. [/QUOTE] That’s good. Do you know how embarassing it is to have your parents pull down your pants and underwear during the teen years, _in front of all your friends_, just to identify which twin’s turn it is to do the dishes! ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905/40 "2007-04-01T05:52:37Z")
[QUOTE=aruvqan] I would consider tatooing something small [like a set of initials] on both of a pair of seriously identical twins just to be able to tell them apart, although something like the social security number or other ‘safeword’ inside the lip to do a positive ID in case of a kidnapping would be within the realm of possibility [how many times has there been stories of people claiming to be whomever that was kidnapped or vanished and not being able to be identified .. true you can do a genetic scan but flipping the lip and looking for a special mark that only the parents know would work also.] [/QUOTE] I’ve heard of getting a little light-colored dot tattooed behind the ear of one to be able to tell them apart. The lighter colored ink would fade by the time the kid is grown, and hopefull they could tell them apart by then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-for-toddlers-wtf/397905.md?page=3)