An unlicensed tattoo artist from New York, USA, inked a massive permanent tattoo on a 10-year-old boy with the permission of his mother (who is also said to be a tattoo artist). For this, the tattoo artist and the child’s mother have been jailed by the American police.
According to information provided by the Town of Lloyd Police, 33-year-old Crystal Thomas (mother of the boy) was arrested on October 4th. According to the police, the law has flown against him for “harming the welfare of the child”. 20-year-old Austin Smith was also arrested for the same reason last month.
According to initial reports, it seems that the tattoo was done on the hand of the child concerned. The boy involved was at school with discomfort in his hands and with the help of the teachers he sent the nurse. The boy asked the nurse if he wanted Vaseline and asked her to help him put it on his tattoo. The nurse, who saw the boy’s tattoo, was shocked and called the police.
In the US, there is no age limit for getting a tattoo except in a few states. However, in New York, where the boy is from, the law states that only people over the age of 18 can get tattoos. In some places, after the age of 14, you can get a tattoo with parental permission. Getting a permanent tattoo for kids is as important as making a permanent mark on their body.
Children face it for more years than adults. But many doctors there are saying that since they are children, they cannot make proper decisions at that age and the government should consider the US law in this regard.
The mother of the arrested boy and the tattoo artist also expressed their support for this. In a recent interview, he said, “No small child should get a tattoo. Thinking that my son was asking for a temporary tattoo, I agreed. Had I known that it was a permanent tattoo, I would have refused.”
Similarly, tattoo artist Austin Smith said, “This is the worst mistake I have ever made in my life. At that time, I thought I could get a tattoo because the child’s parents had given permission. So I did it.”
The 10-year-old boy who got the tattoo also lamented that “Austin Thomas might have told me I can’t get a tattoo that day,” further exacerbating the problem. In turn, there is a growing demand for parents to avoid tattooing their children as much as possible.
Information courtesy of: NYTimes