Tattoos on teens - opinions pls

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

... Bills need to be paid, and working for minimum wage is not that swell ... And, that sometimes, people might need to reconsider their 'rights' if they intend to work at something more than minimal wage

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I agree with most of what you are saying. I'm not sure I'd hire someone with, as my husband not-so-eloquently likes to put it, "a face that looks like my tackle box." There's a kid working at our local Burger King who has PITBULL tattoed in huge, black, capital Old English letters ... all around his neck. It's scary ... truly.

But, I do also think you are being a bit extreme with the "minimum wage" thing. Thre are not ONLY two paths ... get a tattoo and forever make minimum wage or pass on the tattoo and be a rich professional.

Now, the PITBULL kid is probably never going to get a job as a bank manager or a CPA looking like that, true. But might he someday get a job as a certified auto mechanic making considerably more than minimum wage? Sure. There are a LOT of jobs that pay VERY well, that are not conservative professions. My neighbor probably easily cleared a million dollars last year as a building contractor. He's got two arms full of tattoos. Doubtful I'll EVER make that much money in a year.

I personally got my tattoos where I could easily cover them all up. I worked for a time as an accountant and a financial analyst, VERY consevative fields. I DO see your point, and I agree ... to a point. But there are a LOT of professions where the pay is MUCH more than minimum wage that aren't conservative enough to care about a couple of tattoos. I'm not talking about covering your entire body, or profanity, etc., of course. That's above and beyond.

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

Is there something WRONG about Jon Bon Jovi? You mean he isn't still the love of your life? :D

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You know ... if he only would have not cut his hair .... ;)

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Originally Posted by Twisterdog

But, I do also think you are being a bit extreme with the "minimum wage" thing. Thre are not ONLY two paths ... get a tattoo and forever make minimum wage or pass on the tattoo and be a rich professional.

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Of course not. If only, eh? I guess my point, not so eloquently put, was younger people often are the people working minimum wage. And, by minimum wage, I am not literally limiting it to the state mandated minimum wage. Maybe I should have said lower wage.

Back to younger people, lower waged jobs, and tatoos.....to me, there seems to be a theory of entitlement amongst our population. Their rights vs., if you will, the establishment's rights. The attitude, "well, then, I just won't work for you if I can't wear this/have this hair/have ten tatoos/peircings/fill in the blank". I was just suggesting that how one feels when they enter the work force (and often in a lower paying job than, say, in their 30s or 40s) might not be what they are feeling when mortgages/car payments/medical bills come along, and there they are, with ten tatoos prominently displayed. Or, a face full of tackle (I like that one).

And, for the record, while I might be in a professional field, I sure ain't rich! :D Even without any tatoos! :D

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

Of course not. If only, eh? I guess my point, not so eloquently put, was younger people often are the people working minimum wage. And, by minimum wage, I am not literally limiting to the state mandated minimum wage. Maybe I should have said lower wage.

Back to younger people, lower waged jobs, and tatoos.....to me, there seems to be a theory of entitlement amongst our population. Their rights vs., if you will, the establishment's rights. The attitude, "well, then, I just won't work for you if I can't wear this/have this hair/have ten tatoos/peircings/fill in the blank". I was just suggesting that how one feels when they enter the work force (and often in a lower paying job than, say, in their 30s or 40s) might not be what they are feeling when mortgages/car payments/medical bills come along, and their they are, with ten tatoos prominently displayed. Or, a face full of tackle (I like that one).

And, for the record, while I might be in a professional field, I sure ain't rich! :D Even without any tatoos! :D

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I know what you are saying, and I agree with you. Especially the attitude of entitlement ... boy, oh boy, I could type several pages worth of rants about that one! But that's a different one of my dozens of soapboxes .... ;)

I do still like all my tattoos, many years later. But, no one knows I have them unless I choose to show them. I got them for ME, they are a private testimony that no one else needs see or know about.

I think therein lies one difference between continuing to like your tattoos for the rest of your life and regretting them someday ... can your cover them up if you need to? Not only for a job interview, but for a funeral, a wedding, professional family photographs? You might not think you'll care, but chances are you will, at some point.

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

I wouldn't have them brand themselves in any way at all. I am not into 'branding'.




I would NOT hire someone with something that I found objectionable. I wouldn't hire someone with ten piercings on their head, with some outlandish hair style, or fashion sense. I work in a very conservative environment, and, it just doesn't seem appropriate to me, and what I see in my 'work place'. Others can do what they would like.

My comment about paying bills is directly related to a comment such as the one Kay made a few posts above. She wouldn't work for someone like me, then. I simply meant that people's attitudes about their 'rights' to express themselves sometimes compete with the job market's 'right' to hire/not hire. And, that sometimes, people might need to reconsider their 'rights' if they intend to work at something more than minimal wage, or in a more professional or traditional office enviroment.



Well, then, you do see my point about it possibly limiting your job opportunities. ;) And, it isn't the same as not hiring someone who might be a vegetarian....unless it is a big tatoo that says that. Who knows that someone is a vegetarian based on physical observation?



While I don't know my ancestry to the point of knowing if they had tatoos...he he he, I do know that no living member of my family has a tatoo :eek: Maybe we are ALL odd...I always thought it was just me.



Love tatoos! I certainly am not telling you to do so otherwise, nor do I think you deserve less because of one....however, that doesn't mean I have to hire you. Remember, your rights are yours, and mine are mine. As long as I am not being discrimanatory (based on the law), I am alright with my position.




Well, I don't know what to say to that comment. You have lots of friends and family that have tatoos! Birds of a feather, I suppose. I have no family members with tatoos, and I know only a few of my friends have them. Two people, exactly, come to mind. Neither of them are that 'hot' about their tatoos, currently.

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Heh, okay. I understand what you mean now. :D Sometimes it is a little hard to convey emphasis on the stinky ol' interweb! :D

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Originally Posted by buttercup132

I have 3 I'm 16 and I know I will still like mine. Your theory is wrong, seems like you don't know much about the subject so you shouldn't assume that. I personally find that offensive.

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You can never know what you are going to like in the future. I am 17 and there are so many things that I don't like now that I did when I was 16 and vice versa. I was going to get a tattoo when I was 16 and am so glad that I didn't because I don't like the same thing now. My mom got a tattoo done when she was fifteen (something she said she really liked then and something she never thought that she wouldn't like) and by the time she was 20 she hated it. So you probably shouldn't say that you know you will still like yours.

I'm all for keeping it above-board, and if anything, Dad's prohibition will prove an incentive, not a disincentive anyway. Tattoos don't have the shock value they once did. But definitely discussing the economic ramifications (e.g. you may have to live in a decent-sized city with an unacceptable cost of living to be able to find a job at all) makes sense; and tying that in with the "not under my roof" angle (e.g. "Nobody will hire me" will no longer be an acceptable excuse to live here rent-free!) Explain how people will make up excuses or lie outright and just hire a less qualified candidate if they "just don't like the look" of a job applicant, which might well be the case for certain individuals in a position to make hiring decisions.

What the heck, he can move to Boston - nobody here bats an eye at tattoos, facial piercings, or blue hair. But you need 2 full-time jobs just to stay off the street, so he better not harbor delusions of having a social life!

Love, Columbine

Leaves you between a rock and a hard place. You have to choose between your son and hubby. I imagine it will cause a lot of friction in the home if he does get it. Yet, at 18 he is old enough to make a decision.Would he be willing to wait another year? If not, everyone will have to meet halfway.
I never was a tatoo fan, so I would also have said no to my kids had they asked. I guess if it's in good taste and somewhere hidden, it would be ok. My main concern would be what he could pick up. No matter how reliable the place, there's a lot of risk, take a look at what you pick up from needles at the hospitals.

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Originally Posted by sumbirdy

You can never know what you are going to like in the future. I am 17 and there are so many things that I don't like now that I did when I was 16 and vice versa. I was going to get a tattoo when I was 16 and am so glad that I didn't because I don't like the same thing now. My mom got a tattoo done when she was fifteen (something she said she really liked then and something she never thought that she wouldn't like) and by the time she was 20 she hated it. So you probably shouldn't say that you know you will still like yours.

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I think people can decide for themselves how they feel and view things. :)

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Originally Posted by mike001

Leaves you between a rock and a hard place. You have to choose between your son and hubby. I imagine it will cause a lot of friction in the home if he does get it. Yet, at 18 he is old enough to make a decision.Would he be willing to wait another year? If not, everyone will have to meet halfway.
I never was a tatoo fan, so I would also have said no to my kids had they asked. I guess if it's in good taste and somewhere hidden, it would be ok. My main concern would be what he could pick up. No matter how reliable the place, there's a lot of risk, take a look at what you pick up from needles at the hospitals.

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There are MANY, MANY reputable tattoo and piercing shops. They *DO* get inspected by folks from the health department, there is a national organization that the reputable people *MUST* be members of and adhere to all rules! You want a shop that uses a BRAND NEW needle as in taking it out of the package in front of your eyes. You want a place that disinfects the chair before you sit down, makes sure you're wanting to do this by asking several times. You want a place that will not dot you with a marker but use a toothpick to get the dye and mark you, a place that pours the ink into a seperate container used for you and only you. etc etc etc.

i got my first tattoo just a couple weeks after i turned 18! the place i went too, i had some previous piercings done and trusted them completely, never heard anything bad about them(of course i did after i got it) but the guy i went too, i told him what i wanted! Something on my ankle, like an anklet, small pretty, and nothing tacky! with my name as like a pendant!
Of course he drew up something huge with a link chain instead of a tiny chain like one! I was so eager to get it, i said okay whatever! I've grown to like it! When i wear certain things im ashamed of it, for example at my sister's wedding!
i was HUGELY emabarrased because we were in a church and i was wearing a dress that showed of my legs and it just felt wrong to be showing it off like some prize possession in gods house!
for the most part, i dont regret getting it, i just wished it was more of what i wanted! It's neat and not ungodly huge but still not what i had in mind!
everyone else who see's it says it way neat and they love it, as long as other people arent appauled by it, im okay with it too!
i'd say def. pick a GOOD place, somewhere who does alot of work, pick out something you absolutely want and dont mind seeing everyday!
my dad makes fun of me because he thinks i dont know how to spell my name so i had to get it tattooed so i dont ever forget it! haha!
i didnt tell me dad, he found out a year later, but by that time i was okay with him seeing it!
Ask if they have pictures of their previous work, you'll be able to tell if it's good work or not!
Hope i kinda gave some insight! but best of luck to you and your son! hope he does the right thing!

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Originally Posted by Wenisrubber

I think people can decide for themselves how they feel and view things. :)

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Yeah, but I'm just saying...

I hate tattoos. My mom was in concentration camp and had one on her arm, it started with a Z and had numbers behind it. She became a number in that camp. A non-person. It was horrible, disgusting and embarrassing for her. People always asked why she had it and when she said " it was from concentration camp" people asked all kinds of dumb questions. When I see someone with a tattoo I think less of them. I tip less at a resturant. I think a lot of young people now a days do not realize how horrible those tattoos will look as they age. All those young girls with the backside/ half way down the butt tattoos. Well when they are older those things are going to sag, get cellulite, fat, and creep down the backside. Not a pretty thought. It's a fad, and it will go along with nuts and bolts that people pierce themselves with. Too bad the darn things are semi-permanent. They might think it looks cool now but no tattoo looks good on a 50 or 60 year old, it just looks cheap.

I think they are ugly. Not just on teens -- on everyone. But, he's old enough to make his own mistakes err decisions.

I got my first tattoo when I was 30. I had wanted one since I was a teen but never acted on it. Twelve years later, I've got three, soon to be four. They are all where I can show them when I want. I think that thinking less of people and tipping less is wrong. I understand some of it has to do with the older generations. My mom hates mine. But they are much more common now and a lot of people from all walks of life have them. As for my job, it's a professional, white collar one that pays well.