Children are a curious bunch. Almost as soon as they speak their first words, they start asking questions. If you have a highly-visible tattoo, then it’s only a matter of time before they start asking what it is, how it got on your skin and whether or not they can get one as well!

When explaining tattoos to your young children, here are a few guidelines to follow

Be Honest, But Not Too Honest

You should try to be as honest as possible about your tattoo, especially if it is not a controversial image. If you’ve got a tattoo of your wife’s name in a heart, a butterfly, a tiger, a phrase that you find particularly powerful or something similar, you can explain to your children that the image or words had a special meaning to you and you wanted it to be a part of you forever.

If your tattoo isn’t exactly rated PG, you can still say that the image is or was important, but you may want to hedge around exactly what it is or what kind of crazy antics led to you getting the tattoo.

It’s Okay to Admit to a Mistake

If you have a tattoo that no longer represents who you are, you can explain to older children who may be curious that the tattoo represented your personality when you were much younger. If the tattoo no longer fits your way of life, it’s okay to admit getting it might have been shortsighted. In fact, this could be a good lesson about why it is a good idea to think very carefully before making big decisions.

What if a Child Wants a Tattoo?

It is not uncommon for a young child to see your tattoo and want one just like it. It’s important to explain to young children that tattoos are meant to be permanent and are hard and painful to remove. Most young children have trouble grasping what “permanent” really means. A good way to explain this is to use a toy they used to love but now never play with. How would they like it if they were only allowed to play with the old toy and never any new ones? That’s kind of like what having a tattoo is like. You can also quickly change their minds when you describe that getting a tattoo requires getting stuck with a needle over and over again.

Temporary Tattoos

If your child still wants a tattoo, then consider buying them temporary tattoos so they can be “just like Dad” or “just like Mom”. A temporary tattoo usually lasts a day, long enough for that train of thought to run its course.

If you have an R rated tattoo that you don’t want to have to explain to your children, consider tattoo laser removal. At North Houston Laser Tattoo Removal, we offer a free laser removal consultation where we can tell you how long it will take to remove your tattoo and an estimated cost of the procedure.