GA - Parents Arrested for Giving Kids Tattoos

[Linda7NJ]

I'm pretty much aghast at anyone thinking this is not a bad thing. Since when is 10 old enough to make a decision like that? Ear holes will grow back. Tattooing, if she used ink and a machine, is permanent and something that takes, essentially, surgery to rectify. I would NEVER make that decision for one of my children. There is no religious or health reason to get it done.



Have you ever watched a male circumcision? One performed in a clinical setting with pain relief? I have. Referring to it in the way you do is a way to make a point through language, not reality. By the time this baby is born, I will have "abused" my sons three times, then, and somehow they've turned out to be happy, healthy toddlers with no longterm effects outside of some potential health benefits. Lock me right up.

Have you ever witnessed one of these?

""The centuries-old practice, called metzizah bi peh or metzitzah b'peh, involves a mohel using his mouth to suction blood from the wound after the foreskin is removed. The ritual is used by Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jews."
http://www.cirp.org/news/thejournalnews12-17-05/"

I haven't. But that doesn't stop me from forming an opinion about it.

I happen to believe circumcision is unneceassry. It's my opinion.

Are you saying if these particluar boys are happy and healthy and suffer no long term effects than it's okay? You're losing me..........

 

[not_my_kids]

I see a huge difference in what was done to these kids, and things like circumcision and ear piercing.
Circumcision is considered a medical procedure now, and ear piecing is cartilage, usually done with little to no pain.

Tattoos hurt, they are permanent (although they do fade out with time, and will disappear totally if you don't go deep enough) and children are not capable of making wide decisions on what they want to have forever on their bodies.
They used a homemade gun, which for germs, is akin to licking a public toilet, and 2 of these kids did not have the ability, legally to make the decision, nor did their non biological mother that tattooed them. Imagine if you were the other parent and this violated religious beliefs?
And to top it all off...on their hands. Fully visible, not way to cover long term and only highly painful laser surgery will remove it. Hope none of the kids want to work on anything but minimum wage.

Even I will not put tattoo my face or hands...my fiance has 22 tattoos, is licensed to tattoo, and he won't tattoo his hands or face.

Child abuse...oh yes. Endangerment...oh yes. Monumentally stupid, oh yes.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I see a huge difference in what was done to these kids, and things like circumcision and ear piercing.
Circumcision is considered a medical procedure now, and ear piecing is cartilage, usually done with little to no pain.

Tattoos hurt, they are permanent (although they do fade out with time, and will disappear totally if you don't go deep enough) and children are not capable of making wide decisions on what they want to have forever on their bodies.
They used a homemade gun, which for germs, is akin to licking a public toilet, and 2 of these kids did not have the ability, legally to make the decision, nor did their non biological mother that tattooed them. Imagine if you were the other parent and this violated religious beliefs?
And to top it all off...on their hands. Fully visible, not way to cover long term and only highly painful laser surgery will remove it. Hope none of the kids want to work on anything but minimum wage.

Even I will not put tattoo my face or hands...my fiance has 22 tattoos, is licensed to tattoo, and he won't tattoo his hands or face.

Child abuse...oh yes. Endangerment...oh yes. Monumentally stupid, oh yes.

Circumcision is an unnecessary procedure. Medical procedure? Are you claiming it's necessary or always preformed by a medical doctor?

Ear piercing....I was sixteen and it hurt like crazy! So much so...I left and it took me months to get up the nerve to have my other lobe done. Okay, so I am a sissy.

 

[Missizzy]

This is more than a little worrisome:

http://everything2.com/title/Guitar+strings+don%27t+make+good+tattoo+needles

This story explains how guitar strings, when sharpened, contain nickel.

Here's another article on how to do prison tattoos, also with guitar strings. I have to ask, though, do the inmates have access to this helpful how-to article? And, what in the world are they doing with guitar strings anyway? They could be used as a weapon, couldn't they? I wonder if one of these parents has done time and seen this done?

http://everything2.com/title/Prison+tattooing

 

[not_my_kids]

Circumcision is an unnecessary procedure. Medical procedure? Are you claiming it's necessary or always preformed by a medical doctor?

Ear piercing....I was sixteen and it hurt like crazy! So much so...I left and it took me months to get up the nerve to have my other lobe done. Okay, so I am a sissy.

I'm not claiming anything about circumcision, except that it is medically recommended and performed medically, in most cases these days.

Past that, I have nothing to say about it. I chose to leave my sons "intact".
I was just saying it's a recommended, sterile procedure when performed under correct circumstances.
if they had taken their children to a licensed tattooist, in a state that allows it, signed the papers and allowed a professional under sterile conditions to tattoo them, then I wouldn't so much say endangerment or abuse.

 

[MomofBoys]

Have you ever witnessed one of these?

""The centuries-old practice, called metzizah bi peh or metzitzah b'peh, involves a mohel using his mouth to suction blood from the wound after the foreskin is removed. The ritual is used by Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jews."
http://www.cirp.org/news/thejournalnews12-17-05/"

I haven't. But that doesn't stop me from forming an opinion about it.

I happen to believe circumcision is unneceassry. It's my opinion.

Are you saying if these particluar boys are happy and healthy and suffer no long term effects than it's okay? You're losing me..........

You're talking about an incredibly small segment of all circumcisions performed. I can't even find reference to them statistically. I think the oral suction thing is beyond disturbing, but you were seeming to paint all circumcisions with the same brush. If I got the wrong impression, I apologize.

The subject of circumcision is obviously polarizing. Even my sister and I are on different sides of the fence on it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. She chose to keep her boy with foreskin. We're both happy with our choices and confident enough in them to do it the same way again.

I just don't see circumcision as the same thing. There are many valid reasons to have circumcision performed (despite what biased CIRP says) and there are good reasons not to do it. No one is going to argue that tattooing has potential health benefits. It can only, from a medical perspective, hurt you. No major religion seems to advocate it, although I'm certainly not an expert.

People can tattoo themselves all day long. My brother-in-law is a tattoo artist. I got one on an adrenaline-fueled dare when I was 18. A pink pig with purple polka dots right under my waistline. I feel somewhat ridiculous, but I don't regret it. People who do their kids, though, at home and without knowing how those kids might live to regret it--they're wrong, IMO. Criminally wrong? I don't know. But it's definitely morally hedgy and doesn't increase their chances for winning parents of the year.

Circumcision is an unnecessary procedure.

Your opinion. Will the baby die if it's not performed? Of course not. Is there actual, real data out there indicating that it can lower risk for particular cancers and diseases? Yes. I'm not an Orthodox Jew, so there must have been some reasoning behind my choosing to have it done.

 

[Openmind]

Interesting discussion. I saw the stepmother, aka tattoo artist, on TV last night and she was pretty upset and showing off her own tattoos. I hope for her sake they do fade, because, IMHO, they were gosh awful. The machine they used looked nasty dirty, but they insisted all this was sanitary. Truthfully, I am as concerned they seem to lack the common sense to know if a child is the best judge of what they want, but that is nothing new. I don't know if the news can keep up with all those kind of stories but they seem to be trying.

The thing about tattoos that bothers me is how they will look in fifty years when the skin is sagging and the tattoo is no longer riding on taunt tight skin. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Icky thought, but [/FONT]I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[MeoW333]

I don't see how this is cruelty towards children, they were't beating them.
I can see that 10 years old is young, however i think this is a CUSTODY BATTLE fodder between the parents.
Georgia is a conservative state; it's neighbor, SC just allowed tattoo establishments to be legal several years ago.

Kids will go and do their own tattoos at that age (mid to late teens) anyway.
IMO, the police overreacted.
Sounds like the biomom is using this against the bio dad as they are divorced, notice how biomom states in the article that shouldn't she decide whether or not they get tattoos?
It's all bitterness and custody related.
The children, when they are 18 can decide if they want tattoos or not.

We have children who are neglected, starved to death, beaten, molested, and here Georgia is worrying about some parents who gave their kids homemade tattoos?
Ridiculous!

 

[MeoW333]

I have a ton of tattoos, back in the day when i was underage, i did some myself with a needle wrapped in thread and pen ink. While i don't suggest this method (including sterlizing the needle with a bic lighter) it's not going to stop kids from tattooing themselves. If they don't use a guitar string, needle, filed down paper clip, etc there's always another method someone will think of to use, tattoos are mainstream now.
This article isn't worthy of national news, not when other children are in serious danger.

 

[not_my_kids]

It was the non-bio mother of at least two that did the tattoos. Now, his ex has custody fodder. Not before.
To my understanding it was the same non-bio that made the statement...I am going to reread just to be sure.

ETA: http://www.ajc.com/news/couple-arrested-for-giving-265194.html
Yes, it was their non bio mother, (stepmother) that tattooed them, and she is the one that made the statement that they are hers, it's her decision.

 

[MomofBoys]

Ew, gross. That makes it worse. Unless the bio mother is completely out of their lives/in prison, it seems like something she should have a say in.

 

[BeanE]

The article says a cleaned up tattoo machine was used.

And the second link I posted has a video that shows what they actually used, and described it. The woman who did the tattooing was even describing it herself. What I described is accurate.

 

[BeanE]

This certainly turned into a lively thread

 

[jjenny]

I pierced quite a few of my friends ears when I was a teen. Always used an embroidery needle, alcohol and a ice cube. No one died:innocent: or even got an infection!:dance:

What do you think parents would say if you did that now?
If anybody did that to my kid, they'd have a lot to worry about.

 

[BeanE]

In looking at the Georgia law, Filly, I have to wonder what sorts of tattoos doctors and osteopaths are allowed to apply. The only thing I can think of is some sort of identification for identical multiples and possibly, religious markings. Does anyone know? Before every mall had a piercing shop, doctors used to pierce ears (yes, I'm aware they've been done at home, too, forever). I wonder if some docs are willing to do tattoos. I'm gonna check into that. You're my multi-cultural inner city expert. See what you can find.

My niece had a rather large 'strawberry' birthmark across her upper lip. A doctor (plastic surgeon) tattooed it away when she was about 10 years old.

 

[southcitymom]

The woman isn't even a bio mom of all the kids.

The kids were with their Dad, though. It doesn't matter to me who did it if the Dad and the kids did not object. Yes - it might have been nice to ask the other parent, but no, it's not child abuse, IMHO.

Like some others here, I don't see this as any worse than things we do to kids every day to include piercings...

 

[jjenny]

The kids were with their Dad, though. It doesn't matter to me who did it if the Dad and the kids did not object. Yes - it might have been nice to ask the other parent, but no, it's not child abuse, IMHO.

Like some others here, I don't see this as any worse than things we do to kids every day to include piercings...

For one, it's illegal in GA to tattoo a minor, and these people were not licensed, and used some sort of home-made tattoo device to do this, so I can't help but question how sanitary this sort of thing was.
The kids were blood tested after this.

 

[southcitymom]

......... Is there actual, real data out there indicating that it can lower risk for particular cancers and diseases? ..........

(respectfully snipped by me)

There's also actual real data out there indicating that such "lower risk" doesn't amount to a hill of beans. In America, most circumcisions are performed for religious reasons or for vanity reasons...."we" like cut better not because we think it's healthier or more sanitary, but because we've been conditioned to consider it more clean and attractive. It is an unnecessary cosmetic procedure.

I'll try my best to stay out of the circumcision debate because it can take over a thread quickly. I'm not into it, but that was an easy decision to make with my sons because their Dad is Irish....and those European boys think we Yanks are whacked when we insist on welcoming our boys to the world by burning or lopping off the most sensitive part of their body!

That said, I think the vast majority of circumcisions performed on newborn boys in hospitals cause no horrific pain or long term problems, and I do not have negative judgments about families who chose to circumcise their sons.

 

[southcitymom]

For one, it's illegal in GA to tattoo a minor, and these people were not licensed, and used some sort of home-made tattoo device to do this, so I can't help but question how sanitary this sort of thing was.
The kids were blood tested after this.

I agree that it was ill-considered and obviously a strong argument can be made that it was against the law. Child abuse? Not by my Georgia standards!

 

[southcitymom]

My niece had a rather large 'strawberry' birthmark across her upper lip. A doctor (plastic surgeon) tattooed it away when she was about 10 years old.

I would think medical providers would have some exemption from the statues about tattoos.