Parents go easy on their kids, let them get tattoos

Pop culture

Gone are the days when you had to hide your tattoo from your parents who considered them as taboo. With time, their perception about this ‘art form’ has taken a right turn; and today, if you tell them about your desire to get inked, they might support your decision and accompany you to the studio turning out to be your moral support.

Archana Mehta, a 47-year-old housewife, did the same when her 19-year-old son Aarav expressed his wish to get tattooed.

“I support my son fully and see no harm if he wants to get inked. But being a mother, I needed to check the hygiene of the place. I made them change the needle in front of me to ensure that he doesn’t get infected with any disease. I also took a closer look at the artists profile to make sure of the consistency in his work,” she tells Metrolife.

“And after seeing Aarav getting inked, I got inspired. I’m planning to get my children’s names as my first tattoo!” adds Archana, mother of two.

Even professionals in this field are witness of this evolution of thoughts. According to them, the constant efforts of tattoo enthusiasts to educate people about tattooing have helped fade away the myths and useless concerns related to it.

Lokesh Verma, from Devilz Tattooz, has been tattooing for 12 years. He claims that the mindset of parents have changed in this certain course of time and are now more open with their kids when it comes to tattooing.

“It was a decade ago when parents considered tattoos as something bad. At that time, even when we tattooed an 18-year-old, parents came to us arguing “why did you do that?” But it is not the case anymore. People are more educated now.

They do not typecast anyone who has a tattoo. There are some parents who, as their child reaches 18 years of age, take him to our studios, supporting their kid’s decision to get a tattoo and make sure that everything is good. The mindset of people is definitely changing. When I started, I used to do five tattoos a month but now I do 10 every day; this itself shows the change,” the 32-year-old tells Metrolife.

Similar are the views of Ali Burrni from Burrn’ink Tattoo Studio. He says, “When I started in 2008, scene was different. Youngsters came with stupid ideas. But now as the parents are also involved in their undertaking, we can see the enrichment of ideas. As we are adapting to the western culture, where tattoos are common, it is creating an impact on the parents too and they are becoming cool about the concept.”

Burrni recalls, “Once a lady came to my studio with her daughter who wanted a tattoo. To my surprise, she returned to my studio the next day to get her son inked too.”

But despite this openness, there is a fact that remains untouched, which Sameer Patange, popular Mumbai-based tattoo artist, points out. He explains how parents’ reactions over a tattoo depend on its designs.

“Tattooing a skull, which is considered evil, leaves a bad impression in the society. If you get any such tattoo which looks ugly or gruesome, people might think that you belong to some gang or are in a bad company. This goes with the parents too. But if somebody gets something that is conventional, it won’t raise too many questions. Many young boys and girls get tattoos of their parents, family or any mythological character just to please their parents and get a happy node of approval from them,” says Patange.

So, now if you want to get inked, make sure to tell your parents about it who can make you feel comfortable till the needle pins and pricks your skin.