Temp Tattoos on Toddlers?

Omg, well I wonder what ppl would say of my kids. I buy the packs of them, and put them on my kids. But 1 day, I was cooking, and kids were quiet, so I should have known somethin was up... They had sleves. Lol, they were tatted up. Like 15 each... I think we went to Walmart later that day... No fuss.. let these kids have fun.

I love wash off tattoos!
We wear them for Halloween and I love the selection at Oriental Trading.
People get uptight over the weirdest things.
One time for March Madness week at school, they did a whacky hair day.
My son wore a spiky Mohawk for one day, then I buzzed it off that night.
Well we had to run a few errands after school that day and you would not believe the dirty looks we got!
If a little soap and water washes it off, people need to relax.

Geez... It's something children love, temporary and it's not sugar that's going to fit their teeth!!!

I give them out at Halloween to those who want them. No biggie in my book.

Temp. Tattoo's are all the rage. :)

My kids get them all the time.

We put those on all of our kids when they were little. My dh and I don't have tattoos (never will) and none of my kids have any desire to, either. But temporary ones? Harmless, and those people should be ashamed of themselves for being so judgmental. Geez.

It's fun. That's what I think. People are so uptight these days. I wonder if some people even allow their children to have fun anymore.

No kid is going to run to a tattoo parlor at 18, because they wore a temporary one as a toddler. My father is COVERED in tattoos. He was in the navy and got a tattoo, in every city he was stationed in. I would ask him to draw tattoos on me, so I could be like him. He did. I was allowed temporary ones, too. Guess who wasn't begging for a tattoo as a teenager, or adult. Me, and all of my siblings. My friends whose parents were dead set against any kind of tattoos on the other hand...they've got plenty!

Oh heavens, who cares what people think in this regard?

Temporary tattoos are just that-- temporary. Let people think what they want to. There are so many other things to be scandalized by-- this is really NOT one of them!

PS-- once kids find out that real tattoes *hurt*-- far less enticing. And show them the tattoos on an older person-- I mean, I got my first one in 89 and it isn't nearly as lovely as it was.

I look at it as a sticker on their bodies.

Temp tattoos are FOR kids. It's adults they look stupid on.

One summer, I got my son a glitter tattoo for a birthday present (slightly different... Surgical adhesive and pixie dust -dozens of colors-, that are painted and puffed on... that lasts for 2-3 MONTHS). When it finally came off he had a 'negative'. He'd tanned around the glitter tattoo.. So he had his dragon for nearly 6 more months. LOL... That got some strange looks! I promise; I didn't bleach my kid!

Remember, too, many people squint to see closer / try to figure out what something is. It can look like glaring. I totally believe you that people have been doing the stink eye... But some might just need a new prescription!

______

Rogue (ummm... Ephie, did you know this is how your name autocorrects???)

Have you tried Vaseline?

I'm surprised you got ANY looks at all!
We live in a very conservative area. Tattoos are not the norm here (though they are just a few miles away, in Berkeley and San Francisco.) Very few adults have visible tattoos and most of the teens don't either.
Like I said, conservative.
BUT, little kid temp tattoos are very popular and common! Swim team especially, and just last week my 13 year old got a henna tattoo on her ankle at the county fair. THAT will last for a few weeks :)
No one here bats an eye at that sort of thing. It must be where you live. Is it a SUPER conservative, Christian kind of place?

Good grief.. look through the Oriental Trading catalog, they even sell religious temporary tattoos

Some people need to lighten up.

My thoughts - I have put them on my son too. They're fake. They're temporary. Heck it's not like we're going to take our kid to the tattoo place next week! "Oh but you're encouraging them to get real tattoos." Ya know the kid's going to do what the kid's going to do when he/she grows up. If they're of age to get one, they're of age to decide for themselves whether they should get one.

I think they are cute!

I, like others, think of it just like a sticker. Most won't last more than a day or maybe two. If it's helping with potty training, go for it! (I bought a whole packet at the dollar store for a little boy my daughter was babysitting for $1.)

Maybe it's different where you live because here in NJ it's more common to have a tattoo than not. At pretty much every community family event (even his school carnival) tattooes are given as prizes. It's not different than face painting. That is so lame that people would comment like that. No one is inked in my family, btw.

I ulitmately don't care what you put on you or your daughter,

I do want to say that to me there is a difference between a temp tattoo on a kids hand or forearm- and one on her ankle mimicing yours. and there is a difference to me, between a non-tatted mom with a kid with a hand tattoo -- more in the realm of fantatsy and a tatted mom with a kid mimicing mom's tattoo-- that seems like the kid is modeling more adult like behavior.

So while it wasn't nice for those people to stare or make faces, maybe that would help you wtih their thought process.

i had a co-worker who used temp tattoos on her infants baby picts and it took me aback for a minute but i would never dream of commenting negatively on it.

i'm also stuck on the fact that people were giving you looks, maybe i'm oblivious but i inever catch people doing that to me or to others.

any how tattoo all you want, if that is what will make you or your dd feel pretty.

i can't even committ to a bumpersticker.

It's a 2 year old thing. In fact, it's either band-aids or tattoos. My 4 year old puts tattoos on her 2 year old brother a couple of days a week.

My son loved them too around 3 I think. He always wanted them on his belly and could end up covered in them by the end of the day depending on what was going on. I did not care with him, would not care with any other child mine or not mine. To be honest, I see them as stickers too!

I let my daughter have them, as does her school and playcare. They are great rewards for her, and she likes that they last longer than a sticker. She's had one on her bicep all week mostly worn off except for the black outline, which gives it kind of a tough look. However, she's proud of it, and it isn't hurting anything. My theory is that there are so many more important battles to fight.

My son used to paint himself when he wash younger then 2 and would point and say "tatoot!" it was cute:) he's grown up going to tattoo conventions, my husband and myself are both heavily tattooed. So he's known all his life what they are. Now on any given day he's got a number of temp tattoos all over. We've even had my husbands replicated on him and took pics of them together:)

WhatEVER:) :) All my girls get them, and have for years. They are now 3, 5, 7 and 8. They love them. I think anywhere on the legs and arms is fair game- and maybe a cute sparkly heart or something on their cheek (face). My husband has a real one. i don't plan on getting any, but I have NO PROB with real ones at all.

I'll bet that you got ugly looks because those moms are thinking that you are going to have a teen begging for tattoos because you have introduced her to these. I admit that this is exactly what I thought before I got to your part about the moms looking at your daughter's tattoo...

I'd switch to stickers if it were me... because no one puts stickers on themselves as teens or young adults, and in hopes of her forgetting all about tattoos and not asking for them as a teen or a young adult. But that's just me.

Dawn

Oh puh-leese!! We put temporary tattoos on our girls all the time - they LOVE them!

Both my parents have tattoos, both my BILs have tattoos, my SIL and one of my sisters have tattoos and my husband has 4.

I see no problem with tattoos - real or temporary :)

I'm not into permanent tats myself, but my kids used the temp ones and my little granddaughter loves the temp ones.

My girls enjoy them too.

Question for you all:

The ones my kids have used (cheapo ones from party/grocery/dollar/discount store) stay on for DAYS and look pretty dirty when they are rubbing off. Water and soap do nothing, nor olive oil, and rubbing alcohol irritates my kids' skin though it does do the trick.

Any suggestions?

My kid LOVES temporary tats! I buy them at the dollar store all the time and have had to ration them out to her otherwise she would be constantly covered head to toe in them! I think they are cute- esp the sparkly ones.
I have two tats- a butterfly and then my daughter's initials over my heart. She said she wanted a real tat too- until I explained how it gets there. That stopped any and all talk of a real tat! LOL I love my tats and both of mine mean something special to me (I got the butterfly when I went away to grooming school- one of the best times of my life).
I say I go with what works! We did temp tats and Hershey's kisses to potty train and they worked great. I think the one on the ankle is so cute (better place then on her chest like my kid does- so she can match mommy's lol)

I usually tattoo all the guests at my kids birthday parties, and I've never had parents complain.

No judgements on temporary tattoos here. That's what they're for, little kids. Kids over the age of 7 I think are feelin' to old for them by then. And most kids younger than that have no clue what the connection is to an actual permanent tattoo, especially a tot as small as 2! Its just decoration to them.

I see nothing wrong with it at all. My daughter who is 7 just put a fake tattoo of a princess crown right on her forehead, lol!

After reading your SO WHAT HAPPENED, Why did you even ask the question? Tats run in your family, don't expect your child to wait, tweens, teens, figure out a way to do what they want, especially when the adults in their lives have already done it and indicate it's OK.

It's basically a sticker - I don't see why anyone would have an issue with it.

I don't see an issue with it... I have gotten my kids them for a few years now. We get them for the store and also online... actually when I was working and could afford to I use to send in goodie bags to school for holidays, my kids' birthdays & the end of the year - along with other stuff the bag always had a pencil, eraser, tattoo, mini crayons (box of 4-6 kinda like the ones you get at resurants) & a few pieces of candy. From what I was told the bags were always a huge hit - no one ever complained... even the teachers loved them. I always wanted to give them some fun stuff, but also something they can use in the classroom after all they are their to learn too.

Sorry - but forget people... I get looks sometime just because I don't have shoes on my babies (they don't wear shoes till they can walk) or my 7 mo olds diaper is showing - it's hot & she is just wearing a shirt or little dress... so her diaper is exposed & when it is really hot - sometime she is out in just a diaper - for shame - lol.

As for real tattoos - if I'm not mistaken... in Ohio teens (16 and older) can get tattos with parent's concent similar to pearchings. But I personally feel they should wait till 18 yrs old - mainly because they are so hard to get rid of. But that being said - we did notice a tattoo on our 17 yr old last week (which mind you is a really bad one - the person that did it can't drawl worth anything)... which she got in the basement of a friend of a friend's house, but she will not tell us who did it or who's basement... so she is in a LITTLE trouble right now. Sorry, but what she did is totally not cool... and she knows it. Guess that is a different topic... temp tattoos are fine for kids - after all the are so easy to get rid of if you need to.

Put a rose on her back next time and see what they do. I don't care for them, but it is none of my business if your toddler has some stupid wash off tattoo.

Don't let it bother you! I have no real tattoos nor do I plan on ever getting any, but I let my kids use fake tattoos all the time and I see no harm in it. Like you said, it is really more comparable to stickers than real tattoos. As long as my kids don't grow up to get a tramp stamp or some Chinese character that doesn't mean what they think it does (or a tribal armband, uug!) I will not be too crushed if they end up getting a real tattoo.

Well, I'm a face painter. I do the cutest little glitter tattoos and temp tattoos on little kids all the time, (with parent's permission of course).

I put it on arms or legs.. I wouldn't put it on a check or something like that since they do stay for several days.

Gama... I'm a member of the LDS church, The man being told he couldn't attend because of tattoos is not what we believe in. We do believe that tattoos should be avoided, but many of the members join later in life once they already had tattoos. Heck, I have one. It must have just been a person who misinterpreted rules, or a case if he had like a graphic it was a giant naked lady on his arm, then I can see if he was asked to cover it up while at church. Which is what most employers would also require.

As for the child being asked to leave class b/c of a temp tattoo? Really, I'm not calling you a liar, but I find that story extremely hard to believe b/c it is so outrageous. I have been a Primary president and teacher for many years and we would never do that. Lots of kids in Primary usually have temp tattoos after holidays due to carnivals and such. If a teacher really did say that to her, than she was extremely out of line.

Oops, guilty as charged!
I say if you found something to motivate your daughter to poop in the potty DO IT! Is a tattoo really worse than candy?
I had a friend who wanted one and her mom told her should could, she just had to pick a design and then wait a year to be sure it is what she wanted. If she still wanted it in a year, go ahead.
I'll have to pay attention to others reactions next time I put one on my 3 year old.

we put temp tats on our 4 yr old all the time!! its no big deal!!

the other day i read a news article about a mom who let her boyfriend tattoo her 9 month old baby..now that is bs!!

its fun ;) who cares what other ppl think!! no matter what you do everyone is judging anyways!

I put temporary tattoos on my 3 year old daughter and 5 year old son all the time- they absolutely love them! Of course, they have kid-appropriate tattoos available... dinosaurs, sharks, butterflies, fairies, etc. I have found some cute little books of temporary tattoos at Grand Rabbits (our local toy store).
Don't worry about the looks. Do what is right for you and your kids.

I have never gotten flack for a fake tattoo on my kids. If I did, I would laugh and shake my head and feel bad for people who have such small lives that they have to criticize a temp tattoo on a child.

My boys loved temp tattoos. I don't have a problem with them at all. In fact, they would tattoo themselves with permanent marker! sigh
L.

I'm wondering if maybe the area you live is ultra conservative. I had a tattoo station at my daughters 5 year old birthday party and the kids loved it! Some of them went home with most of their bodies covered in tattoos and no one cared or even said anything about it.

For the person that said a 2 yr old wont make the connection hasn't been around my boys. From the age of 2 my oldest (now 16) has wanted a tattoo. When asked what fake one he wanted he told us no he wanted one like mom and dad but his own ideas. To us it was so funny. But we had been taking him to our favorite artist from the time he was 2 months old. He knew what real tattoos were verses fake ones. Both my boys have been through the fake tattoo phase. The only time we got looks was when they were wearing fake ones was when people could see ours. Like one person pointed out odds are they are thinking you are trying to have your child grow up too soon.
As for teens being able to get tattoos no it isn't illegal. Most states do have strict laws for teens to be tattooed such as parent's signing forms. Most reputable shops wont tattoo those under 18. My current favorite place wont but our second favorite place will tattoo 16 and up. You have to be careful because teens will go to great lengths to get what they want. Some will let friends do the job while others will find nasty shops that will do it without checking ids. I know it will be a while before you have to worry about it but just be aware that if she does decide she wants one don't be surprised if she follows through.

I think they're ADORABLE.

Don't worry about those prudes.

People who would get all aflutter about temporary tattoos on a toddler obviously don't have enough important things on their minds, and are looking for something to get excited about. Temporary tattoos are A. temporary and B. toys. For children.

I have a hunch that you wouldn't have gotten that reaction if you were not sporting a tattoo yourself. The reactions you're getting may be more about you than about her, stupid as that sounds. My kids LOVE temporary tattoos and wear them all the time, and we haven't gotten any funny looks. But I have no ink myself.

Hmm, I've never really experienced what you described, or maybe I just don't pay enough attention or care enough to notice ;-P.

In the big scheme of parenting, temp tattoos are so not a big deal.