Every parent knows the struggle of finding a babysitter or having to bring your kids with you at the last minute. However, many tattoo shops don’t allow anyone under the age of 18 inside. While it’s entirely legal for a business to specify who may or may not enter there’s actually some pretty good reasons why children shouldn’t be in a tattoo shop.
State Law
Some states actually have a law specifying that minors are not allows in period. While this may be bent if your child is getting a piercing (if such is legal under the age of 18) it’s often that children simply aren’t allowed in even if their parent is just browsing. Most tattoo artists are strictly regulated and while your kids may be well behaved the law is there to keep them safe and to prevent the tattoo artist from being liable for anything that happens to them.
Inappropriate Locations
Most tattoo shops are far from being kid friendly. Tattoos and piercings are often done on body parts that are unsuitable for child eyes and that’s not to mention the language that both patrons and artists might be using. Parent’s can’t censor what goes on in a shop and if your child isn’t old enough to be in an adult environment, no matter how “mature” they are, then it’s not up to the shop to make their location “kid friendly”.
Destroyers
Children love to touch and they love to get into things. Curiosity is something that can’t be helped but when it comes to tattoo shops that means they could be touching unique artwork and potentially breaking it; or it means they could be getting into chemicals, needles or worse and potentially endangering themselves or exposing themselves to disease. It’s not up to the artist to babysit your kid and if you’re getting tattooed then you aren’t paying attention to them which can leads to accidents. Whether you’re liable for their damages, or angry that your child got hurt, it’s likely you would rather not have to pay the cost.
It’s not only property that can get damaged. If your child happens to bump an artist while they’re working they could potentially mess up that client’s tattoo leaving a permanent problem that would cost you to remove or fix.
Distractions
Tattooing is an art form, one that takes concentration and focus. Most children are noisy and require a lot of focus and attention. As a parent, when you’re getting tattooed you can’t provide this so they’re going to go bother someone else. As an artist, the last thing you want is to have someone else’s kid in your room asking questions and touching things while you’re trying to work. They can also prevent you from having a good tattoo experience while you’re trying to get inked.
Safety
Tattooing involves chemicals, blood, sharps, and a host of safety precautions that children don’t know about and aren’t capable of following. There’s a huge risk that they could be exposed to HIV, Hepatitis or other bloodborne diseases not to mention getting into chemicals that might burn or kill them. It’s just not safe to have kids in a tattoo shop.
