I take a shuttle from Union Station to the building I work in every morning. This morning there were two people discussing tattoos. One was a male and the other was female and they are a bit older than me. I was temted to join the conversation but my views on tattoos are a bit different than theirs.

From what I gathered, the man's son is 18. He apparently goes to a religion based High School. The school does a four day retreat for the Senior class. Not sure what they do there but apparently it is a good program and the students build a strong bond. At the end of the retreat the seniors are given a medallion which is the form of an ancient cross. The man's son wants to get this symbol tattooed on his body somewhere along with one of his friends. This guy seems to be on the fence about it but his wife is strongly against it.

My point of view is this. The kid is 18 years old. In America that age marks you as an adult. You can go and do things like get tattoos without your parents permission. The kid is planning on tattooing a religious symbol he apparently identifies with. This retreat was such a big deal to him he wants to commemorate it by getting a tattoo. I think that is pretty cool but of course I have four myself and my first one was when I was 19. It isn't like the kid is getting a tattoo of a naked lady or a flaming swastika. He is wanting to show his pride in what he accomplished at this school. I don't see the big deal in it.

The main thing these parents need to realize is their child is no longer a child. He is now an adult and can go ahead and get the tattoo and there is nothing they can do about it. Now if the kid is as good as he sounds, he should take his parents thoughts on the subject seriously but in the end the decision is his and his alone. Parents need to realize their babies grow up and when they grow up they get to make adult decisions no matter how stupid you think they may be. I know I made some stupid decisions when I was 18 but they were my decisions, my parents could only stand back and watch.

If my son or daughter comes to me and says they want to get a tattoo i will probably sit down with them and discuss it. Make them understand that tattoos are permanent. I would like to be able to persuade them in a sensible design or where to put it. I would look like a hypocrite if I said no. Hell, I would probably even go with them to get it done and maybe get one myself. But I guess that is one difference between this generation of parents versus the older generation. Most of us have tattoos and piercings so to us it isn't a big deal.

I hope the kid gets what he wants. I will probably find out on Monday. I'll let you know. What are your thoughts on tattoos?