10 yr old gets Tattoo, Mom goes to Jail

[nissangirl74]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2 ... et-tattoo/

A Georgia mother who was arrested for allowing her 10-year-old to get a tattoo said she had no idea it was illegal for him to get one, even with her consent.
When Chuntera Napier’s son Gaquan Napier asked her if he could get a memorial tattoo for his 12-year-old brother Malik who died after being hit by a car, Napier was touched by the request......When someone at his school noticed the tattoo and contacted authorities, Napier was arrested on Tuesday and charged with misdemeanor cruelty and being a party to a crime, according to WSBTV. Napier bonded out of jail on Wednesday but is shocked that her consent was not enough for her son to get a tattoo......A Georgia law from 2010 states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to tattoo the body of any person under the age of 18, except a physician or osteopath.”

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think she should have been arrested? Do you think that this instance should be exempted from the law because of the special circumstance? Do you think the mother should have just told her son 'NO'?"

Discuss.

[DJ_B_Easy]

As tattoo lover, I have to disagree with this.

Mom's consent should have been enough. A name and basketball jersey number, thats it. Non-offensive, it may have even helped him cope with the loss. Is it illegal for a child to get their ears pierced in GA? Doubt it, neither should a tattoo.

[Bubba1]

Well, tattoos are permanent, earring piercings are not. The laws are pretty specific, even though the subject matter in this particular case is unusual. Waiting until the child becomes old enough to make that kind of life long decision on their own is not unreasonable. I shudder to think what some weird parents would tattoo on their kids if it was legal.

I did not see anything on what happened to the tattoo artist who did it.

[themadscientist]

10-year old wants tattoo, the adult in the relationship is supposed to actually exercise adult judgment and deny the request and direct the child towards more appropriate outlets for his grief. f*** idiots having kids is why this world is in the s***.

I think another issue here is,

When Chuntera Napier’s son Gaquan Napier

QUIT NAMING PEOPLE STUPID f*** NAMES!

I'm waiting for the day I meet a girl named Escalade for crying out loud.

[Bubba1]

QUIT NAMING PEOPLE STUPID f**king NAMES!

I'm waiting for the day I meet a girl named Escalade for crying out loud.

Amen, brother. That's a pet peeve of mine too. As a coincidence, I had a co-worker who named his daughter "Sierra". I probably didn't endear myself when I asked him if he had a boy instead, would he have named him "Jimmy" to keep with his GMC truck theme. In hind sight, Sierra is not a bad name, and he could have given her a much worse name, like "1500Super Deluxe".

[RobPaulson]

I've seen all sorts of spellings of Mercedes LOL

Anyone ever seen that movie freakenomics where they actually analyze people with dumb a** names and the kind of people they'll grow up to be based on them? Its on Netflix... highly recommend.

[Dattebayo]

I was actually humbled the other day when I bought up the whole southern "stupid name" issue, I was told some of these names are creole and I should quit being ignorant. I don't know if this is one of those cases, but yeah...

Anyway, I've seen younger kids than that around here with tattoos, so I don't see why it should be a huge deal to lock up the mother. I think my point here is that the law cited assumes the intention of said tattoo was for torture, and that obviously wasn't the case here... It may be stupid in my eyes, but saying that harmless stupid is illegal is infringing on someone else's rights.

[krash]

I would have told him to wait until he's old enough to get one himself, and then get one if he still wants it.

Or she could have been an awesome mom and made him a bunch of temp. tattoos

[Dattebayo]

I would have told him to wait until he's old enough to get one himself, and then get one if he still wants it.

Or she could have been an awesome mom and made him a bunch of temp. tattoos

I completely agree, this would have been the best solution. I still don't think the mom should have gone to jail over it, tho.

[Dattebayo]

And just to be devil's advocate, what about if the child is sick? There are certain types of imaging that require a tattoo on the body to line up the MRI scanner... Can we lock up the doctor for ordering it on a child too?

[swv]

My thoughts are that this is an example of poor judgement, perhaps on both parts, but the law is causing FAR more harm to the child than the mother did. Being charged with a misdemeanor in Georgia can hurt her chances of getting some jobs and even financial aid for college.

Back in Mayberry NC there was the example of how Andy handled law enforcement and then there was Barney's way of handling the law. This Georgia police action was definitely in the Barney mode.

Furthermore, Georgia's state university years ago, pointing out the overcrowding of the state's jails and other issues suggested Georgia follow 46 other states in adopting an alternative arrest program.

As my mother still says: Two wrongs don't make a right. Georgia law enforcement couldn't be more wrong in its action in this case. They should drop it- it makes them look more like the draconians they can be especially coming on the heels of Troy Davis's execution.

I agree with this petition:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Georgi ... mon-sense/

[Dattebayo]

I was just told by my parents:

"What do you expect from a state that was started for the purpose of a penal colony?"

LOL- I didn't know that.

[IBCoupe]

Silly law is silly. Require permission, waiver, and move on.

[nissangirl74]

Or she could have been an awesome mom and made him a bunch of temp. tattoos

^This. Tattoos should be restricted to adults, period. Lifelong decisions should not be made by emotional 10-17 year olds.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Why?

Of the people who posted above, how many have tattoos?
How many have children?
If you lost a child, got a tattoo in memory of said child (which the parent in this story did), and your other child wanted to do the same you would deny them the right?

I think this is a special circumstance, law breaking or not.

[krash]

I have nothing against tattoos.

All I'm saying is, when I was 10 years old, I wanted to be a trash-truck driver because I thought the truck was cool.

know what I mean?

[DJ_B_Easy]

I understand, but I dont think this is a comparable scenario.

Further how do we know that the mother didnt deny the child at first and then eventually realize that the want for the tattoo was indeed genuine and not a fleeting desire by a minor? When I was 10 I wanted to touch bewbs, still do.

[nissangirl74]

We have four kids. The only one with a tattoo is our oldest and he is 20. The others will not be allowed to have any tattoos until they are 18 either. Nothing against tattoos or people who have them AT ALL. I just think it's an adult decision.

Yes, this was a special circumstance but once you open that door, you can't close it. People will find a way to justify anything.

[DJ_B_Easy]

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think she should have been arrested? Do you think that this instance should be exempted from the law because of the special circumstance? Do you think the mother should have just told her son 'NO'?"

But this thread is about that circumstance, correct? Yes, it should be exempted.

Sorry if Im going overboard here, snowed in with RUM.

[nissangirl74]

No, she should have told her son that he was too young to get a real tattoo. She should have told him that once he was an adult he could get the tattoo if he still wanted to but in the meantime he needed to find another way to honor his brother.

[93coupe]

How did a 10 year old come up with the idea to get a tattoo to honor someone? All the kids I know around that age are too dumb to think of something like that.

Nit picking at names seems like a petty, arrogant thing to do.

[Bubba1]

DJB: To answer your questions, no I have no tattoos (but I have no issues with them)yes, I have a child, and he badly wanted a tattoo at age 12. I had no problem saying "not until you're 18". Fast forward to his 18th Birthday, and he no longer has an interest in getting one.

Some thoughts.

1. There are plenty other ways to cherish the memory of a departed loved one besides permanently marking their name or likeness on a pre-teen sibling..

2. A 10 yr old's body is not done growing, which means whatever you ink now can distort as they grow. So what seems like a nice spontaneous gesture, could look bad in just a few years.

3. The tattoo might be what YOU want, but a 10 yr old child is not capable of deciding for themselves if that is something they want for the rest of their lives.
We're not talking about schooling, life saving drugs, or special operations here, we're talking about a cosmetic adornment. So the special circumstance argument doesn't apply.

The law is what it is. If you feel that strongly about using a tattoo to remember a departed loved one, get 'ir done... to yourself. But not your child. When your kid turns 18, if they feel they still want it, let it be THEIR adult choice, not yours.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Touche...

I dont have any kids (that I know of) so I guess I cant honestly say what my reaction would be if put in the same position. I have many tattoos myself, and I did want them before I was legally able to have them. Didnt think about the growth aspect either, very valid point.

[themadscientist]

Why?

Of the people who posted above, how many have tattoos?
How many have children?
If you lost a child, got a tattoo in memory of said child (which the parent in this story did), and your other child wanted to do the same you would deny them the right?

I think this is a special circumstance, law breaking or not.

I have a tattoo. It's in memory of a good friend who was killed when I was in high school. I didn't get it until I was 20.

No kid of mine is getting a tattoo until they are of legal age to make decisions like that. That is coincidentally when they will go to college or get their own place.

[themadscientist]

How did a 10 year old come up with the idea to get a tattoo to honor someone? All the kids I know around that age are too dumb to think of something like that.

Nit picking at names seems like a petty, arrogant thing to do.

Call it what you want. Stupid people name their kids stupid things. The fact that they later do other abusive things later on are less puzzling when taken into context. Dumbass names are a mean thing to do to a kid. I'm sure my neighbor who named his kids Skeeter and Jeeter thought he was real clever. He wasn't nearly as cutting edge as these stains.

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/ ... e-custody/

I'm so arrogant I want my kids to have one less thing to carry around for baggage.

[IBCoupe]

No, she should have told her son that he was too young to get a real tattoo. She should have told him that once he was an adult he could get the tattoo if he still wanted to but in the meantime he needed to find another way to honor his brother.

I can agree with that. If I were the parent, I would have said that. But she didn't. The question is: was it really child abuse for her to fail to say that?

[nissangirl74]

No. I do not think it is child abuse. I think it is s*** parenting.

[Solar_Runner]

No. I do not think it is child abuse. I think it is s*** parenting.

Read the whole post - this pretty well sums it up in my book.

[IBCoupe]

No. I do not think it is child abuse. I think it is s*** parenting.

Agreed in the "I wouldn't raise my kids that way" sense, but I'm not gonna tell someone else how to raise their kid unless the kid faces a real physical or mental health hazard, especially by way of law.

Until that threshold is met, I'd say it's a case of "Nunya."

[Mr1der]

As tattoo lover, I have to disagree with this.

Mom's consent should have been enough. A name and basketball jersey number, thats it. Non-offensive, it may have even helped him cope with the loss. Is it illegal for a child to get their ears pierced in GA? Doubt it, neither should a tattoo.

I back this statement.

How's a tattoo any different than letting your child get body piercings?

Jesus Christ, you wanna make something illegal, watch Toddlers and Tiaras sometime (I only see this because I love The Soup, comes on E! and makes fun of all the stupidity on tv. and Joel McHale gives us 5 heads something to aspire to)

I don't think it's s*** parenting. It's not like she was pushing him to do it.

Yeah, maybe she should've told him to sit on it and think a few more years....but hell, I think it's probably less of a bad idea then getting a 10 year old kid an 80cc dirtbike. Or for that matter involved in kart racing and other hobbies that have potential for serious injury and permanent disability.