timelymatters

Body art hits close to home

March 20th, 2008

This is a pretty controversial topic. As a mom and a person in the “older generation,” I have a hard time with the body piercing and tattooing that is so prevalent these days. When it first came out, I thought it would be a fast moving fad, and my kids would miss it. (I made the same, wrong prediction about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I think that has been a 25-year “fad.”)  My closest friends and my relatives all have children that have either tattoos or face piercings. And, I’m sorry, but my first, gut reaction is, “Ewww!” When I see that nose ring, eye brow piercing, or stud through the tongue, I look at the beautiful face that it is on, and I think, “Pain! Sharp things going through skin and cartilage! Blood! Why mar perfection?”

My 18-year-old daughter has been saying for the past two years that she wants a “small, tasteful, cute nose stud.” So, did I stand back and let her make this decision as an expression of her independence? I simply couldn’t do it! First, I asked her to wait until she left for college, knew that she would not be home for a while, and then get it done. When she flew home though, she would have to remove it, just out of respect for me, an old fogie.

This past holiday, I sat with her and explained my point of view. To me, she is perfect and beautiful. Granted, because of social pressure and her vanity, we paid for braces to fix crooked teeth and a dermatologist to clear some acne. All natural (im)perfections. So now, my new rule is this: Once she reimburses us for taking care of what she thought were imperfections, she could do with her face what she wants. She laughed when I explained this to her; it was tongue in cheek (no, I do not mean I stitched my tongue to my cheek, but should I start a new fad?) She seemed to understand. So far, she has not pierced anything. But, before I had the talk with her, she was talking with her brothers about a tasteful, hidden tattoo to link them forever as triplets. Hmmmm, seems I’ll be having a talk with her brothers soon, too.

Entry Filed under: Daily Routines for Kids