Mom Gives Her 11-Year-Old A Tattoo

A North Carolina mother was arrested after she gave her 11-year-old daughter a small heart-shaped tattoo near her shoulder, authorities said.

Odessa Clay, 30, of Greensboro, N.C., faces one count of tattooing a person under age 18.

It is illegal to tattoo a minor in North Carolina, regardless of parental consent.

The Havelock Police Department charged Clay, who has a few tattoos of her own, with the offense in late September.

In her defense, Clay said she did not know tattooing a minor, especially her own daughter, was illegal.

The phrasing is a little ambiguous.  It's hard to tell whether the mother tattooed the girl herself or merely took her to get it done.  If she took her somewhere, you would think they would know the law.  If she did it herself, I would imagine the health and hygiene issues equally important.

Either way, I'm frankly surprised it's against the law even with parental consent.  That was what got my attention even over the stupidity of putting a permanent mark on an 11-year-old girl.

Am I old fashioned?  Maybe.  I have several tattoos, all but one in easily hidden places.  I regret a few, not all.  But then I was also old enough to have known better, and this little girl doesn't even have that going for her.