sailors and tattoos

[CarolJ * Courtney's Mom *]

I know that sailors and tattoos go hand and hand.... just wondering how other moms out there are feeling about this?

added after discussion started:

...she is wanting to get tats that signify members of the family, I know it's her choice , the problem I have is placement. one on ankle and one on top of foot. they are coverable as far as the Navy is concerned but what about when she gets out or wants to dress up in a dress and strappy heels or just shorts and flip-flops. Guess i'm just old fashion.. granted I have thought about it for myself, even went into a shop and talked to the artist, just couldn't bring myself to find something that i wanted on my body for the rest of my life, covered or not.
I know it's her life and her body, and if one of my two sons wanted one later in life i probably wouldn't have such a problem with it.... just the momma of my babygirl coming out in me i guess.

[Jeanette mom of Aaron]

5 years in and TG no tattoos! He has assured me that I don't have to worry since he HATES needles it will never be an issue. Since he doesn't drink to get drunk either I don't have to worry about someone talking him into one while he doesn't have all his facilities about him. Needless to say, should he get one I hope he does it some where on his body that will normally be covered by clothes.

[peggy]

my son has 2 i think there cool he likes them

[Lisa]

Hi Carol,

My son's been talking about getting a tattoo as well. I don't mind it as long it is something he's not going to get tired of a few years down the line. I got one for my 40th birthday but it took over a year before that to find exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't mind another but I've been looking for the "right" one for two years now so I think it's going to be awhile yet! LOL

[Kara, Breane's Mom]

I had many conversations with my daughter as she was growing-up ... way before she started thinking about going into the Navy. She was always opposed to tattoos, piercings, etc. But as all children do they start thinking about it as a way to express themselves ... not really thinking that someday they could be pregnant or get old - both can do terrible things to tattoos & their appearences. Even when she left for boot, she was still saying she would not do it, and was reminded that she was now government property by her recruiter & she was really not allowed to mark or change her body & definitely nothing that would show while in any uniform. She wasn't even allowed to wear a necklace for awhile. We wound up getting her a longer chain.
In conclusion, since she has been in now alittle over 2 years & become very involved in a car group (she really loves her car) and has learned alot about it ... I always taught her basics, did not want her to be the get worked-up over breaking a nail or having to wait for a man to change a tire kind of girl, that she could do anything.
So, she called me abt 3 months ago ... "Mom, I've been thinking abt getting a small tattoo..." "... don't worry I thought abt it, its not going to show" ... an she eMailed me a picture a few days after she got it. She checked out several tattoo places & talked to them or should I say interviewed ! She got the symbol from the periodic table for lead on the top of her foot. (Its the size of a large posage stamp.)

Lead Foot, get it ? Only my daughter would find a way to get a tattoo that you have to think abt !

If you've talked to them before & they think about, it is their choice, they are old enough to vote & serve their country, they will hopefully make smart decisions.

[Susan Davis]

My Daughter had a tattoo before she went into the Navy. It was fine by me. After her boot camp she called me up and said that she got a tattoo of an anchor on the top of her foot. I said "ouch" didn't that hurt? she just laughed and said not really, and it is something that I have wanted. She has got a few more after that. It does not bother me. If that is something that she wants then I feel that she should have what she wants in this world. My daughter is on the right in the picture below, and my grandson on my lap. Everytime I see her on a ship or working on the planes Im so proud I cant begin to explaine it ,, I m a very proud mom.

Susan

[Janet]

My son got one soon after he turned 18. He just showed up with it one day. It's on his upper shoulder and it says "Toad" which was his childhood nickname. It doesn't really bother me, I'm all for self expression but I do have a limit on what I can tolerate such as the forked tongue thing--that's disgusting to me. No-one can really see his since he hardly ever wears tank tops. I have one tatoo that I got a long time ago on the small of my back, I guess they call them "tramp stamps" now--but I'm not a tramp.;-) The dang thing hurt so bad I would never think about getting another one.

[Molly B]

My belief is that if they are old enough to defend our country they are old enough to make there own decisions about a tat, my kids know that they should have some meaning to them not just put something there to say that you have one. There are many reasons out there to have one but it is actually a way to express yourself, my husband was killed in a violent car accident by another driver and my children have one to honor their dad, they each got something different that was important to them, they say they feel they have that part of him with them.....who am I to say no. I think they are an individual thing and everybody has there own opinion of tats but I feel they have come a long way over the years but that's just my opinion.( ps my daughter got hers at the age of 16 but it is where no one see's it she just knows its there)

[margee estelle gearhart]

My son who is serving in the Navy has tatoos and has them all over.
It took me awhile to accept them, but my son's inner beauty shines too brightly to allow the tatoos to be the focus of who he is. He truly taught me a lesson...
My daughter is an artist and has tatoos and to both of them, it is a reflection of who they are.....now, will they feel that way when they are 50, only they can answer that.
I have always taught them to judge a person by their character and not what they wear or how they do their hair, so I have to try my best to follow my own advice.
If they are old enough to serve our country, they are old enough to decide if they want a tatoo. I just tell them don't put anything on your body that you would not hang on the wall of your livingroom.
Margee
NJ Navy Mom

[Jennifer]

I used to hate tatoo's too. I would go crazy when my kids were little and they would write on themselves anywhere, so tatoo's were definitely something I didn't want them to get. But, as I have aged, I have grown and been taught, I think by God, to stretch my heart. I work in labor and delivery and I took care of a mom once who had these tiny little footprints tatoo'd on her boob, over her heart. I was very curious and asked her to tell me about them. They were the actual footprints of a baby that she lost at 19 weeks gestation. My heart melted and I have never felt the same about tatoo's since. Just last week, I met with one of my mom's who lost a full term baby stillborn a couple of weeks ago. She had placed his footprint by tatoo on the top of her own foot. I was the one who had made those footprints for her. I felt so honored to have been part of the "artwork"...

My oldest son came home on his 18th birthday. He said mom, remember that book I had read in 8th grade called "Tales at the Wayside School" I didn't remember the book (Lord, that was 6years ago) Well, his friend bought him the book at age 18 (a middle school kids book) so that he could introduce me to his tatoo. He said there was a story in the book about a kid who wanted a tatoo. His friends all had ideas for him: Get a butterfly, get a dragon. So he went home and thought and thought about it. He came back to school with a picture of a potato tatoo'd to his left ankle. All his friends made fun of him...What did you get that for? they said. He looked at them and said, well I think it's the right tatoo for me. My son had tatoo'd a potato on his L ankle and told me he had wanted it for 6 years since he had read the book.. All I could do was laugh. He was born in Idaho and I guess that truly made him a "Tater Tot". He said as he got it, the only thing he worried about was that it would look more like a turd than a potato. When we went to Hawaii last time, we were passing a tatoo parlor and I said to my husband, you know what would be hilarious is if I got the same potato tatoo'd on my left ankle. Wouldn't that just chap a kid if their mom got the same tatoo? I told my son that I was thinking about it just to see his reaction. He still begs me to do. I'm too chicken about the pain so I never would, but it is funny. I told him mine would be a sweet potato instead since I try to do South Beach diet....

Since I do work in Labor and Delivery, I have seen some wild tatoo's. I actually did see someone with lips tatoo'd to their butt. Funny..... And one where a little man was pusing a lawn mower across the top of someone's pubic hair. I laugh at them now. I had a friend who survived a pretty bad accident with a fire truck. She had the backside of an angel tatoo'd to her shoulder. I think there are some pretty neat and meaningful ones out there.

My son is graduating boot camp this Friday, most likely, he's getting his NAVY cap right now. I know he will come back to me eventually with a tatoo. All I care is that he doesn't come back to me as a smoker and that he does come back to me. Now, I will just be fascinated by what he picks to express himself.

[Linda E./Justin div 161]

Done tastefully and with a "meaning", I see no problems. Actually I also have a Rose on my lower back..

Justin is a PROUD Seabee!

[DancerMom]

Carol:
In regard to your daughter and her tattoo. Both my daughters (one in the Navy) have tasteful tattoos. To me it's a sign of their generation. A bit like us getting our ears pierced. Their father had told them that if they got tattoos he would kick them out. So when Sara (NAVY) forgot to cover her inner wrist at a family dinner (without Lauren), my husband asker her if the Eiffel Tower stamp on her wrist was from the night before at a club or somewhere, Sara turned white and immediately said "well Lauren has 2 tattoos". Lauren is 3 years older and Sara just threw her under the bus. She was asked why she didn't tell anyone and her reply was that she was afraid she'd get kicked out. My husband replied, I said that when you were 15 years old!
So later that week (it was summer and Lauren always wore socks at home) my husband mentioned to Lauren that it was really too hot to be wearing socks and she said she was fine. My husband insisted good naturedly that she take off her socks and I said "He knows, Sara squealed". We all had a good laugh, but leave it to Sara to stir the pot once again.
Bottom Line Carol......If your daughter regrets it, it's her regret, her body, her life. Be thankful that she didn't partake in other bodily art. Both my girls are glad they never did excessive piercings. Enjoy

[Donna AKA Hunter's Mom]

Well after a year in my son got his tat. He's a farm boy that loves hunting and fishing and had a HUGE flying pheasant put o his left side of his torso with tail feathers ending in the small of his back. It's hid under clothing and meets regs.But his momma here came unglued, but what could i do he was half a world away. When I did see it I was amazed it looked like a piece of art out of the Pheasants Forever magazine. He said it was a total of 13 hours of work done in 3 sets.
And like many moms have stated they are all grown up serving our country... guess we moms could let go.