A mum lets her nine-year-old daughter tattoo her for “practice” and says the designs have gone “surprisingly well”. Christine Fleming, 33, wanted to introduce her little girl, Scarlett, to inking and suggested she try tattooing on fake skin at first.
But in November 2022, Christine let Scarlett, then eight, tattoo a simple heart on her leg and was surprised at the results. Scarlett has since built up the skills to ink a butterfly and a flower on mum Christine and is “proud” of her designs.
Christine, a tattoo artist, said: “I let her do a tiny heart on my leg and it went surprisingly well. She’s really good at following instruction and I guide her through.
“She’s done a butterfly and a little flower. I’m not too worried about it being perfect or anything. I’m impressed with how it turned out.”
Christine decided to suggest Scarlett try her hand at tattooing last year after seeing other parents letting their children try it out. She said: “I had seen some other parents letting their kids tattoo them.
“I was like – ‘that might be fun’. I suggested tattooing fake skin. She seemed really interested in it.”
At first Scarlett practiced on the fake skin but struggled as it is less “forgiving” that real skin. Christine said: “It’s more leathery and less forgiving. It gets chewed up easier.
“It was tough trying to teach her on that. I figured I’d let her try on me.”
Christine decided to let her daughter try on her own leg – and let her do a small heart to start. After being “surprised” by the results, she let Scarlett try and more complicated butterfly stencil in December 2022. Christine said: “I pick something that will be easier for her.
“She’s really proud of herself. She’s got a confidence boost. She’s hard on herself if a line doesn’t go perfectly.”
In March 2023 Scarlett inked her mum a new cherry blossom flower – which she stencilled and tattooed all by herself. Christine said: “It took about an hour to do. They’re awesome.
“I’m not going to pressure her to keep doing it. But it’s a different skill she’ll have.”
Christine said the online comments have been positive with people praising Scarlett for her “amazing” skills. The mum has said she’s making Scarlett wait until she is 18 to get her own ink – and says her daughter would be “scared of the pain” at the moment.
Christine doesn’t want to pressure into Scarlett into a career as a tattoo artist but says it would be “cool” if she did go in that direction.
She said: “It would be cool. She’s practicing her drawing. The nice thing about tattooing is you have you own freedom to travel and make your own schedule.”
