A mum who lets her nine-year-old daughter tattoo her for "practice" says the designs have gone "surprisingly well".
Christine Fleming, 33, started off by letting her daughter Scarlett ink a simple heart on her leg last year, and she was surprised by the result.
Scarlett's mum, a tattoo artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, wanted to introduce her little girl to inking after she showed an interest in it. She first suggested she practice on fake skin but she struggled as she found it was less "forgiving" than 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."
Instead, Christine decided to let Scarlett test it out on herself, after seeing other parents do it. She explained: "I had seen some other parents letting their kids tattoo them. I was like - 'that might be fun'."
First, the mum let her try out a small heart on her leg, before going on to more complicated designs.
Christine 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."
After being so surprised by how well it turned out, mum Christine decided to let Scarlett try a more complicated butterfly stencil.
Then, 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."
Mum Christine is "proud" of her designs, but isn't "too worried about it being perfect or anything". She added: "I'm impressed with how it turned out."
Speaking about the designs, Christine added: "I pick something that will be easier for her."
Scarlett is "really proud of herself" for her designs, and it's given her a real "confidence boost," but Christine adds that she is "hard on herself if a line doesn't go perfectly".
According to Christine, reaction online has been positive, and people have praised her daughter for her "amazing skills".
However, when it comes to getting her own tattoos, the mum has said Scarlett has to wait until she is 18, adding she is too "scared of the pain" at the moment.
Tattoo artist Christine doesn't want to pressure Scarlett into the same career as her, but added that it would be "cool" if she did go in that direction.
She added: "She's practicing her drawing.
"The nice thing about tattooing is you have you own freedom to travel and make your own schedule."
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