If I am alive I am too young.

I have five adult kids, and we are a tattoo family. My kids are very close, to this day. Well, a few years ago they decided, on their own, that to honor their closeness each one would get a Roman numeral of their birth order on their 18th birthday - which they've each done.

Since then they all have multiple tattoos, as do I.

I strongly suggested the following to each of them as they started getting them.

1. you can only get an area tattooed once, so make sure you get something meaningful to you for each piece
2. ONLY GET NAMES OF BLOOD RELATIVES - NEVER GET A S.O.'s or spouse's name - it's the kiss of death for the relationship.
3. only get them in places you can cover, at least until you are further into your career & established, and you have a bunch of ink already
4. no face tattoos unless you're a tattoo artist or professional musician; otherwise you'll regret it
5. quadruple check all words & scripts you get before you get it
6. take care of your ink if you want it to last, especially use sunscreen

If they're mature enough to understand these rules then they'll be fine (not like you can stop them anyway). ?

Hope these help.

if your old enough to join the military , your an adult and can start making the same stupid mistakes the rest of us adults do.. imo

Your Daughters new "Love of her Life" she's pregnant by him and they will come live with you....[agnostic.com]

Personality i won't date anyone with a tattoo...
Legally most state it 18 without parent permission.
My Question why would a parent ever give permission for this.
Depending on where and what it could affect the life forever... things like employment.

Since he will be (mostly) legally considered an adult, it's really only his choice and requires no parental permission. However, I appreciate that he wants your approval and the tat he wants is a reflection of his feelings for his mom. I would be supportive, but counsel him on the permanence of tattoos. People often get them impulsively from less than talented artists and then later wind up having a cover up done to make them look good. This is a pretty simple tattoo and hard to screw up, IMO.

Once he's 18, he's free to make his own choices.
Beyond that, I've got nothin'.

I'll be 29 soon.... I have no tattoos... It's my personal choice... Some tattoos look beautiful if done by a professional...

My daughter did the same thing - wanted a tattoo, but waited until her 18th. Even then, she didn't rush to get it on her birthday. While waiting, she would draw on her skin various ideas and "wear" them to see how comfortable she was with them. She also talked with the staff at the parlor for feedback before coming back to have the design done.

For the curious - my daughter did foreign exchange one summer. She had the lat/long of the host family's house tattooed on her side as a memory of it. This is on her side (rib cage) - and easily covered if she chooses.

As @LeighShelton says below - timeless tattoos are a good choice.

As an ex tattooist and a heavily tattood man I will always say choose wisely. I think you need timeless tattoos for obvious reasons. Blood family ie not your wife/husband are fine as they will always be your family.

When you are too young to afford your own tattoo, you are too young to have your own tattoo.

Tell him to get something representative instead. Looks way better than the "Mom tattoo". That's my 2 cents.

If you have a favorite flower or animal - go with that. Way better than explaining the name is Mom at a later date. (names aren't considered great karma in the tattoo world either).

My mom nearly pireced my ears when I was two.

That's sweet , but he is really young and has to live with it for the rest of his life. Of my 3 tattoos I regret 2 of them, but at 19 and 20 it seemed cool.

I’m not particularly fond of them. I just don’t get the need to mark up your body. That being said, be glad he asked you and respects your opinion.
At 18 he’s an adult. The only name one should ever tattoo on thier body is a parent or child as those are forever, partners, lovers and spouses can change. Good luck, it sounds like you’ve got a great son.

More important than age.... can he afford to pay for it?

The thing that always comes to mind when I think of people that have tattoos is why would you want to give yourself ergot poisoning?

Well, I'm 68.... no ink.... yet.

My sons both wanted tattoos. The rule is, the tattoo design & spot has to be a good idea for a year. If you still want that tatto in that place after a year, then get it. Also, a year gives you time to save up money & tip for artist, research artist portfolios, research local shops, etc. So far, no one has any regrets.

I got my first one at 18 and don't have any regrets. That said, never get someone's name tattooed on your body - nothing good ever comes from that.

There are many good suggestions here already, in my experience it's wise to wait a year (at least) after deciding on the tattoo to see if anything changes. After all, one year will fly by when compared to the lifetime of the tattoo. Also, know exactly how big, where, & what color(s) you want before going to the artist. I've seen much regret over what a person 'had in mind' opposed to the artist interpretation. Finally, get the work in a place that can be covered if needed. My best friend is getting a tattoo that is on the top of her hand removed because although it's beautiful, it's not something she wants now, as a future doctor.

I would agree that at 18 it's his decision. And like others have said, make sure he's sure of the design and he goes to a reputable tattoo studio/artist. You get what you pay for as well. Normally, small simpler tattoos get relegated to apprentices at tattoo studios. Not saying apprentices are terrible but he may want a more experienced tattoo artist for better quality. Tattoos really are not as permanent as most people think. Tattoo removal is quite common these days. Blurred aged tattoos can also be touched up years later and tattoos you are not happy with can be redone in a different way (coverups are a common thing as well). You have tattoos so I would guess that you already know all that. And since you have tattoos you can help him make sure that the aftercare is done correctly.

Awe thats precious but I'd recommend he get a piece of actual art with your initials incorporated in it or a fierce version of your spirit animal of choice or something lol. I mean knock on wood it shouldn't matter but you don't wanna wind up in a group shower (team sports, military, prison) or try to hook up with someone and your only tattoo is your mom's name. Is he a buff badass that could pull that off n dare someone to go awwwwwww at him? If not I'd get something other than a script of my moms name. But that's very sweet that he wants to. Not sayin Id mock it or that society's attitudes are correct but the 3 things Id try not to advertise are 1) how much money you have 2) that youre a cuddly sweetheart and 3) that you can fix computers. A wise man keeps all that shit on the DL ?

Tattoos are a major cultural activity. At eighteen in the developed world a person is an adult. They can drink, have sex, get married, pay tax, vote,run for parliament, fight in a war, got grown up prison and think for themselves.
In reality, many 18 year olds are still children.
One of my grandfathers had tattoos, lots of them. He got his first at age 16. The badge of the Old 57th, The Die-Hards Middlesex regiment. He collected lots more. When I was old enough to start taking interest in such things, he made me promise never to get any. Your life changes, tattoos remain and blur. When clothes fall out of fashion we can throw them away, tattoos stay. Every time a person gets a tattoo, they risk artistic horrors upon their skin.
For your son, what if that special person glimpses your name, will she be put off by misunderstanding the reason?
If he gets a tattoo, make sure it is the best money can buy.

Well, he's 18, so telling him no will probably make him want one even more.

Twenty would be my recommendation for permanent body-art. Then again, it's covered when he wears clothes, there is laser removal and unless you change your name it seems unlikely it's a tattoo he'll have deep regrets about.