GoErie.com: Family - What's the big deal, Mom? It's just a tattoo!

Advertisement Before you know it, your little darling is as tall as you are, demanding pierced ears or even a tattoo. As for tattoos, these statistics might surprise you: 22 percent of women and 26 percent of men said they had tattoos in a 2004 survey published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The numbers are higher among young adults: Tattoos were reported by 36 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds and 40 percent of 26- to 40-year-olds in a Pew Research Center survey from 2006. But among 41- to 65-year-olds -- the demographic most likely to have teenage children -- only 10 percent reported having tattoos. Tattoos and earrings didn't hurt his job prospects, so can you really argue that nobody will hire your child because of a flower on the shoulder or a stud in one ear? Shelley Davis Mielock, who works with colleges and corporations on dress codes as part of her image-consulting business in Lansing, Mich., says parents should point out that tattoos and unusual piercing are still frowned upon in some industries and segments of corporate America. others permit minors to get tattoos only if they have parental permission or if a parent is present. Kim Wright told her daughter, then 15 and living in Chapel Hill, N.C., that she could get a tattoo as soon as she wanted the same design for a whole year. "If they needed to get pierced or tattooed, they could find another place to live." Her kids are now 20 and 23, "and I think they are happy today not to have tattoos." "I don't think tattoos are that big of a deal, but I am happy that he doesn't have a permanent tattoo at 10," she said. "If they want a tattoo or piercing , they're going to find a way to do it eventually," said Tordella, who writes a blog about parenting at RaisingAble.com. She still thinks parents who are opposed to tattoos should let their kids know how they feel;