The slippery slope

For Christmas, "Santa" picked up a lot of cheap stocking stuffers for Megan. I was trying hard to get non-candy items, because Megan gets plenty of sugar as it is. In addition to the stickers, bubblebath, and tangerines, Megan got a sheet of fake tattoos. This caused a small titter amongst our group. "I can't believe you got those for Megan!" Mac scolded me. "She seems too young." I am not sure how the rest of the group felt.

I had thought it was a fun idea. And we've been calling them "body stickers" instead of tattoos. But then I started to doubt myself. Was this a bad idea? Am I planting ideas in Megan's head at this young and tender age? It has been shown that kids who play with fake cigarettes are more likely to smoke as adults than those who don't (which is why they are so hard to find now). Are kids with fake tattoos more likely to get the real thing as well?

Too tell the truth, I am not all that opposed to tattoos, provided they are in a sensible (concealable) place and they are of sensible content. Tattoos have become quite common place these days, such that they are no longer the gang related markings that they once were. In fact, several of my med school class mates sported tattoos.

That being said, I certainly wouldn't want to be seen as encouraging my kid to get a tattoo. While more and more "everyday people" are getting tattoos, there still are some negative statistics associated with tattoos. Adolescents with tattoos are more likely to experiment with drugs than those without body art. And people with three or more tattoos have a significantly higher chance of dying prematurely than those who have less than three (some of this is gang/drug related, but the multiple tattoos are also though to be a marker of risk-taking personality).

Maybe it wasn't the best choice of gift, but I still think these "body stickers" are fairly benign. And Megan loves them. If you don't believe me just ask her to show you her fairy and watch her face light up.