Florida boy keeps family tradition of getting initials tattooed at age 10
Jerry Garrison says it’s a family tradition to have your initials in ink on your body, hence it is not shocking that his 10-year-old grandson got his leg tattooed.
The NBC station of WTLV of Jacksonville, Fla., reported that the Florida Department of Children and Families visited Garrison’s home for another matter, spotted the tattoo and told him, yes, that was a problem.
The agency removed all of the grandchildren who were in the home and placed them in foster care, the station reported.
It was unclear how many children were involved.
“My little son called me and said, Dad, I’m so scared, I want to come home so bad. When you have your youngin’ call and tell you he’s scared. I want to go put my arms around him and say son, it’s alright, it’s really alright. But no, I can’t,” Garrison said.
When you get into cases like this, is the child being abused? Is the child at risk? Are the actions of the parents putting the child at risk,” Department spokesman John Harrell told WTLV.
Under state law, a child under 16 years of age cannot be tattooed unless it’s for medical or dental reasons.
WTLV reported that the tattoo artist can be charged with a misdemeanor, not the parent or guardian.