--- title: What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings description: The American Academy of Pediatrics just issued their first recommendations for tattoos and body piercings canonical: https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-18T04:00:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:14:44.881Z article:section: Health og:title: Here’s What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings og:description: Three in 10 American adults have at least one tattoo og:url: https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060148a7c195f3b/6988ddf48fd2eeae37358df7/tattoos-piercings-tattooing-scarification-recommendations-doctors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: Tattoo machine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings twitter:description: Three in 10 American adults have at least one tattoo twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060148a7c195f3b/6988ddf48fd2eeae37358df7/tattoos-piercings-tattooing-scarification-recommendations-doctors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=41401bc6-29f0-4664-87b7-b9ca5bfb23ed&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Sep 18, 2017 4:00 AM UTC  Male tattoo artist showing the process of making a tattoo on arm. Colorful tattoo art on human body and skin. Tattooist holding an active machine or gun. Male tattoo artist showing the process of making a tattoo on arm. Colorful tattoo art on human body and skin. Tattooist holding an active machine or gun. vladans—iStockphoto/Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Sep 18, 2017 4:00 AM UTC If teen trends lose their edge when adults find out about them, then this week may bring a sign that tattoos have finally gone mainstream. The [American Academy of Pediatrics](https://www.aap.org/en-us/Pages/Default.aspx) issued its first-ever recommendations on tattoos, body piercing and “scarification,” the practice of intentionally scarring skin into words or a design by burning or cutting it, in a clinical report released Monday in the journal _Pediatrics._ The association of pediatricians typically publishes guidance on health topics like vaccinations, nutrition and puberty. But the popularity of tattoos—three in 10 Americans reported they had at least one in a [Harris](http://www.theharrispoll.com/health-and-life/Tattoo%5FTakeover.html) poll last year—makes it more likely that doctors could face questions about tattoos, piercings in places beyond the earlobes and other body modifications from teens and their parents. “Tattooing is much more accepted than it was 15 to 20 years ago,” said Dr. Cora Breuner, lead author of the report, in a statement. “When counseling teens, I tell them to do some research, and to think hard about why they want a tattoo, and where on their body they want it.” The report says that complications from tattoos are likely rare and that attitudes toward tattoos are becoming significantly more accepting. It also emphasizes that doctors should not treat body modification as a sign that a teen wants to self-harm, but rather encourage them to talk to their parents and to find regulated, clean and reputable facilities to get their tattoos and piercings. Body modification is particularly popular among younger adults; 47% of Millennials have at least one tattoo, compared to 36% of Gen Xers. The association between tattoos and risky behaviors like alcohol and drug use, violence and sexual activity has gone down in recent years. **MORE**: [This Might Make You Rethink Getting a Tattoo](http://time.com/4939984/tattoo-ink-health-risks/) Still, not all of the potential [risks of tattoos](http://time.com/4939984/tattoo-ink-health-risks/?xid=homepage) and piercings are known. There is not much data about the rate of complications from these practices, but researchers have seen reports of inflammation, [infection](http://time.com/4725634/tattoo-ink-dangerous/), abnormal tissue growth and even vasculitis, a rare inflammation of the blood vessels, from tattoos, the report says. Body piercings have also been associated with some negative outcomes including infections, pain, bleeding, cysts, allergic reaction and scarring. Scarification can have similar consequences, particularly if the artists are not experienced, according to the AAP. While acceptance of body modification may be increasing, a 2014 survey of nearly 3,000 people found that 76% said they thought tattoos and piercings would hurt an applicant’s chances of getting a job. At least 38 states prohibit non-ear body piercings on minors without parental consent, and at least 45 states have similar restrictions for tattoos. Just because the trend has become more widespread doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to rush out and get a tattoo without first doing research, the AAP concludes. “These services have come a long way, safety-wise,” Breuner said in her statement, “but it’s best to proceed with caution.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/"},"headline":"Here’s What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings","datePublished":"2017-09-18T04:00:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:14:44.881Z","description":"Three in 10 American adults have at least one tattoo","url":"https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/","keywords":["Public Health","Pediatrics","tattoos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060148a7c195f3b/6988ddf48fd2eeae37358df7/tattoos-piercings-tattooing-scarification-recommendations-doctors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060148a7c195f3b/6988ddf48fd2eeae37358df7/tattoos-piercings-tattooing-scarification-recommendations-doctors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tattoo machine","caption":"Tattoo machine","creditText":"vladans—iStockphoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4941937/tattoos-body-piercing-kids/","name":"Here’s What Kids Should Know About Tattoos and Piercings"}}]}] ```