A mum lets her nine-year-old daughter tattoo her for “practice” and says the designs have gone “surprisingly well”.<br /><br />Christine Fleming, 33, wanted to introduce her little girl, Scarlett, to inking and suggested she try tattooing on fake skin at first.<br /><br />But in November 2022, Christine let Scarlett, then eight, tattoo a simple heart on her leg and was surprised at the results.<br /><br />Scarlett has since built up the skills to ink a butterfly and a flower on mum Christine and is “proud” of her designs.<br /><br />Christine, a tattoo artist, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, said: “I let her do a tiny heart on my leg and it went surprisingly well.<br /><br />“She’s really good at following instruction and I guide her through.<br /><br />“She’s done a butterfly and a little flower.<br /><br />“I’m not too worried about it being perfect or anything.<br /><br />“I’m impressed with how it turned out.”<br /><br />Christine decided to suggest Scarlett try her hand at tattooing last year after seeing other parents letting their children try it out.<br /><br />She said: “I had seen some other parents letting their kids tattoo them.<br /><br />“I was like – ‘that might be fun’.<br /><br />“I suggested tattooing fake skin.<br /><br />“She seemed really interested in it.”<br /><br />At first Scarlett practiced on the fake skin but struggled as it is less “forgiving” that real skin.<br /><br />Christine said: “It’s more leathery and less forgiving.<br /><br />“It gets chewed up easier.<br /><br />“It was tough trying to teach her on that.<br /><br />“I figured I’d let her try on me.”<br /><br />Christine decided to let her daughter try on her own leg – and let her do a small heart to start.<br /><br />After being “surprised” by the results, she let Scarlett try and more complicated butterfly stencil in December 2022.<br /><br />Christine said: “I pick something that will be easier for her.<br /><br />“She’s really proud of herself.<br /><br />“She’s got a confidence boost.<br /><br />“She’s hard on herself if a line doesn’t go perfectly.”<br /><br />In March 2023 Scarlett inked her mum a new cherry blossom flower – which she stencilled and tattooed all by herself.<br /><br />Christine said: “It took about an hour to do.<br /><br />“They’re awesome.<br /><br />“I’m not going to pressure her to keep doing it.<br /><br />“But it’s a different skill she’ll have.”<br /><br />Christine said the online comments have been positive with people praising Scarlett for her “amazing” skills.<br /><br />The mum has said she’s making Scarlett wait until she is 18 to get her own ink – and says her daughter would be “scared of the pain” at the moment.<br /><br />Christine doesn’t want to pressure into Scarlett into a career as a tattoo artist but says it would be “cool” if she did go in that direction.<br /><br />She said: “It would be cool.<br /><br />“She’s practicing her drawing.<br /><br />“The nice thing about tattooing is you have you own freedom to travel and make your own schedule.”
