A father in Florida is under fire for letting his 4-year-old daughter permanently ink a strawberry on his forearm.
The dad and tattoo shop owner, Brad “bob-tat” Bellomo, recently posted a photo on Facebook of his little girl giving him the tattoo. The image went viral but was soon reported to Facebook for inappropriate content.
“It’s a positive thing that got mostly positive support but people reported it for nudity and just people hating, and trying to get it off there saying it was offensive,” Bellomo tells the Huffington Post.
His daughter, Chloe, apparently loves drawing and often tags along with dad to work. Bellomo tells Huffington Post that he’s been teaching her about tattooing and she’s been asking to give it a try. The strawberry, which has special meaning for the family, was her first real attempt.
“I thought that would be a good choice,” he adds. “Still kind of cute, and has a lot of meaning.”
Most people seem to agree that no harm was done by letting the little girl try her hand at tattooing. In fact, the majority of commenters praise Bellomo for giving his daughter an outlet for her creativity and a unique bonding opportunity with dad.
Of course, there are some who disagree – calling it a medical hazard for the girl or even child abuse.
“This is disgusting and child abuse!” Tom Waters writes in a comment to one of the news stories. “Next he will allow her to light his crack pipe!”
Comments like this one seem to be the exception – most people are chiming in to show their support. But the fact that Bellomo had a problem with his Facebook post to begin with shows that some people are still operating with a warped view of tattoos that puts them in the same category as drug use and criminal activity. These same people might question the tattooed-dad’s parenting abilities whether or not his daughter had a tattooing device in her hand.
And while some commenters question the safety of letting a 4-year-old operate a tattoo equipment, Bellomo tells ABC News that he helped guide the machine and controlled the foot pedal that turns it on and off – so he could quickly stop it if his daughter tried to poke herself with the needle.
As long as the girl wasn’t in harm’s way – and it doesn’t appear that she was – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with letting her tattoo her dad’s arm. Like others have said, it’s actually pretty adorable.
“Very cool,” writes commenter Alice Bengel. “Years from now they can look back at those wobbly lines and say, ‘Remember when we did that?'”
As for the feedback, Bellomo tells ABC News that he isn’t concerned about what others may think – a lesson that anyone could agree he should pass on to his daughter.
“It doesn’t matter what they think,” he says. “My daughter’s happy and excited and proud of it.”
Would you ever let your child give you a tattoo? Tell us in the comments!
