TikTokers Giving Toddlers Fake Tattoos, Going Viral and Shocking Viewers

Videos of toddlers receiving fake tattoos have gone mega viral in recent months, sparking concern from TikTok viewers who seemed convinced the ink was real.

In December 2022, a TikToker who goes by @furnx420 posted a video with an on-screen caption that said they were tattooing their 3-year-old. During the upload, which received 10 million views, an adult held the arm of a young child, who flinched and pulled away as a tattoo gun was turned on. "It doesn't hurt, come here," the person said in the video, before they drew a smiley face on the youngster's hand.

The upload then showed a lengthy on-screen caption that read, "it's pretty obvious that a marker was put in the tattoo gun" rather than a needle, and pointed out the child could be heard laughing in the video because of the vibration.

However, many of the 4,200 comments were left by shocked viewers who wrote that they were convinced in the first half of the video the tattoo was real, and were concerned for the welfare of the child.

To clear things up, the TikToker posted a follow-up video saying, "It's come to my attention that people are a little bit dumber than you'd think." He then showed how he'd replaced the needle with a marker pen, and wrote in a comment that he'd made the explainer video for people who commented "CPS" on the original upload, which appeared to reference Child Protective Services.

However, it appears the viral controversy inspired others.

Recent uploads which also appear to show children selecting and getting tattoos have received a similar reaction on the app, with viewers writing how worried they were for the child involved until they saw through the joke and swiftly changed their minds, with many calling the final outcome cute.

On March 14, TikToker and tattoo artist @liltinoootatts received 5 million views and thousands of conflicted comments when he posted a video in which he suggested he'd given a 7-year-old a tattoo. Over 2,900 people commented on the video and debated whether the ink was a joke, and whether it was legal to give a child a permanent tattoo if the artist had the parent's permission.

Rules on tattoing children with parental consent vary from state to state, according to parental publication Very Well Family, who used data taken from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some allow for tattoos and piercings for teens if parents allow it, while others have outlawed it altogether and require people to be 18 to get tattoos.

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