I know that a minor can get a tattoo at a shop in many states with parental permission, but one would think there'd be an age limit on that too, like must be at least age 15-16, or something.
I recall a case that happened decades ago where an extremely large family with something like 18 children - a good 20 yrs before the TV series - had been to a state fair in somewhere like Texas or Oklahoma, and accidentally miscounted when they were loading up, leaving a little girl under age 10 (closer to 6-8 yrs old, IIRC) at the fair grounds.
What was bizarre about the article was that all of the children had the same uniquely designed star-like tattoo on each of their right shoulders to "identify" them as part of the same family, having been done when each was between ages 12-14 month's old, and the tattoos all appeared to have been performed by someone with some skill and talent in tattoo work.
They had explained that their extended family members also had large numbers of children, so they'd come up with the idea so no one accidentally took home the wrong child during reunions/gatherings.
Well, their uncounted little girl was quickly located and ID'd by LE via the tattoo, alive and well, still at the fair grounds waiting for her family to return for her.
While the story had a happy ending, everyone who read it was talking about "Who in TF thinks tattooing a *baby* is a good idea, and what kind of asshole would actually perform the tattooing on a child too young to decide for themselves if they wanted to be marked for life, and causing such pain when the child can't understand what's happening to them?"
It was, in most of the public opinion I heard, compared to the human infant equivalent of branding livestock, as if the children were financial "animal" assets to be counted up at tax time.
Wait. He's 12 and he's roughly the same size as me (I've got a few pounds on him, but not much). Are his parents giants or something? I've got a 12 year old and she's not even close.
My cousin was 6' at 12, and could easily slam dunk a basketball; where as my brother and I were really small for our age (neither of us are considered "tall" as adults), and we were also prone to broken bones as children, but not as adults.
My parents have always wondered if there was a mild bone disorder on the paternal side, as all in that side's previous generation (including my aunt) were both very tall, and prone to broken bones in their youth, and then degenerative disc disease later in life.
It's almost as if our bones started out as slightly brittle, and then softened somewhat with age, which is completely backwards from normal bone progression. *shrugs*
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