Why one dad is thinking about giving his baby a tattoo

Here’s something you may have trouble picturing: A baby getting inked in a tattoo parlor. Yet, this uncommon situation may soon become a reality for one little boy out there.

Reddit user Thrwydad explains that he’s the father of 12-month-old twin boys named Adam and Aaron. They were born prematurely and there’s absolutely no difference between them, “apart from Aaron having very serious health issues, requiring him to have medication every 4 hours.” Thrwydad adds that if they forgot to give Aaron his medicine, there would be detrimental consequences.

Unfortunately, the young boy ended up experiencing these consequences when he was visiting his grandma. Though the parents have been using a permanent marker to mark Adam’s skin – since Aaron’s is too sensitive and would easily be irritated by the marker – their grandma ended up giving the boy’s a bath and the mark rubbed off.

“Grandma accidentally gave Aaron’s medication to Adam,” explains Thrwydad. “Adam ended up very sick and Aaron in [the] hospital for a week. This is a serious [and] extreme situation and I don’t want to take this risk again.”

Since this unfortunate incident, the family has tried using jewelry, nail polish, shaving their heads, different clothes, and more to distinguish the two boys – but nothing has worked. The clothes would get confusing. The twins are sensitive to stimuli, so jewelry was a no-go. They don’t have enough hair for the shaving to be noticeable (and Adam hated having his hair shaved). Plus, the family is worried about nail polish toxins.

Once they tried these options to no avail, Thrwydad began to wonder about tattoos and piercings. He reached out to the Reddit community and wrote, “We are after a more permanant solution. I read online about someone tattooing a single dot on one of their twins and also about piercing ears. I really hate to say it but we are here. I need to do something permanant. I could have lost both my sons last weekend and I’m desperate.”

In response, many Redditors agree that – as long as their pediatrician thinks it’s a good idea – a small, unnoticeable, freckle-like tattoo seems like the best option (especially since a piercing could end up being a choking hazard). Plus, a tattoo that small most likely wouldn’t take that long to heal and wouldn’t cause the child any long-term discomfort.

For the most part – tattoo or not – we truly hope that both Aaron and Adam live long, healthy, happy lives. If their dad has anything to say about it, it sounds like they definitely will.