When we got our last Scholastic flyer, the October – Halloween one, the kid saw a face-painting book and focussed right on it. I thought she would forget but she kept bringing it up, day after day. Finally, one day we were at Chapters and I found a similar book. I decided it was an activity we could do, entertain ourselves for a little while, and I picked it up.
Once we got it home she was asking if I could paint her face or if she could paint my face and I was putting it off and putting it off, until one morning when all she wanted was a bit of attention and I’d been busy working on different things all morning, so we sat down together.
She wants to paint my face. I was heading to a meeting so it didn’t happen that day, and I’m not too sure when I will let her. Creative expression is something I support very much, until paint gets in my eyes.
The next day she wanted me to redo her butterfly and the heart on her other cheek, and then she wanted a dog and a panda.
We put those on her arms. “Now I have tattoos just like you, Mama. I have animals on my arm.”
Like my monkey tattoo on my wrist, dedicated to her.
“When I grow up I want to have tattoos just like you, Mama.”
I told her that was fine, as long as she thought long and hard about what she wanted, decided and then waited a while. I decided on my first tattoo and when I still wanted the same thing a few years later I went for it.
I will also advise her against cheek tattoos.