A mother-of-two says other parents walk away or cross the road when they see her because of her appearance.
Amy Smith from Leicester has revealed that mothers and fathers avoid her because they are scared of her tattoos.
The 23-year-old, who has been passionate about tattoos since she was a teen, said: “Now, I have two children, Elijah and Remy, and my tattoos attract a lot of attention.”
“Parents my own age can be very judgmental – some parents cross the road to get their children away from me, and I tend to get followed by security in shops that don’t know me,” Amy continued.
“My kids have witnessed the negative comments and they see the way that it makes me feel – I feel like my kids are far more accepting than most people because of it.
“However, it can also be really heart-warming. I get spoken to a lot on the school run or at school events, and parents have even turned around and told me that they would love to be able to have tattoos like mine.”
Amy went on: “I know that as a parent, I shouldn’t be scared to be who I want to be.”
She also said that some people can be really narrow-minded when it comes to what a parent should look like.
“Sometimes people tell me, ‘You’re a parent’ or ‘You’re a woman’, so I ‘Shouldn’t look like this’ – I’ve had my fair share of backlash,” she expressed.
“Still, some of the responses I’ve had make me feel really great – I’ve had messages on Instagram with people telling me that I’ve inspired them to get a tattoo that they wanted.”
Despite negative reactions from others, Amy said that she doesn’t regret a thing.
“My tattoos have changed my life. It’s brought so many opportunities to do some really amazing things,” she said.
“I’m comfortable with who I am, and I want to encourage my children to feel the same way.”
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