Child, 10, scratches face while removing National Day tattoo, mother says school could have handled matter ‘differently’

A mother of a Primary 4 girl has accused her daughter’s school of showing “zero concern” for the girl after she was allegedly made to remove a temporary face tattoo without “appropriate materials”, resulting in multiple scars on her cheek.

The Stomper, who wanted to be known as Mrs Solomon, said that the incident happened on Aug 7, when her daughter’s primary school celebrated National Day.

“There were no normal school lessons, and the children were encouraged to wear red as part of the celebration,” she explained.

She said her daughter's temporary tattoos were meant to “enhance the festive atmosphere”.

However, the troubles began once her daughter reached the school gates. Mrs Solomon alleged that a fellow Primary 4 prefect had told her daughter that the tattoos were not allowed.

“As a young child, my daughter became afraid and immediately tried to comply with what she was told,” Mrs Solomon said.

“She attempted to remove the tattoo herself, but she did not have the appropriate items or products to safely remove it,” she added.

Subsequently, a teacher also instructed Mrs Solomon’s daughter to remove the tattoo, offering her a wet wipe to help.

“My concern is that my daughter was put in a situation where she felt that she had no choice but to remove it herself because she was being told by the prefect and subsequently by a teacher that it was not allowed,” the Stomper said.

Mrs Solomon claimed that this led to “redness, scratches and irritation” on her daughter’s face.

Additionally, the Stomper questioned why she was not contacted to manage the situation and asked if the school had considered the potential skin issues or injury that might have resulted.

“I would like to emphasise that I understand the school has its own guidelines and rules and I respect that,” the mother clarified.

She has mainly taken issue with “the manner in which the guidelines were enforced” and that the matter could have been avoided if the school had called her.

Pupils were advised to avoid tattoos twice

Stomp understands that the school has responded to Mrs Solomon’s concerns on Aug 12 via email.

The school apologised for the discomfort her daughter experienced while removing her tattoo and acknowledged Mrs Solomon’s distress.

It clarified that pupils were verbally advised on Aug 3 not to turn up with tattoos for the school’s National Day celebration. The reminder was reinforced by the girl’s form teacher one day before the celebration.

“We regret that despite these reminders, the message did not reach you as her parent so that you could have been better prepared,” the email read.

It added that prefects were executing duties “in accordance with” guidelines and the teacher who offered the girl a wet wipe had believed the tattoo was “freshly applied” and “easier to remove”.

“Unfortunately, as the tattoo proved more difficult to remove than anticipated, (the pupil) began scratching it, which resulted in some redness appearing on her face,” the school explained.

It acknowledged that the teacher could have contacted Mrs Solomon instead of allowing her daughter to scratch the tattoo off.

Parent: ‘Zero concern’ in school’s reply

“From my point of view, after reading the school’s response, I feel that there was zero concern shown towards my daughter’s well-being,” Mrs Solomon lamented.

Dive in

“Instead, the response seems to focus mainly on explaining that the school had informed the students beforehand verbally,” she said.

She maintained that the situation should have been “handled differently”.

“Instead, my daughter was put in a situation where she felt frightened and continued trying to remove it because she believed she had to obey the prefect and teacher,” Mrs Solomon said.

The Stomper also highlighted that while the school acknowledged it should have contacted her, there was “no real follow-up concern about how my daughter is doing now, how her skin is healing, or whether the marks may leave scars”.

She emphasised that she was not absolving her daughter from following the school’s rules, but that the entire situation could have been “resolved with one phone call”.

“The main reason I decided to bring this matter to the media is to raise awareness among parents about temporary National Day tattoos and encourage them to think twice and be aware of the potential difficulties in removing them, especially when children may be required to remove them unexpectedly,” she explained.

The mother of six children said she hoped that schools can “consider the well-being and safety of children first” and to handle similar situations “more appropriately”.

She added that any restrictions should be clearly communicated to parents, instead of relying solely on verbal communication to young children.

“Most importantly, I hope no other child has to go through what my daughter experienced,” she reflected.

The Stomper believes parents should be given the opportunity to know when something happens to their children — especially if any injuries are involved.

“I hope other parents can also understand the importance of being aware of this issue, and that schools will consider contacting parents first when a situation like this arises.”

Stomp understands that as of Aug 20, the school’s vice principal has acknowledged that the situation could have been handled better and also called Mrs Solomon personally to apologise for what happened.

That said, the mother told Stomp she wanted to “move forward in a constructive way while still raising awareness about the importance of handling such situations appropriately”.

“I’m still supportive of sharing the incident to raise awareness among other parents, as I feel the situation can serve as a learning point and hopefully help prevent similar incidents from happening to other children.”

School: Incident could have been handled with ‘greater care’

In response to Stomp’s queries, the principal of the school acknowledged that the incident could have been handled with greater care.

“While the school had earlier communicated its no-tattoo guidelines to all students, and a school prefect and teacher informed her that face tattoos were not allowed, we could have been more attentive in that situation and engaged her parent promptly,” said the principal.

The school has been checking in with the pupil and will continue to provide support.

The principal also confirmed that the school has engaged with and apologised to the parent, and they have been able to reach a resolution.

“Moving forward, we will seek to strengthen our communications with both parents and students.

“We value our partnership with parents and remain committed to working together in the best interests of our students.”

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