Parents 'harsh' punishment over daughter's tattoo sparks heated debate

A university student is in danger of losing her home after her parents cut her off for using her student loan to pay for a tattoo that covered up her self-harm scars.

Mumsnet user Potterhead113 revealed how her friend, a 19-year-old student, paid for the tattoo using her student loan and money she had made working - but her parents were so horrified they refused to continue to help cover her university costs.

According to the Daily Mail, the user explained how without their help, her friend cannot afford to pay her rent and is now at risk of being kicked out of her university flat.

She asked other users whether the parents were being "reasonable" to cut off their teenage daughter - sparking a fierce debate on the online forum.

Some users insisted the parents had every right to be angry because they were funding their daughter's student lifestyle.

One commented: "Did she not think about the consequences of spending this money (some of which is not even hers, it's a loan for her education) on something that would leave her homeless and cocking up her degree?"

Another posted: "Unfortunately when you're financially reliant on someone else it's not unreasonable for them to have a say on what you spend your money on. She must have had some idea that her parents would be horrified."

A third agreed: "She shouldn't have used her rent money for a tattoo and then expect her parents to give her more money/ I don't think this is about the tattoo, it's about her spending money she didn't have on it & expecting to be bailed out."

Other Mumsnet users were more sympathetic to the student, saying her parents were being controlling.

One posted: "I cannot understand why parents would want to cut a child off financially for taking steps to put their self-harm behind them. Instead of looking at her scars every day, this young woman took a positive decision to try and eradicate them."

Another said: "I loathe tattoos, really loathe them, but the poor woman was trying to make something positive out of some presumably very painful memories."

A third added: "Unreasonable parents. OP's friend is an adult who can make her own decisions, her parents should not be trying to control her this way."

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is republished here with permission.