17-8 Shamikia has been sharply criticized for her unusual “hobby.” Many people accuse her of being a bad mother who is about to raise a gangster. “Most of the comments about me are horrible to say the least. It’s crazy. People insult me in all kinds of ways, and it hurts my feelings because I know I’m not a terrible mother. If they want to judge someone based on a random 30-second video they saw on social networks, that is good, but they should know that their opinion does not determine the essence or future of the person they are accusing,” says Shamikia in her interview.

She claims that she doesn’t care about people criticizing her because it’s her choice and it’s about her lifestyle. The mother says that her family already accepts what she is doing with her child. “At first, my family despised me. None of them liked my tattoos, and when I started decorating Traylin’s body, they were shocked and devastated. Now that they’re starting to realize it might be for the good, they’re embracing it. We attract everyone’s attention when we are out. Young people love his tattoos,” says Shamikia. She believes that with the help she is getting, she will build a better future for Traylin.

Diapara, who is Shamikia’s sister, says she was firmly against it from the start. She categorically did not support this idea. She shared, “I didn’t want my sister to do this to him, but once I realized it could be of help to them, I accepted it.

The moment she told me she wanted to start tattooing her 6-month-old baby, I immediately told her that someone would go to child protection, but in the end, I respected her decision and accepted the way she decided to take care of Traylin. Some commenters even said that the little one would be shot in the streets or that she was raising him like a prisoner, and she really loved him.”