A dad of twins has a perfectly good reason for wanting to tattoo his baby.

A Reddit user is desperate for a permanent solution to telling his twin boys apart.

It’s not because he’s calling them the wrong names, or putting them down in the wrong beds. It’s much more complex and serious. It’s a matter of life and death.

Thrwydad posted:

“My wife and I have two very premature twin boys. There is no difference between them apart from Aaron having very serious health issues, requiring him to have medication every 4 hours. If he doesn’t have his medication it leads to significant consequences.”

The boys are now 12 months old.

Previously their parents, who were unable to tell their twins apart, had resorted to drawing on baby Adam’s arm in a permanent marker (Aaron’s skin was too sensitive). It was a plan that worked for a while, until the boys were in the care of their grandma.

After a bath, when the mark on Adam’s arm washed off, Adam was given Aaron’s medication by mistake. “Adam ended up very sick and Aaron in hospital for a week,” Thrwydad wrote. “This is a serious extreme situation and I don’t want to take this risk again. We have had other mix ups with the boys but it has never wound up this bad.”

Understandably, the parents were very concerned, and tried several alternatives to for distinguishing their twins. They tried different coloured nail polish, bracelets, anklets, and even dressed each of the boys in their own specific color clothes for each boy. They shaved one son’s head, leaving the other’s hair long. “But nothing else worked as well as the texta for numerous reasons,” Thrwydad wrote.

The Motherish team confess: Times I felt like a terrible parent. Post continues after video…

It’s clear these parents are at their wits end.

“We are after a more permanant solution,” Thrwydad pleaded. “I read online about someone tattooing a single dot on one of their twins and also about piercing ears. I really hate to say it but we are here. I need to do something permanant.”

It’s not about giving his son a cool new look, it’s about saving his life.

While we’re sure tattooing his baby wouldn’t be high on this dad’s priority list, a small permanent mark is far better than the alternative.

“I could have lost both my sons last weekend and I’m desperate. I am only after permanant solutions. Believe me when I say we have tried everything else before and it didn’t work. Please help me. I don’t want to lose my boy.”

While some Reddit users responded with concerns about the boys’ future embarrassment, and others made jokes about tramp stamp, several parents felt the dad’s concern, and his sincerity in wanting to help make his children safer.

“I don’t understand these other posters. You said you could have lost both of your sons last weekend,” wrote one user. “A piercing or tiny tattoo is ABSOLUTELY appropriate if it saves the life of either or both of your children.”

“The short term pain of a small dot tattoo is much better than losing one of them,” commented another user. “I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing in your situation.”

What do you think? Would you tattoo your baby if you were in the same situation?

H/T SheKnows