Mark Wahlberg took his children to observe his tattoo removal session in a bid to dissuade them from indulging in body art.

The Departed star decided to get rid of his "six or seven" inkings before he started shooting boxing movie The Fighter in 2010 to avoid sitting in the make-up chair for hours having them covered them up.

The actor decided to take his two eldest children along with him to watch the painful removal process in a bid to make sure they stay away from tattoos in the future.

He tells the Today show, "(All the tattoos) have meaning to me, but it's both personal and professional. I don't want my kids getting tattoos. And I wanted them to be (removed) by the time I did The Fighter because putting make-up on and covering them up has always been a pain in the butt."

"I've taken my two older kids to the procedure so they see how painful it is and what I have to go through."