Mark Wahlberg takes children to tattoo removal sessions to 'see how painful it is'.

HE often talks of how he makes his children aware of their heritage by taking them to see his old neighbourhood in Boston.

Now Mark Wahlberg is taking his role as a model father one step further by making sure his kids accompany him to get his tattoos removed.

The actor revealed that as he attempts to cut down on time in the makeup chair while artists try to cover up his inkings for film roles, his offspring are learning his lessons with him.

The 40-year-old , who has four little ones with wife Rhea Durham , told Today in the UK that his eldest two watch him suffer as he is in the process of somewhat erasing his tattoos.

He said: "[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."

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

The star's etchings don't only get in the way of his work ,but hold significant reminders of his troubled past.

The former drug addict claims to have been in trouble with the law an astonishing 20 to 25 times.

Incidents include racially motivated attacks, which have seen him charged with attempted murder and serving two years in a Correction House jail.

The former rapper's first tattoo was done unprofessionally as a teenager and he claims the image of a shamrock on his ankle was crooked so had Tweety Bird placed over it after moving to Los Angeles.