Sunday, May 18, 2008

Mixed Feelings

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery

On the one hand, I think it's good that, if the need exists, someone wrote a book to address the worries and fears of young children whose mothers go under the knife for cosmetic surgery.

Was mommy not beautiful before?

On the other hand though, surgery always carries a risk, even if its small, and I find it alarming that mothers with young children would put themselves at risk for something like a tummy tuck or breast implants. And, how do you explain to kids why you need implants? The book apparently skirts the issue, focusing on nose and abdominal work. Plus, like they say, what exactly are you telling your kids if you feel that your nose isn't perfect? What if someone has said to them, "Oh, you have your mother's nose!" These kids might develop a complex about it.

It seems like this book could be reassuring for some children but might cause others to doubt their "worth" based on their appearance. I don't know.

1 comment:

Aliza said...

I think this book is pretty awful- we should not be making cosmetic surgery normative- kids should not think that their mothers need plastic surgery for them to be pretty.