Many parents have turned to plastic surgery as a quick fix to end bullying. Is it right or wrong to do so? There may be appropriate times when cosmetic surgery is needed in a young person's life.
Has your child become the victim of bullying because he or she doesn't look "normal"? We all know bullying can devastate an impressionable child. But have you ever thought that plastic surgery may end the bullying?
Let's suppose your child was born with ears that stick out a little too far. Or,
their nose may appear out of proportion. These are just two examples of situations where bullying could result.
Children can be cruel and the psychological damage can be hard to overcome. It can literally follow them throughout their entire life. A child can be affected academically as well as suffer depression.
Statistically, girls as young as 14 have turned to cosmetic enhancement as a means to escape bullying at school. This hurtful taunting can make a parent feel as if there is no alternative.
Most board-certified surgeons will not operate on children under 18. But it's possible to have a procedure done with their parents' permission.
It's a sad scenario when the victims of bullying feel it's necessary to change something about themselves when it's really the other way around. The teasers should be the ones who change. Education is the key to change. But until every bully is educated, victims of bullying will most likely continue to turn to plastic surgery.
Cosmetic surgery is often the last resort taken by parents of bullied children after everything else has failed. A simple procedure like pinning a child's ears back, known as otoplasty, can transform a child's life.
The surgical procedures shouldn't be done to please or satisfy the bullies. Remember, they are the ones with the real problem - not your child. Schools and parents have the greatest responsibility to educate, change the pattern and the effects of bullying.
Bullying can wreak such dramatic effects on a young psyche that it can almost totally transform a personality from outgoing to introvert. A child can become withdrawn and antisocial. But many opponents to cosmetic surgery as an answer to bullying say it's the self-esteem of a person which needs to be exercised, not the cutting knife.
How else will young people learn to value themselves and grow in self-confidence, no matter what they look like, if a simple procedure erases their insecurities? Many others would agree we all grow up with some sort of insecurity about the way we look.
The most important point is that if you want to enhance your child's appearance with plastic surgery do so only after you have consulted with a reputable surgeon. It also might be a good idea to have your child counseled psychologically.
Life is difficult enough without a physical deformation added to the plate. But we don't want to teach our children the only answer is a surgical one.
The media and celebrities already have young people, especially girls, looking at themselves in a different way. Plastic surgery may not be the ideal answer, but it may be the lesser of two evils.
