Thursday, 24 April 2008 19:00
It’s official: our society is plastic surgery obsessed. In case there was any doubt, a new children’s book makes it more than clear. My Beautiful Mommy, a new book by plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer, is a cartoon story meant to teach children about their mother’s plastic surgery and healing process.
In case you’re not appalled by this in theory, take a look at the book’s cover, featuring a glittery new mommy, showing off her new and improved look in a sparkling spotlight, complete with a nearby butterfly. Meanwhile, the cartoon child grins happily and waits for a hug while new mommy glows with the beauty of her new plastic surgery.
While explaining plastic surgery to a child is probably difficult for many moms who find themselves in the situation (although we could potentially argue it’s not a conversation you need to have with a four year old), critics claim the book sends the wrong message to children about plastic surgery. And it's not too difficult to conceive of about a thousand different stories a parent might prefer to have following that title.
It’s bad enough that Hollywood indoctrinates the practice for our teenagers; do we really need our preschoolers to get accustomed to the idea? With a book like this, kids might could associating moms with plastic surgery or, worse yet, begin to become more critical of their own appearance.
Shouldn’t we be sending the message to our children that they – and their mommies – are beautiful the way they are? It’s a little soon to be conditioning our kids to a world of medical fixes when we should instead be protecting them against low self-esteem. Not to mention vanity or superficiality. There are plenty of books that make a better bedtime story – and send a better message. Is it instructional? Maybe. But appropriate is a whole other matter.
» No Comments
There are no comments up to now.
» Post Comment
Only registered users can write a comment.
Please login or register.
