Would You Encourage Your Child To Get Plastic Surgery?

I guess the better way to word this question is would you get your child plastic surgery? By child I mean younger than a teenager. I read an article about a mother getting her 7-year old child plastic surgery to prevent her from being bullied (the child above is not her). Although it was just a simple procedure as getting her ears pinned, do you think that this was a bit extreme?

Let’s look from the mother’s point of view: Her daughter was not being bullied at the time but she took precautionary measures to prevent it from happening in the future. We all know that kids can be cruel and something as simple as big ears can make any kid an easy target. Young children are also becoming more and more sensitive these days. Children as young as 5 years old have taken their own life so it’s no wonder a parent would want to do everything they can possibly do to make sure their child never had to go through that. I know as a mother I worry daily about if my son has enough friends, if he’s emotionally “okay” and if he’ll ever encounter bullying for something that is out of his control. I can understand a mother wanting to protect her child from any harm that can come their way, and that includes your typical school yard bully.

With that said, let’s go back to the fact that the child had not been bullied YET. Who’s to say that she ever would have been. Sure it was just a simple ear pinning procedure, nothing major like breast implants or a nose job but how much do you think it does for a child’s confidence to see that their parent doesn’t think they’re perfect? Can you imagine a 7-year old feeling that her own mother thought she was so ugly that she needed to have work done before she was even in middle school? That alone is enough to fuel a bully’s fire. I feel that 7 years old is entirely too young for any child to have plastic surgery unless its some type of reconstructive procedure. I believe that it’s setting a horrible example for the child and could possibly open up insecurities or even snow ball into that possible breast augmentation by 15. At 7 years old you haven’t had enough time to grow into your features. Big ears can be covered by hair. They may not have ever become a big deal but now you have taught your child that appearances matter and what other people think of you matters even more.

All in all I believe that the mother was coming from a good place but I don’t believe that such a procedure was necessary at this young of an age. As a parent I want the best for my child, but I could never see myself going as far as plastic surgery to make that happen. Your thoughts?