Father Loses 2 Young Children In Tornado
Why It's Hard To Get Along With Your In-Laws
Parents Turning to Plastic Surgery to Stop Bully Taunts
Filed under: In The News, Bullying
More and more kids are getting plastic surgery. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
"There's only one person in the whole world like you, and that's you, yourself," he would say at the end of his show. "And people can love you just the way you ... wait a minute. What's with the ears? Geez, Louise, you could fly to Paris with those things. What are you, some kind of freak? Tell Mommy and Daddy you need plastic surgery -- now!"
That's not what Mister Rogers said, of course, but it's what his 21st century equivalent might utter in an age where acceptance is less about demanding respect and more about demanding surgery.
"Children, long the victims of cruel nicknames like 'Dumbo' or 'Mickey Mouse,' are the most likely candidates for otoplasty (ear surgery), but this surgery can be performed at any age after the ears have reached full size, usually around 5 to 6 years of age," reports the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. "Even if the ears are only mildly distorted, the condition can lead to self-consciousness and poor adaptation to school."
And you wouldn't want your child to look even slightly different, would you? Boosting the child's self esteem and providing him or her with emotional coping skills also works, but a knife is quicker.
Being bullied for being different is traumatizing. To spare their children that fate, more and more parents are letting their children know Mommy and Daddy think they are disfigured mutants in need of corrective surgery. That ought to keep the kids out of therapy later in life.
ABC News statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery indicate cosmetic surgery for children and teenagers has increased nearly 30 percent over the last decade.
Valerie Donoghue, a mother of a son with large ears, tells ABC News the surgery is worth it. Kids who are bullied often become depressed and aggressive.
"If we had gone much longer, we might have started to see some of those other behaviors," Donoghue tells the network. "Bullying is very different now with Facebook and sites like that. I didn't want him to go through that."
Changing a child's appearance is not the solution, Cheryl Rode, director of clinical operations at the San Diego Center for Children, tells ABC News.
"We never want to hold the victim responsible for the bullying."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-09-2011 @ 7:52AM
Yamslinger said...Having plastic surgery to avoid bullying is absolutely pitiful. A bully targets individuals ultimately, not body parts. This is a friggin joke. I'd put money on it that these kids will have pyscho problems for life because their parents were too damned lazy and/or busy to handle a common problem.
Reply
4-11-2011 @ 11:00AM
Isabella said...This is ridiculous! Kids are going to tease and harass one another all through life. For goodness sakes, we deal with this as adults too. We can't run from it or pay thousands to get our face, body, whatever redesigned just because someone else makes us feel inferior. Who has the money for that anyway?!?! Help yourself and your kids feel good with every day smarts - HTTp://bIt.lY/savingtips
4-09-2011 @ 9:20AM
AllyG said...If your worried about your child getting bullied on Facebook, that is the problem right there, your child shouldn't be on Facebook. Would you let your child go down a dark alley at one oclock in the morning? Of course not. So after hearing all of the bad things that happen on Facebook, why are they even on there?
Reply
4-09-2011 @ 10:20PM
isisreptiles said...So the kid has plastic surgery to correct the flaw he is being bullied because of... What happens when the bullies find something else to taunt him about?
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4-11-2011 @ 2:32PM
Fran said...This is so sad. It's not the kid who looks a little out of the ordinary who has a problem; it's the parents of the bullies, who can't be bothered to teach their kids the most basic ethical guidelines, such as being accepting of other people in spite of perceived differences. No wonder there's so much hatefulness and incivility in America today.
Reply
4-11-2011 @ 3:36PM
Susu said...The parents are doing this because they love their kids. sometimes a flaw can be turned into an asset. think barbra streisand. bullies come in all sizes and ages, and the vest thing for kids to do is learn that bullies are unhappy jealous people instead of acquiescing.
Reply
4-11-2011 @ 6:05PM
J.E.B. said...I have to agree with Cheryl Rode. Changing a child's appearance through plastic surgery sends a message to the child that "it's YOUR fault you're being bullied" because of some type of physical deformity. See you in therapy when you're older.
Reply