Too young for surgery

I was disgusted when I saw the story of Sarah Burge on This Morning a couple of weeks ago, who has bought her 7 year old daughter a boob job for when she turns 18. There are many instances when surgery is totally acceptable and many women are completely happy with their decision to have this procedure. Who knows, many years from now and a few kids later, I may even want a little bit of a chest lifting myself!

What I do find disturbing about this story is what this woman is teaching her young daughter about her body image at such a young age. She is basically being told that she is not good enough; that she needs surgery to be beautiful and that she is not perfect just the way she is. When this 7 year old girl looks in the mirror what must she see; a list of flaws that need to be corrected before she can be accepted for who she is?

There was another instance in America of a mother who is actually injecting her 7 year old with fillers, Botox and tattooing her eyebrows. What is upsetting is that this girl is not at the age when she can make this decision for herself and it is being made for her. She may never have wanted to have these procedures done but her mother, who should be protecting her daughter, is forcing this upon her. Doctors wisely refused to give the injections to the young girl and so this woman has bought the Botox online and is doing them herself. Besides the serious physical damage she could be doing to her daughter, she is also cementing a negative self image in her for life. And the reason she is doing all this? She wants her daughter to be famous. How ridiculous and completely selfish! This girl’s choices in life are being made for her. Her potential to become a Doctor, Designer or Lawyer is being narrowed by her mother’s desire for shallow fame. This really saddens me. I know that when I have a daughter I will make sure she knows that she is beautiful and that her character is what makes her special.