By Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -
Mom's getting a tummy tuck and a
new nose. But how does she tell her kids?
A Florida plastic surgeon has written the first known
picture book aimed at 4-7 year-olds that seeks to reassure them
about mom going under the knife.
But the book, "My Beautiful Mommy," has stirred up a
hornet's nest among feminists and even some cosmetic surgeons
who feel it may undermine the self-esteem of the very young.
Dr Michael Salzhauer, a father of four, said he wrote the
book because many of his patients are having "mommy makeovers"
to fix saggy breasts and slack tummies a few years after
childbirth and were concerned about what to tell their kids.
"It sounds like a joke but there really is a need to
address this issue," Salzhauer told Reuters. "It is for the mom
who has already booked her plastic surgery and now has to tell
her kids, why she is going to be in bed, why daddy is picking
the kids up from school and all those other issues."
"Hundreds of thousands of women have this operation in the
United States. This is for a specific consumer at a specific
time in their life that is going to turn their household upside
down for a couple of weeks."
Salzhauer said feedback to the book from his own patients
has been very positive. But some of the explanations from the
attractive, cartoon-style mom in the book have sparked a
furious online debate.
"As I got older, my body stretched and I couldn't fit into
my clothes anymore. Dr Michael is going to help fix that and
make me feel better," the mother tells her daughter.
Jessica Valenti, executive editor of the Web site
www.feministing, said she did not wish to sit in judgment
of those who get plastic surgery.
"But do we really have to teach our kids that we need it to
'feel better' and be 'beautiful'? Ugh," Valenti wrote.
Dr Stephen Greenberg, a New York cosmetic surgeon and
author of "A Little Nip, A Little Tuck," said elementary school
age children should not be exposed to plastic surgery.
"Let them feel that self esteem comes from within and not
necessarily related to how somebody looks," Greenberg said.
"This book was written with the best of intentions. It
wasn't trying to corrupt society. It is not glamorizing plastic
surgery. It is not intended to be a best seller that children
read with their parents before they go to sleep," he said.
Reuters/Nielsen
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