Kids book on plastic surgery, criticized

A new plastic surgery picture book for children is making a lot of buzz in the United States. The book was written by Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon based in Florida. The book, entitled “My Beautiful Mommy” was aimed at four to seven-year-olds to help them understand what’s going on when their mommy goes under the knife.

Salzhauer, a father himself, stressed that most of his patients who come to his office are bringing their kids along. These patients were concerned about how to tell their children about their plastic surgery. He told Reuters, “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.”

However, other plastic surgeons expressed antagonism about the book. For instance, Dr. Stephen Greenberg, a New York plastic surgeon, said that elementary school children should not be exposed to plastic surgery at all because it might affect their self-esteem.

Aside from that, other groups are expressing their concern about the book as well. Some feminists groups said the book exposes children to things they shouldn’t be exposed to. The book might encourage the mindset that if they do not like about their physical attributes, they should get plastic surgery.

"Do we really have to teach our kids that we need it to 'feel better' and be 'beautiful'?" asked Jessica Valenti, editor of the website feministing.com.

The book’s author answered that he's not glamorizing plastic surgery and emphasized that My Beautiful Mommy shouldn't be a bedtime book to be read by parents to children, either.