An Open Letter to parents with teens about how teenagers should be allowed to decide if they can receive cosmetic surgery
Dear parents of teens,
Do any of your teenagers complain about self-esteem and how their body image is not what they want? It has come to plastic surgeons’ attentions that today more teens are getting plastic surgery than ever before. Some parents may worry about media portrayals sparking the want of plastic surgery, why their kids feel like they do not look good enough just the way they are, and what causes their children to have these negative feelings towards their physical features. I completely understand your concerns, but if happiness can be the main result of your child's plastic surgery procedure, then those concerns should vanish for your child’s sake so you can make them feel positive again. Parents that care about their teens want them to be happy, not just mentally, but physically as well. Although physical appearance is not the main key to happiness, it is something teenagers think about every single day. Teenagers should be allowed to have plastic surgery to raise their confidence, reduce bullying, and be proud of they way they look. I am Carly Bessinger, a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I am writing this because I had to convince my parents for four years to allow me to have plastic surgery. I had a feature that stood out in a negative way, but I wanted it to blend in. I have first hand experience of understanding the pain teenagers have with their parents not approving something that means so much to them.
You may not be aware of how important of an aspect self esteem is for teenagers. It is crucial that teens feel good and have a positive attitude towards themselves. The article Teen Self Esteem by the author of Spirits group of New York(SGNY), a third generation Spiritist from Brazil, even states that appearance plays a key factor in self-esteem. SGNY has expressed that “This can be difficult to change one’s appearance” (Franco). Although they stated it can be difficult to change, plastic surgery is the simple solution. It’s not hard when the world has so many trained doctors to help raise teenagers’ confidences by improving the body features that they feel low about. Surgery will change all of these teens negative thoughts to positive ones, overall increasing what they think about themselves and their physical features.
Speaking of physical features, student writers from Current Events named Ali, Kaitlyn, and Tiffany Lam published an article called So you Want A Famous Face? It goes in depth about how not liking a physical feature affects how teens feel about themselves. Melanie, a teen wanting plastic surgery, explains that “The longer you go on living like that, the more it’s going to affect you and bring you down. There is something you can do about it” (Lam). Melanie had a big nose from her perspective and did not want to feel depressed about how she looked for the rest of her life. Since cosmetic surgery is an option, teenagers should be allowed to get it if they want it. Her parents knew she was unhappy and wanted to help in any way to make their daughter feel positive again. If her parents understood her, you should take the effort to learn to understand your child’s personal feelings too.
What increases the embarrassment and harassment they receive is bullying. In 2012, there was a victim of bullying due to physical appearance further explained by a writer and journalist for Time, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Crimson named Charlotte Alter. “Renata, 15, said her classmates teased her so much about her nose that she hasn’t been to school in three years” (Alter). Renata would have to live with bullying for the rest of her life if her parents did not let her get surgery. I know that parents are usually protective of their children and for all of you having to go everyday watching your baby get mentally hurt, would not only be hard for you, but even harder for your child.
Others may argue against teens choosing to get cosmetic surgery. For example, in USA Today Aviva Katz explains that parents don’t want their kids looking in a mirror and have them wanting to look like a model. It is hard to get that image out of teens’ heads because they are always influenced by TV, movies and magazines” (Marcus). However, just because your teen wants to feel more confident, doesn’t mean they got the idea of plastic surgery from media or TV. Teens truly do have emotions about how they look and are hard on themselves even if they don’t compare how they look to others.
Furthermore, if you are not going to allow your teenagers to get the surgery they want today, then they most likely will end up getting it later on in life anyways. Brittany Price, a 17 year old from Walnut Creek, CA explained her parents views. They wanted her to be older but they knew that she was eventually going to get it with or without their permission. Therefore, Price explained that “they wanted me to be happier sooner rather than later” (New York Amsterdam News). Surgery is affecting their life in the long run, not yours. Do not let your own child suffer any longer than they should have to. The sooner they get their problem fixed, the earlier they’ll be happy.
To wrap things up, plastic surgery is no joke to teenagers and it should be no joke to you either. If one of your kids has been asking for cosmetic surgery for a long time, you need to consider how they are feeling and not be selfish anymore. Yes, it is costly and yes, it’s not good to have extra surgery, but a teenagers self-esteem plays a key role in their lives. Without positivity, they will act negatively towards others, themselves, and feel like they are always being judged. Do your child and me a favor; don’t put them through this rough time and help them get out of it instead. Media portrayals sparking their want of getting plastic surgery and wondering how these thoughts got into your child’s head are now the least of your worries. If your kid is being bullied about a physical feature, it’ll stop. If your teen has shallow feelings about how they look, those will come to an end. Your job is to terminate every negative aspect they have about their physical appearances, and give them a new beginning by letting them receive the procedure they need. Since some are under the age of 18, this is all up to you. You are the ones that can make your kids dreams happen. You are the ones that can drastically change their happiness. Overall, you are the ones who need to support them in their personal decisions. Do me a favor, be there for your child when they need you the most.
Sincerely,
Carly Bessinger
Works Cited
Ali, Kaitlyn, and Tiffany Lam. "Teens Under The Knife." Current Events 108.1 (2008): 7.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Alter, Charlotte. "Bullied Teen Scores Free Nose Job From Nonprofit For Facial Deformities."
Time.Com (2014): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Franco, Divaldo. "Spiritist Group of New York." Sometimes, Be
Marcus, Mary Brophy. "What children will do to look 'normal'." USA Today n.d.: Academic
Search Complete. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
"Plastic surgery boosts some teens' self-confidence." New York Amsterdam News 24 Aug. 2006:
18. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
