More on Teens and Plastic Surgery
US News and World report has an article regarding teens at the age of 18 getting plastic surgery. This is something that we have all heard before and in some cases, this has been deadly!
The article states ‘Several factors are important in deciding when and for whom surgery is appropriate: an ability to understand the procedure; that the desire for surgery does not reflect what a parent, friend, or boyfriend desires; and that expectations are realistic’.
‘If your expectations aren’t realistic and you have low self-esteem or no friends, cosmetic surgery is not the right answer. Rather, I would recommend counseling’.
Personally I think this is good advice for all women no matter what age. Many women have low self esteem and decide to go under the knife to enhance body parts that they don’t feel comfortable with. They are also made to believe that what they are doing is safe.
The article also mentions the FDA guidelines that teens under 22 can only be implanted with saline implants and must be 22 if they want silicone gel. Something the FDA has decided on that really never made sense to me. Will 4 years really make a difference??? I doubt not. Implants do not know your age! If you are going to have complications, they will happen whether you are 18 or 35 and we have seen that women become ill from both saline implants and silicone gel.
I would like to add as well that I was 35 when I decided on breast augmentation. Yes, I had low self esteem and did this because I felt too thin. I also did my ‘homework’ and found nothing indicating that saline implants were dangerous to your health. I have since learned that this is not the case at all. I think the best thing for me would have been counseling and going to the gym to build up those area’s of my body I didn’t feel comfortable with. No, this would not have increased my breast size but it certainly would have made me feel better about myself. I think about that often and wondered why no one ever suggested that to me. Maybe this is what these teens should be doing instead of lipo at age 18. Really, we need to concentrate more on eating healthy and exercise. I bet most teens and adults would not need lipo if they changed their diet and excercised on a regular basis.
It would be nice if parents encouraged their teens to eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis and I don’t mean to a point that it becomes obsessive as this can be a problem as well. I think that 18 is just too young to be thinking about enhancing your body using cosmetic surgery to achive that. Also, these parents should also be educated on the dangers and lets not forget to reassure our teens that the body God has given them is perfect and does not need altering in any way. This will all lead to a healthy outlook in the future and acceptance of their bodies.
Lastly, I do believe this article makes some good points regarding plastic surgery and teens, I just don’t agree with all of it.
Beth
If you look around at yor neighbors, friends, co-workers or anyone you can have a peek at their home lives this is what you’ll see too much: SHORTCUTS. Too many kids are being fed from a telephone, a drive thru or a microwave. They are getting some of their book reports from the internet. They get cheat codes for their videogames. So now its easier to get a physical tune-up from a doc and actually pick the part from a catalog of noses, cheeks, ears, boobs etc.. Do exercise? Eat better? Are you kidding!!?? Where would they get ideas like that? From parents who are worried about what they look like and what people ’see’ of them? Moms in inapproriate clothing? Dad flirting or getting caught with someone else (the new younger model). And of course we all now see why its called the boob tube…
Comment by Dennis — July 2, 2008 @ 12:27 am
I was going to say the exact same things as Dennis did. I completely agree!!!! These days, everything is quick fix. Instead of Mom’s going back to the gym and starting a healthy eating diet after having children, more and more are turning to the knife as a means of fixing what they don’t like. A boob job here, lipo here, some even going so far as the gastric bypass procedure. Now, don’t get me wrong, I realize that sometimes people are “too far gone,” or have major health problems that inhibit them from exercising, so the gastric bypass is their only option. But, FAR TOO MANY people are turning to this procedure as a “quick fix.”
I’ve watched some of the make-over shows, where now TEENS are getting the gastric bypass. In my opinion, if Mom and Dad would have taught them the importance of eating healthy and exercising, they wouldn’t need the surgery. I also think it is unnecessary for teens to get the gastric bypass, we are giving them the easy way out instead of teaching them the good habits and them having to work hard to lose the weight.
What are we, as the adults teaching our children….that you don’t have to work hard, and that there is an easy way out? For me, it is more important to teach my children the importance of working hard (exercising and eating right as a means of gaining self-esteem,) not throwing money at a problem and giving them the easy way out….what does THAT teach them?
Comment by Krista — July 2, 2008 @ 9:27 am
Beth, that age limit may be arbitrary, but I think goes a long way in preventing more teens from getting implants. When asking “Why is there an age-limit,” it forces girls and parents to take a closer look at the issue.
Comment by Gloria — July 2, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Good point Gloria but it also sends a message that saline implants are safe and silicone gel isn’t as safe. Now I’m not saying that but those restrictions are more or less implying just that.
My point is that I read too much about how safe saline implants are and this restriction, in my opinion just reinforces that.
I believe they are equally dangerous.
Comment by bethtaylor — July 2, 2008 @ 8:06 pm
just a point to ponder, my self esteem is much lower after surviving breast implants.as an adult how i aged not so gracefully.i look into the mirror with a face with wrinkles, from the stress of fighting from breast implants and all the prednisone,and other pills and tears…
i know two young females that want botox..18 and 20. the 20 year old mother wanted implants, of course i ralked her out of it!thank god!and she wants botox around her eyes…20!WOW. the 18 year old, in college, high honers,and does have slight wrinkles in her forhead….but botox,so early in life to get needles in your face.this girl has a great self esteem,one of those one in a few thousand kids, very popular and outgoing, loving life.at 16 i heard her say she wanted breast implants.16! a large b if not a c. perfect shaped.(relative)another one i talked out of it. but its such a big wide world out there, how any 16 18 and 20 year olds think this way???i guess alot!the 20 year old mom looks 20, and wants liposuction on her flat stomache, i said do some ab work outs, your baby is just 8 months old.its very very sad…
i understand also if you are in the appropriate hospital, not some back door clinic, a hospital, and you and your parents go talk about getting your overly super large nose fixed, in the same sentence i dont agree. cosmetic surgery carries alot of risk.thats a hard one.
i agree that its diet and excersise and it starts at home. getting your child involved in sports, comunity activities,and a healthy life style. today to any parents strive to achieve, its a rat race out there, never to slow down and cook a meal and all to eat together at the dinning room table,instead of a can of this or a frozen that,let alone in front of a tv or their xbox.
the gastro bypass , is should be considered if the persons health is failing from the excess weight, or they have a disorder.
the 18 or 22 does not make any sense!
god bless
Comment by kerry silicone2000 — July 3, 2008 @ 5:49 am
a) doesnt anyone realize or ‘admit’ that after gastric surgery you have to eat the way youshouldve been eating all along!!?? a few small meals throughout the day to keep everything ‘even’ and healthy. Not fast food for lunch and frozen, telephone or restaurant food for dinner? And who wants to talk about snacks? And many gain it back as their will power drains….
b) kids with plastic surgery should only exist from accidents, physical deformitites from birth and MAYBE certain odd looks in nose or ear size shape etc.. But boobs? botox!!?? How sexual we have made our children.. I know theyre developing earlier and seeing way too much everywhere, but we arent updating our parent/child relationships and talks to address parts and their proper usage.
c) 4 yrs makes a difference in implant choice? is that because the hidden meaning is maybe you’ll know how bad they are when you get a little older/informed?
Comment by Dennis — July 3, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
A woman on my forum just posted about a class that was being offered in her church. It was to reinforce self esteem in young girls. The kids were cutting out pictures of models in magazines and they were being told that all those photo’s were airbrushed and these models really don’t look like that. Their bodies have been altered through surgery in most cases and that this is just not what the average woman looks like.
I thought this is a good start and what our kids need and should be something that is regularly taught in all schools. I’m almost ashamed to tell you how old I was when I found out that all these pictures of models are air brushed!
When young woman or adults looks at these pictures, they often want to look just like that person and in turn have cosmetic surgery in hopes of achieving it.
I’ve also seen some celebrities that have had too much PS and look like freaks. Some of these people just go overboard with all of this!
Comment by bethtaylor — July 4, 2008 @ 10:55 am