My Beautiful Mommy – Kids’ Book on Plastic Surgery
Posted by Rachel on April 16, 2008
“My Beautiful Mommy” is a book to explain plastic surgery to kids. And by “kids,” I mean it’s targeted at 4-7 year olds, because some plastic surgeon was worried that the little ones wouldn’t understand that mommy wasn’t really “hurt or sick” when she came home from the hospital with bandages and bruises after her boob job or tummy tuck.
Look, do whatever you want, but I have a problem with a plastic surgeon working to normalize these procedures for little kids and including a message of always striving to be “prettier” for girls who haven’t even hit puberty yet. As Newsweek indicates, the book:
“…features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is getting a smaller tummy: ‘You see, 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.’
Mom comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and around her waist.. The book doesn’t explain exactly why the mother is redoing her nose post-pregnancy. Nonetheless, Mom reassures her little girl that the new nose won’t just look ‘different, my dear—prettier!’”
Argh. I’m not linking to the publisher for the book, but BoingBoing has an image of the cover. Apparently cosmetic surgery causes you to be surrounded by fairy dust and butterflies, and your kid will throw open her arms because she finally loves the new, not ugly you.
naomidagenbloom said
geez, rachel, it must be debilitating to be a medical librarian and have all this stuff coming in. when there’s so much kids really do need to know about that does not get attention…truly discouraging.
but i did enjoy the yiddish lesson link…fun. -naomi
Rachel said
Naomi, if this ever turns up in our consumer health collection, I may just completely lose it.
Jen said
This almost seems like it has to be a joke. I mean, “My Beautiful Mommy”? Who came up with this crap? Augh.
Rachel said
Jen, I don’t think it’s a joke, but there is a suggestion over here that it’s simply a vanity press thing. So, while the plastic surgeon who authored it might be more than a little offensive, at least it’s not some giant publishing house behind this.
Hilary said
Ha ha ha! I mentioned this on my blog, too. I think it should be subtitled: “You made mommy ugly, but the nice doctor fixed her!”
Susan said
Other popular titles:
“Heather has two mommies and one of them is a damn train wreck, but she’s a hemophiliac so no elective surgery for her: a tragedy.”
“Mommy’s great big, 3-year-long liposuction adventure!” and sequel, “Mommy has the thinnest thighs in heaven.”
“A is for Abdominoplasty: the alphabetics of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in an attempt to look semi-acceptable.”
“Don’t be scared of daddy’s new hair.”
Rachel said
“Don’t be scared of daddy’s new hair.” – LOL. My keyboard and monitor are lucky I had just swallowed my water before reading that line.
Greg said
Too Funny – “Don’t be scared of Daddy’s new hair”. I’ll be laughing at that until I go to bed!!!! I’ve only read the newsweek excerpts from this new childrens book and in the words of John McEnroe – “you cannot be serious”. This book is appears to be laugh riot from the start and I thought was aimed at adults snickering at the Joan Rivers, Priscilla Presleys of the world. Can’t be for real.
taneya said
saw this on Best Week Ever today and thought about you. come here and of course you’ve blogged about it already!
Charise said
This is a horrific idea for a book. Adolescent girls already worry about the way they look during puberty, why are they trying to lower that age to 4 year olds? If a woman wants to explain her plastic surgery to her children, then that’s her business, but there is no need for a book about it. Appearance is the last thing on a child’s mind, and they are not going to love their mother more because her stomach got flatter. Why not write a book about something more educational or a book exposing kids to different types of families such as having two mothers/fathers or each parent coming from a different culture. Kids are going to notice that rather than “Susy’s mommy has bigger boobs than before!”