My Beautiful Mommy: A children's book. About plastic surgery.

Written by plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer, “My Beautiful Mommy” isn’t a children’s book dedicated to a child’s relationship to their mother. It’s actually a book about plastic surgery, to help parents explain cosmetic procedures to their kids. The book is aimed at kids 4-7 years old, featuring 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 her tummy tuck to her daughter: “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.” Later, the mother comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with bandages on her nose and waist. The text doesn’t get into the breast augmentation, however the illustrations show the mother’s breasts to be fuller and higher. “I tried to skirt that issue in the text itself,” says Salzhauer. “The tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can’t fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old.” I think the whole thing is a stretch. I understand that plastic surgery is a hard thing to explain to a young child, especially since it sometimes is not just one big dramatic change – there are bruising, bandaging and other things that come along with the process that may be difficult for children to understand. However, I do think this book could cause some damage. The book might be teaching children that plastic surgery is an easy solution to aging and will make you “feel better.” It’s doubtful that the book contains any information about taking care of yourself, eating right, exercising and having good self-esteem – which are more valuable things parents should be explaining to their children. Luckily, the book is self-published and isn’t likely to be widely distributed.

About The Author

Patricia Colli, Editor of Beutiful Magazine, is a human rights activist, equality advocate, and promoter of health, acceptance and wellbeing. Having experienced disordered eating, unhealthy exercise patterns and poor body image, she is especially passionate about shedding light on eating disorders and the power of body acceptance.