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ON PARENTING
Remembering The Good Old Days
A decade ago life was simpler for our children. If some girls were not as well endowed at age 17 as others, they just accepted it. Boys with acne hid it behind shaggy bangs and long hair. They just grew out of it or adapted to their bodies. You might call that time the good old days. A report from the USA Today a few months ago said, "According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 160,293 children 18 and under had cosmetic interventions in 2008. The figure was even higher in 2007, tallying 205,119. (Harder economic times is given for the reason in recent decrease in procedures.)
Of course some of these surgeries were corrective, such as cleft palates or disfiguring birthmarks. But children are now having procedures to "correct" a large nose or small breasts. The surgeons say the desire of these kids is to be "normal". Among the many procedures is what's called Asian eye surgery to "westernize" the eyes of Asian children. This procedure has caused controversy, as the Asian decent is not as noticeable when this procedure is done.
In today's society, with numerous techniques to wipe out any flaw in physical appearance, I am sure the pressure to be perfect has intensified in our young population. A parent has to decide where to draw the line, as it is the parent that makes the final decision on this dilemma. It is very important to understand that corrections of physical flaws, as society would call them, does not change the inside of a person. One of the best things we can is accept the way we were born, this statement allowing for real physical deformity, of course.
At home, we are in the prime place to help build our child's good feelings about who they are. I have heard reports recently of how a child can be praised too much. However, words that say, "You are beautiful or handsome", "You are a good person", "You family loves you" gives the child courage to go out into a world that can be very cruel at times.
A child in their early teens, or even beyond finds it hard to believe that looks is not everything. But it's important that we find a way to help these growing, soon-to-be adults realize there is so much more to life than the appearance of the eyes, nose or breasts. With constant bombardments of Victoria's Secret models in mall windows and movies made up of only perfect people, kids will continue to wonder if they are "o.k.".Your responsibility is to assure them they have what it takes to make it in this world! You job is cut out for you, parents, but if you truly love your kids, you , too, have what it takes!
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"At Christmas, all roads lead home."
Marjorie Holmes
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