Would You Let Your Child Have Plastic Surgery?

Yesterday, I saw this report on Yahoo News about a 7 year old girl who had plastic surgery to fix her ears. I rarely click over to the headline stories that pop up on my Yahoo homepage, but this one caught my attention.  I realize most parents would think plastic surgery is extreme, but as someone who was teased as a little girl for her prominent ears, I could empathize.

Yes, I received my  "Dumbo" ears from my grandfather and while I am o.k. with them now, I recall the days where I would not wear braids or ponytails for fear of being teased.   Truth be told, even now I'm reluctant to wear my hair up.

Although, I understand why this mother felt that "fixing" her daughter's ears would perhaps keep her from being the target of future bullies, I am not sure that this is the route I would take with my daughter--at least not right now.   

Yes, I have a daughter that, like me, has what I like to call "more interesting" ears.  Like the little girl in the story, my daughter is very self-conscious about her ears and has been teased by her peers.   She never wears her hair in ponytails or braids even when she plays sports because she worries she'll be teased.

As her parent, who understands what it feels like to have unusual ears, I try to remind her  that we are all different.  That ears, eyes, noses, etc. come in all different shapes and sizes and is what makes each of us unique in our own way.  I tell her that it is what is inside that counts, that no one is perfect, etc., etc., and most of the time, these conversations work and she seems to feel better.    But sometimes, no matter what you say, it is hard to embrace that which we do not like about ourselves.

If the day came where she were truly depressed about ears and wanted to do something about them, would I consider plastic surgery for her?  Quite honestly if she REALLY wanted it, I just might.