Aesthetic Beauty | 14 Year Old Gets Plastic Surgery To End Bullying

[The Ed.]

It doesn't matter how old you are, we can all remember how cruel kids can be. It's a fact of life that school corridors can be a dangerous and frightening place for some children. You can be too clever, too heavy, too ginger, too butch, too skinny, too tall, too short, or, like 14-year-old Nadia Ilse you can have "too-big ears." Her words, not mine.

As adults, we know it's all nonsense. We know that it doesn't matter if your ears stick out but we also know that the smallest things can feel like the biggest worries in the world when you're a teenager struggling your way through puberty. So, when Little Baby Face Foundation offered Nadia a permanent and drastic end to the teasing, she accepted in a heartbeat.

Little Baby Face Foundation is an organisation that aims to help children born with 'facial deformities' but supplying them with free plastic surgery. On the basis of her problem, they offered to pin back Nadia's ears but they also (and this is where the whole thing becomes very uncomfortable) offered additional procedures on her chin and nose. Troubling, no?

There's no doubt that the results are, well, lovely and of course, the teen was very excited. "I look beautiful," she said. "This is exactly what I wanted; I love it." But she also looked beautiful beforehand, and let's not forget, we're not supposed to look our best at fourteen are we?

Teenage-dom is probably our most awkward, gangly and funny looking phase. Yes her ears stick out a little but, but my teeth were enormous and had a massive gap in the front (that was before Vanessa Paradis made it cool). I hated them and was picked on because of it, but lo and behold, I subsequently grew into my teeth. Who's to say that Nadia was simply on a journey to maturing into a beautiful young woman naturally?

It doesn't end with the surgery either. Nadia will now participate in counselling to address the emotional scars left by the surgery which will, no doubt, last longer than the physical scars.

I have a few questions: do ears that stick out count as a facial deformity? Little Baby Face Foundation also fixes cleft palates and facial palsy. Can we really put Nadia's issues in the same category? Is it too soon for surgery or frankly, is she too young?

Perhaps the most pressing question is this: has she done it for the wrong reason?

Until then...geek on!

The Ed.

Image courtesy of CNN

 

[nicole333]

Hmm, that's a thought provoking read.

I think it depends on the individual and how the so called deformity affects them. You can't stop bullies from choosing anything to use to make your life hell.

One of the saddest things to read in the media is when a child feels so isolated that they end their lives, often as a result of bullying.

Maybe more could be done to raise self-esteem, and enable skills to learn to accept these things. But when you are that age, sadly, how you look and how people accept you can leave you vulnerable to biting off the hand to someone who offers a solution.

The jury is out. But I do believe that these kids would receive some kind of input from Psychologists before being able to undergo any procedure?
I also imagine that Gillick competence would play a part.

 

[user 52471]

She was getting bullied because her ears stuck out so they offered to pin her ears back, and procedures on her nose and chin? What!? I can understand if she wanted to have her ears done, being a teenager is hard, but isn't free plastic surgery superficial? Shouldn't we be trying to raise self esteem by teaching children that everyone is different, nobody is perfect and help them accept who they are the way they are? Kids will always find something to mock so helping them accept themselves would be more beneficial I think

 

[SunshineGirl]

In my humble opinion the problem that needed fixing wasn't with Nadia's ears, it was with the children who were doing the bullying!

Childhood can be tough - but then so can the Adult world too. We need to teach self esteem and self worth to our children. If Nadia had more support then she wouldn't have been a target - and if the bullies had more education they wouldn't have needed to pick on someone.

I accept there were some good intentions here and also that I dont know the full story. I'm just worried that this might end up with a teenager who will be looking for a quick fix and/or someone to rescue her every time she hits a problem - and a bunch of bullies who will be moving on to their next target unaware of the consequences of their behaviour.

Sad
Sunny

 

[Rinn]

crazy ..what country was this i wonder

 

[Pinkbunny28]

And you're telling me, now it's been all over the news, that she won't get picked on for having a 'fake nose' etc?

Utterly ridiculous.

Bullies need to be taught a lesson the old fashioned way - bring back the cane x

 

[laurakate]

I do beauty because I believe in making the best out of what is already there (rather than drastically changing it). I'm not against surgery but I'm definately not for it either!

Whether or not I'm pro or anti surgery is besides the point though. The fact is that kids can be cruel and will find anything to pick on. Providing a 14 year old with surgery validates the rubbish that the bullies were putting in her haed and in that respect, I think that mentally, more long term damage will be done.

The most empowering thing to give a 14 year old is a pep talk telling them to rise above silly comments made by idiots. In this respect, surgery is not empowering because it panders to an insecurity rather than helping the person rationalise it.

 

[RebeccaQ]

As mentioned previously, this was thought provoking. I agree, that if a child is being bullied for having ears that stick out and there is a procedure to help then have the procedure...as for the chin etc...if there's nothing wrong then these are procedures to be decided once she becomes an adult. Surgery should not be the easy option, especially as she looked fine before.

As for self esteem...that won't count for anything once the bullies start.

My daughter has a haemangioma on her nose and will be having a nose job in 6 months time. We saw the plastic surgeon last Thursday. Lizzie is 3 today and to me she is perfect, up until recently she hadn't noticed the stares, didn't understand when people ask me what I've done to her; have I pinched her nose etc. At 4 weeks old I was asked if she'd fallen over. Christmas is hell because of Rudolph!! At playgroup, children go up and pinch her nose and ask what it is...it will only get worse. I can't explain how bad it is...every day there is something...a stare or a comment and yet she's gorgeous, bubbly and very confident. Surgery for Lizzie is not an easy option and I am dreading it, but it has to be done and before she starts school. If she wants anything cosmetic done when she's older then she can decide once she's over 18 and can afford to pay for it herself :lol: xx

 

[JuZz'<3]

Really?! So when children in the play ground call another child's 'mum' will they be offering the mother surgery to sort her out so the children will no longer bully her child? As if!
How many stories have we read over the years, about girls having **** jobs at 14yrs old because they don't like their 'body'... Like they even have much of a body at that age?
This whole thing will just spiral out of control, you'll get girls claiming their bullied just to get a quick bit of surgery...

I was bullied as a child, I didn't run to plastic surgery or try and change myself because I had a secure family up bringing with 2 loving parents that would tell me what these bullies said is not true, and it worked!

Instead of handing out surgery to kids, give their patents a handbook on parenting and get them to support their children. My mum would of knocked me into next week if I ever told her I wanted surgery because of something a kid said in the play ground!

If your child doesn't like they way they look, try and fix it, beauty treatments can change people's images alot! Maybe a hair cut/style to help her hide her ears?
I had a friend that didn't like her ears, so she always wore rather thick head bands, this made her feel good, so good that she now shows off her ears, because she has grown into them.

 

[RebeccaQ]

Unfortunately I can't do that with Lizzies nose!! She has overactive blood vessels that can bleed extensively when grazed...we've been lucky so far and she's definitely not wrapped up in cotton wool.

I too was bullied at school, but not for anything that could be put right cosmetically...just horrid kids. Even to the point of being stabbed with the points of compasses, my parents were great, but I am not a confident adult.

I am a level headed parent and Lizzie has the love and support of a wonderful family too. Surgery has been offered and I have accepted it, her nose may not look perfect when it's done but children are horrible and not all parents correct these children and there are a lot of vile adults too. I think you have to look at each case individually. Ears have been being pinned back for a lot of years, this is not a new thing...and surgery on children is never a decision that's taken lightly. But the cosmetic surgery aspect...that's a different thing altogether x

 

[JuZz'<3]

Unfortunately I can't do that with Lizzies nose!! She has overactive blood vessels that can bleed extensively when grazed...we've been lucky so far and she's definitely not wrapped up in cotton wool.

I too was bullied at school, but not for anything that could be put right cosmetically...just horrid kids. Even to the point of being stabbed with the points of compasses, my parents were great, but I am not a confident adult.

I am a level headed parent and Lizzie has the love and support of a wonderful family too. Surgery has been offered and I have accepted it, her nose may not look perfect when it's done but children are horrible and not all parents correct these children and there are a lot of vile adults too. I think you have to look at each case individually. Ears have been being pinned back for a lot of years, this is not a new thing...and surgery on children is never a decision that's taken lightly. But the cosmetic surgery aspect...that's a different thing altogether x

After reading your 2 posts, I agree in the reason you are allowing your daughter to have surgery, I think there is an exception in many cases where yes children should be offered surgery at a young age so things are put right before their adults. But in this case with pinning ears back I do not agree cause if she would of been given time, as she grew into a adult, she may of grew into the areas. And my point is, so many children are going to be bullied for various thins. So we will have children having bum implants, breast enlargements, hmm x

 

[laurakate]

I too was bullied at school, but not for anything that could be put right cosmetically...just horrid kids. Even to the point of being stabbed with the points of compasses, my parents were great, but I am not a confident adult.

*hugs!*

getting bullied at school can stay with a person for a long time.

kids can be so cruel!

 

[RebeccaQ]

*hugs!*

getting bullied at school can stay with a person for a long time.

kids can be so cruel!

Thank you, it does stay with you. You do your best for your children, but once at school you can't protect them any more as I and many others had to learn the hard way xx

 

[alyon]

And you're telling me, now it's been all over the news, that she won't get picked on for having a 'fake nose' etc?

Utterly ridiculous.

Bullies need to be taught a lesson the old fashioned way - bring back the cane x

My thoughts exactly, kids can be cruel and it does not require a facial deformity for them to be that way. I suspect that she will continue to be bullied now for having had the surgery.

I was bullied in school for having big ****s...the irony now is that a few of the girls responsible for the bullying have now, in their adult life, gone and had breast enlargement surgery themselves! I have known kids to be bullied for any and every reason. A good friend of mine in school was even made fun of because his mother died suddenly and tragically, imagine that!

Actual deformity or medical condition i understand...cleft palette etc...but it was quite possible this girl would have grown into her ears within a couple of years and i definitley did not see anthing wrong with her chin or her nose! This was extreme and unecessary in my opinion.