The decision to have Cosmetic Surgery is a personal one. However, it also has an effect on friends and family members. Children can be the most impacted, especially if they are present throughout your post-surgical recovery period. While the immediate swelling and bruising is usually gone within the first week or so, it can take a month or two for more intensive healing to take place.

Unless a child is too young to know the difference, we feel it is important that parents are honest with their children about the Cosmetic Surgery procedures they are having, as well as what the recovery period will be like. If your children are going to be around immediately after your surgery, you will want to prepare them for the ways that you will look and feel differently, until your body has healed.

Here are common questions or topics you can expect to discuss with your children, depending on their ages.

Ages 3 – 10.

Question: Are you sick or hurting?

If children catch wind you are having surgery, going to a doctor, etc., they will worry that you are sick or something is wrong. You know the expression, “little pitchers have big ears?” Just because you haven’t spoken about the procedure to them, doesn’t mean they haven’t caught hints of it via your conversations with others. Make sure they know that there is nothing wrong with you, you are not sick, and that you aren’t in pain, but rather you are going to the doctor to help you feel even better than you already do!

Question: Will you look different?

If your children will be around immediately after the procedure, you will want to prepare them for how you will look and feel differently. If you are having a Facelift, you will want to let them know what your face will look like for a little while after the procedure, (i.e. some bruising, swelling, and visible incisions). Depending on the child’s sensitivity, you can show them pictures. If they aren’t prepared, the results can be a bit alarming for young children.

Question: Why are you having surgery?

This can be one of the toughest questions to answer because you want to be as honest as possible, without setting them up to believe that Cosmetic Surgery is a requirement for physical and emotional well-being. Be honest and explain that as mommy/daddy has gotten older, there are some things you want to repair to make your body look the way it used to. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their youthful, vibrant, and beautiful beings.

Children ages 10 – 16

Children who are 10 and older usually have a pretty good idea about what Cosmetic Surgery is and they may even have a general idea of what it entails. Cosmetic Surgery is everywhere in the media and public spotlight, which makes it easy for children to see information on T.V. and in magazines. Plus, they can also look up information online via a simple Google search; therefore, you have the ability to go into more detail about what you are doing and why.

Question: What procedures are you having done and what happens during surgery?

There is a good chance your older children will want a more detailed answer regarding what procedures you are having, as well as what is done during the procedures. We have plenty of information on our site regarding each of the different types of Cosmetic Surgery procedures, as well as what can be expected before, during, and after.

Question: Why are you getting Cosmetic Surgery?

At the adolescent and teenage stage, reactions may be varied among your children. Some might cheer you on readily, and look forward for the results with you. Others might be scared, or may feel more vulnerable about their own insecurities during this tender time in physical development. Your child may even request that s/he be allowed to have Cosmetic Surgery as well.

Make sure you express the importance of growing fully into one’s own body before making the decision to change or alter things. You have waited a long time to decide whether or not Cosmetic Surgery was right for you, and it is in their best interest to become adults, and live life a little, before they make the same kind of permanent decision for their own bodies.

One thing is certain, your children can rest assured that you are in safe hands when you choose Dr. Oleh Slupchynskyj as your New York Plastic Surgeon. In addition to glowing credentials and referrals, he is dedicated to patient care and safety. He is one of the best Plastic Surgeons in the field, and has even developed his own, innovative SLUPlift™mini facelift procedure, as well as specialized Rhinoplasty Techniques.