Teeth, on the other hand, are something that a) people will notice and be distracted by if they’re crooked (unlike boobs. most people who matter do not zone in on boobs right away, no matter what teen girls think) and b) can lead to complications later in life if they are not corrected earlier on. My friend’s mother had crooked teeth as a child, and when she was older had to have her jaw sewn shut for two months–something she could have avoided by just having a few months of braces as a kid. Having straight teeth is a self-esteem boost that will in no way harm a young girl as she grows up and her body changes.

My youngest daughter suffered a pretty gruesome accident recently, and I fully expect her to ask for cosmetic surgery to rework the scars once she’s school-aged. She’ll have my full support if she does; however, if she starts talking boob jobs because she inherits my small bust, I’ll be putting my foot down.

Let’s face it: this issue isn’t going away. There will always be more to say, particularly as chop shops open in malls and people cease to think of it as surgery. And cease to realize that it’s not always reversable, to say the least.

I had a friend who was ashamed of her somewhat large breasts when she was about 14. She asked her mother about breast reduction surgery, and her mother was absolutely appalled and said no. That girl is now rather happy that her mother didn’t acquiesce–she grew a little more, and her breasts now look proportionate to the rest of her.

My experience was the opposite. I was 16, and my breasts were beyond the point of “somewhat large.” My mother was supportive and understanding of my wish to have them reduced. (I wore a size 10 pant but had a G-cup bra).

On my frame, breasts that large were more than an aesthetic problem. They were pulling my shoulders forward and deforming the curvature of my back. I had constant headaches from the pressure of the straps on my shoulders and the pulling on my upper back. I had rashes underneath my breasts and had a hard time finding a comfortable sleeping position.

What I remember more, though, was the emotional agony — never being able to find clothes that fit, receiving the “wrong” kind of attention from boys, having to drop out of basketball and soccer because they just didn’t make sports bras in my size, trying to find a bathing suit and leaving empty-handed, in tears. Getting that reduction didn’t change who I was, or what I thought about myself in general, but it freed me from a very real physical and emotional burden.

As far as plastic surgery goes, I would be against it in a teen if it’s purely for aesthetic reasons. But, if it’s affecting their health, or if they are going through emotional hell, like I was, then I would absolutely be supportive.

Reconstruction to fix scarring or other problems is a different story.

I did know a girl who had her ears pinned back when she was 13, but like gamma I think that can be a good thing. There was no way she would ever grow into her ears, and her classmates called her mean names all the time.

Spring–good luck to your daughter for her laser hair removal. I have facial hair problems too, so I sympathize. Sadly the series of laser treatments I had when I was 18 didn’t solve the problem for me.