O-mama - Opinionated Moms

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UPDATE 5/19 Indeed, it was a hoax.  "Botox mom" made the story up for money.  Her real name is Sheena Upton and The Sun paid her to lie.  Then, she claims that "Good Morning America" and "Inside Edition" paid her too. UCLA Medical Center confirms that Upton's daughter has never received Botox and the child was returned to her mother's care.  

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We have to start this by saying that there are rumors that this whole story may be a hoax.  That being said, if the mainstream media bought it all…and it’s not true, shame shame.  However, the lesson to us all remains the same, so we are posting it because it’s thought provoking and it’s not like the story is so ‘improbable’ that we would dismiss it right away, which is kind of scary.   We will keep you MAMAs in the loop as we find out more “verified” details.

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Botox - everybody's doing it, right?!  Even 8 year olds???  The media has been all atwitter about young Britney Campbell, 8-year-old pageant contestant and Botox recipient, who has supposedly been removed from her mother’s custody because of Botox injections.  The two appeared on Good Morning America, where MAMA Campbell defended giving Botox injections to her 8 –year-old daughter, saying that lots of the pageant contestants do all kinds of beauty treatments from Botox to waxing.  Britney’s mom, Kerry, said that her daughter didn’t exactly ask for the Botox directly but did say, ”we talked about it…she was complaining about her face having wrinkles and things like that.” A representative from San Francisco’s Human Services Agency said,” it’s pretty unusual for a mom to be injecting an 8-year-old with Botox.  Certainly, it’s grounds for an investigation.”

MOMism: ”The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.”  Botox and waxing have not done any real physical harm to this 8 year-old girl (unless you think waxing hurts and injecting botulinium toxin into your face might sting a little), but the psychological and emotional damage has been done.  How will she ever feel that she is good enough, just the way her MAMA made her? What will “beauty” look like or feel like to her 10 years from now?  50 years from now?  How can this little girl expect to EVER look younger and more flawless than she does at 8 - when even THEN she wasn’t good enough? Maybe some classes and therapy are in order for her MAMA, because there is something flawed about HER, not her daughter.  She needs to understand that injecting her 8 year old with Botox is inappropriate - not just because an 8 year old's skin does not have any wrinkles, but because she clearly doesn’t know that it’s not about the Botox.  It's about her.

Typically, we refrain from judging other MAMAs, but in this case, we think the situation is kind of ugly.  Not simply because this child is being paraded around to be judged at such a tender age (or used as a TV prop), but that this particular MAMA doesn't see that she is unhappy with her own image...and that she is projecting her insecurity and inadequate self-image onto her little girl.  At 8 years old, there are so many beautiful things about a child...they have a wide-eyed curiosity and a fun-loving spirit....there is a pure innocence and awkwardness about grown up things.  They "play" grown up.  They don't have actual grown up experiences, or they shouldn't. They shouldn't act or look like actual grown-ups-with padded bikini tops and Botox!

It's beautiful to watch children grow and mature naturally...at their own pace.  And, the most important thing a child needs from their mother is unconditional love.  Our kids need to feel like they can figure out who they are, feel comfortable with who they are and love who they are with the guidance and wisdom of their mother, not judgment.  Little girls need to feel like, in their mother's eyes, they are the most beautiful girl in the world - inside and out.  Loved completely, not conditionally.  Because when the outer beauty fades...and it will...then what?  When a child learns to define herself that way, what happens when Botox doesn't make her feel beautiful anymore?  The truly beautiful parts of ourselves should be deep and grow in beauty with each passing day.

We need to fill our children's hearts with love for the things that matter most.  That would be a beautiful thing!  So MAMAs, we may not inject our girls with Botox, but we also need to be careful about projecting our self-doubts onto our kids.  It just screws them up and requires years of therapy!  What are your opinions, MAMAs?  Should this mother (real or fictitious) lose custody of her child over this or not?  For her daughter, is being away from her mom more damaging than a bruised face and self- image?