Mom Sarah Burge gives 7-year-old daughter Poppy gift certificate for liposuction
(CBS) Some parents are criticized for spoiling their kids with overly expensive Christmas presents. But one mom who spent roughly $10,800 on a single present for her 7-year-old daughter is under fire for a different reason. The hefty price tag came with a voucher for liposuction, the Daily Mail reported.
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Sarah Burge, the UK's self-proclaimed "Human Barbie," is notorious for her plastic surgery fixation. For her daughter's recent birthday, the 51-year-old woman of Cambridgeshire, England, gifted Poppy with a 6,000-pound voucher (roughly $9,252) for breast augmentation. It's no surprise then that for Christmas, Burge stuffed Poppy's stocking with a gift certificate valued at nearly $11,000 for liposuction.
"She asks for surgery all the time. She wants to look good and lipo is one of those procedures that will always come in handy," Burge told the Daily Mail.
Where did young Poppy get the idea for surgery in the first place? The apple may not have fallen too far from the tree. Burge has allegedly spent close to $1 million on her own plastic surgeries, ABC News reports.
"Some people think it's controversial and I get angry when strangers say I'm a bad mother because I don't think there's any harm in giving her this gift," Burge told the Daily Mail. "I see these vouchers as investing in her future - like saving money for her education."
Plastic surgery isn't the only "adult" activity Burge has passed along to her daughter. Burge made headlines in 2010 when she admitted she had taught her then six-year-old daughter to pole dance. For Poppy's seventh birthday, Burge threw her an elaborate party involving not just manicures and pedicures, but also temporary tattoos and fake champagne.
What does Poppy have to say about the lavish presents? "I wanted a new computer, a holiday and a voucher for surgery. When I got it all, it was a dream come true. All my friends were jealous. I can't wait to be like Mummy with big boobs. They're pretty."
Poppy's words spotlight some experts' concerns about young girls' ideas of beauty and sexuality.
"Childhood is a time to learn about the world, explore, pretend, imagine and create in a safe vacuum of innocence," Shari Miles-Cohen, senior director of women's programs for the American Psychological Association, told ABC News in September. "Bypassing those critical life experiences and developmental stages by trying to dress, act and be treated like an adult leaves these children lacking important life skills that help them be confident and successful adults."
Other experts agree, saying Poppy could face problems as an adult from her upbringing.
"Plastic surgery addiction is a reality - and one Burge could feasibly pass on to her own daughter," medical contributor Dr. Manny Alvarez wrote on Fox News. "I don't know if Burge is looking for publicity, but she needs to understand that what she is doing could permanently damage her child. One day, as an adult, she might go online and see exactly what her mother was doing to her at the age of seven and realize that her life and her future were not being protected."
