Some parents are pressuring plastic surgeons to operate on children as young as one, according to a new study.

The University of Melbourne research found about a third of parents requesting plastic surgery on their children did so not because it was in the child’s best interest, but because of their own embarrassment or concern about their child’s appearance.

The most commonly requested surgery was ear pinning, with mole and birthmark removal also popular.

Dr Lauren Notini, Research Fellow in Biomedical Ethics at the Melbourne Law School, urged parents to think more thoroughly about the implications of surgery.

“The important thing to keep in mind is that a lot of children are teased and not all of them are necessarily bothered by that teasing,” she told 3AW Breakfast.

“Although there may be some concern that the child might be teased about how they look in the future, that may never eventuate. Or they may be teased for something else.”

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