Would you retouch your kid's photos?

Remember the outcry a few years ago when an Aussie photographic company retouched high school students’ photos without parental permission?

Six students at Melbourne’s Our Lady of Sion College were horrified when they received their school photos and discovered they had been touched-up – with some girls’ ears hidden, hairstyles changed and jewellery removed.

A shocked mum told The Age: “My daughter said to me, ‘What was wrong with me mum? Why did they need to do that?’ It’s just sending the wrong message to the girls. Their self-esteem isn’t the best at that age.’’

Pffft. That’s nothing compared to his thriving little business on Etsy.com that specialises in “pageant glitz retouching” for little girls. For the bargain price of $16.89, your toddler can go from “before” to “after” with a service that digitally enhancing their eyes, adds make-up, spray-on tan, smooths skin, puts highlights in their hair and whitens their teeth.

The provider, Mandy Maynard, boasts: “The larger and clearer the picture, the better the result, but I have seen good results even from a cellphone picture. I will work my magic on it to make it pop! Satisfaction guaranteed. Set your photographs apart from others. You deserve to stand out from all the rest.”

Because your toddler needs to wear more make-up in photos, right?

OK, I have to admit I’ve rued enlarging photographs of my kids only to discover their faces are smeared in snot, their most recent meal, chocolate ice-cream… And I was a little put out that no one thought to wipe the strawberry remains off my seven-year-old’s face for her school photo earlier this year (she looked like Strop after he’d cut himself shaving). But adding fake tan and eye-shadow to those sweet, innocent faces seems so wrong to me.

Where do you stand on retouching kids’ photos?