I chose Botox for myself instead of paying for my kid's sport

"It's a cost-of-living thing, you see," the Sydney mum tells Kidspot.

Life is expensive right now, even in my household with both my partner and I in secure and well-paying jobs – with the cost of living and interest rates going up, our once quite relaxed spending habits are more restrained.

So, recently when our son asked if he could add another extracurricular sport, one more to add to the already two he plays, I had to tell him no.

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"I needed the money for my Botox"

“Money is tight,” I told him. “Maybe next year.”

And while this was true, there was also a tiny caveat that he isn’t aware of: I needed the money for my Botox.

I have been having Botox on my forehead and for my crow's feet for years now. Usually, my appointments are around every four months, so the cost of this equates to around $100 per month.

Up until the start of the year, this has been pretty easy to accommodate with my wage but now, with everything going up (although ironically not the Botox), this hasn’t been the case of late.

So, when my son asked about the sport and he handed me the information with the cost breakdown, after reading the fee amounts, cost of uniform and membership, it was already around my Botox balance, plus there were additional costs for competitions and other events too.

At first, when I weighed the two options up, I did feel selfish for even considering a beauty treatment over my son but then when I really considered it, well, I changed my mind. Ultimately, I knew something would have to give and I knew exactly what it would be.

When I told my son no, thankfully he was pretty accepting of it. He isn’t one to get too upset about things anyway but when it comes to sport, sometimes he can get invested so I wasn’t sure. In the end, though, he just shrugged and went about his day.

And then, so did I and I did so without a second thought.

Image: iStock

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"I have two other children"

I mean for starters; he already plays two extracurricular sports, and they add up to a sizeable amount between them. He also has other commitments and I have two other children who play sports and instruments too so between them all, my partner and I fork out quite a lot for their pursuits.

Truth be told, I absolutely love how passionate they are about all the things they do and want nothing more than to encourage and support this, especially as they get older but at the same time, I believe in balance.

And balance is the real reason that had me say no to my son and yes to me instead.

I won't lie and say that I don’t spend a decent amount on beauty treatments and products. I have my hair regularly done, I get waxing, my eyebrows and eyelashes are on a very tight schedule, I am good friends with my nail tech, and I am known for my year-long bronzed skin.

In defence, my job in PR does expect a certain standard of appearance and outside of that, so do I.

I love looking good. It makes me feel confident and happy and I feel as if that shows in other areas of my life, including parenting.

Botox, well this is a very important part of my beauty ritual and is definitely not one I could give up without very good reason; adding a third after-school commitment to the already several between my three kids, well the decision made itself in the end.

I know some people won't understand my choice, or the reasoning behind it and will view Botox over kid’s sport as being selfish and vain, but self-care makes such a difference to your well-being and I find as a mum you are often the first who makes sacrifices and often it is self-care where the sacrifices come from.

While next time one of my kids asks to do an additional sport or activity, I do hope that this cost-of-living crisis has eased, and I can say yes. But if the choice comes down to something extra for them, or something less for me, well I have no hesitations in putting my best face forward (and first).

Originally published as I chose Botox for myself instead of paying for my kid's sport