The great dummy debate: Are you team David Beckham or against?
DAVID BECKHAM chastised people who scorned his parenting style yesterday after it was revealed his four-year-old still uses a dummy.
Harper Beckham, Victoria and David's youngest child, is still using a dummy aged four, it's been revealed.
While the world jumped on their high horse and judged her parents for letting her have a dummy for so long, they didn't expect a response.
But it clearly got to former footballer David who snapped back at the paper who reported the 'shocking' news.
He said: "Why do people feel they have the right to criticize a parent about their own children without having any facts ??
"Everybody who has children knows that when they aren't feeling well or have a fever you do what comforts them best and most of the time it's a pacifier so those who criticize think twice about what you say about other people's children because actually you have no right to criticize me as a parent …"
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But the dummy debate isn't a new concept, in fact it's a war between parenting styles that's been around as long as pacifiers themselves.
It was once reported the use of a dummy is shown to reduce the risk of cot death - but there is little evidence to back this claim up.
On Mumsnet, a topic-board site specifically for mothers, a fierce debate has ensured about whether or not to use the soothing items.
One new mum wrote: "I dislike dummies. I hate the way they look, they way they sound, the price of them, and especially the way you see older children walking around talking with them in.
It’s hard to learn to talk with a dummy in your mouth
"But DS (darling son) has one for several reasons - mainly for my sanity. And I'd rather he was sucking a dummy, and then take it away at some stage, than suck his thumb (no offence, thumb suckers!)."
While another parent said: "I actively encouraged my DS (darling son) to take a dummy. Whilst moving around I would stick it in when mouth was open.
"He would pop it out but eventually accepted it."
They added: "It was great because after a bf, I could replace boob with dummy and put him sleeping into his cot. It helped sometimes to calm him at the supermarket or if he was upset out of the house and I didn't want/couldn't bf."
It would seem the world is split into for and against quite firmly, but the NHS advises parents to restrict use of a dummy to when it's time to sleep.
They explained: "It’s hard to learn to talk with a dummy in your mouth."
On their website, the advice reads: Thumb sucking and dummies won't cause permanent problems as long as the habit stops by the time your child gets their second teeth, but it can be a hard habit to break.
Will it harm the child's teeth? The NHS write: No, but they will encourage an open bite, which is when teeth move to make space for the dummy or thumb. They may also affect speech development. That's why you should avoid using dummies after 12 months of age.
