Victoria Beckham was recently pictured with her three year old daughter Harper, who was sucking on a dummy. Apparently this is past the recommended cut-off point, so the 40 year old has come under heavy criticism.
Most people agree that prolonged use of the dummy can damage the teeth, by pushing them forwards and getting them misaligned,’ a pregnancy expert told the Mail. ‘It can also affect speech development, because so many mothers stick a dummy in their toddler’s mouth just to shut the toddler up. The toddler just sits there sucking away on its dummy and doesn’t talk or do anything. If a mother allows her toddler to have a dummy in her mouth for large parts of the day, she will definitely stunt her speech development.'
Of course, we don't know how long Harper sucks the dummy for and, without wishing to bring personal experiences into it, I carried around a bit of plastic sheeting until I was four. God knows what that did, but I seem to be OK now.
We think Victoria is doing a great job - juggling her work, her marriage to David and looking after her kids is a tall order. 'It’s a huge juggling act, when you are a working mother and looking after your family,' she said in a recent interview. ‘Millions and millions of women around the world are doing this every day, but it’s not easy and, yes, you feel guilty every time you walk out of the door to go to work.’
Let's maybe leave her alone for letting her toddler have her dummy. After all, it'd hardly going to cause the world to explode is it?