Should Harper Beckham be using a dummy at the age of four?

Harper Beckham is causing controversy with her use of a dummy.

The four-year-old daughter of fashion designer Victoria and former footballer David, was out for a walk in West Hollywood when she was photographed with said soother in her mouth.

The tabloids and tweeters are not happy about it, but not everyone agrees.

"I loved it. I was so upset when I had to give it up," Sarah Clarkin (25) from Knocklyon, Dublin tells The Irish Times, recalling her much-loved soother.

Clarkin’s granny was on Team Sarah too. “She said: ‘Leave her. She’s not going to be walking down the aisle with a soother in her mouth.’”

Clarkin, who was forced to give up her dodie habit at the age of seven, still mourns its passing and thinks people should get off Harper’s case.

“She’s not even going to have those teeth when she’s a grown-up. I didn’t have braces. Leave her alone!”

Dr Abigail Moore is a paediatric dentist who works in Dublin.

“The advice I would give is that soothers have been shown to reduce cot death up to the age of one, so that is why people are so keen on using them and why we would not advise against them at that age.

“After the age of one, a soother is not known to have any protective effect and the growth of the palate and the position of the teeth can be affected.”

Sucking a soother can alter the alignment of the teeth, Dr Moore says.

“It has been shown that if you continue to suck a soother after two, it can affect the palate and the position of the teeth.”

What does she think about Harper’s habit?

“At the age of four, I would be strongly discouraging them. It’s not bad parenting and the damage can be reversible, but after two it is more difficult. Mind you, poor old Victoria Beckham.”

Speech

Using a soother for too long may also harm speech. According to the Supernanny website "a child with a dummy constantly in its mouth will be unable to communicate or explore effectively". The dodie debate rages on. Harper should be commended for starting a conversation.

Natalie Mahon is in Dublin with her two-year-old daughter Aoibhe.

She is pleased to report that Aoibhe gave up her dodie at Christmas when she left it out for Santa.

“No dodie, no toys” was the warning, and it did the job. Aoibhe hasn’t looked back, says her mam.

Next Christmas Santa is looking forward to taking receipt of Aoibhe’s bottle.

Mahon thinks that “four is too old” to have a soother, but thinks the Beckhams can probably afford any prospective dental interventions.

“Sure if I could afford it, I wouldn’t be taking their comforts off them, either.”

CJ O’Keeffe is six months old and doesn’t have any opinion on Harper. He won’t suck a soother himself, though, although his mother Cathy wouldn’t mind if he did. It might be the fact that he is breastfed, she muses.

“I wouldn’t be anti them,” she says. “CJ just isn’t interested.”

Sylwia Wrobel, is Polish, but lives in Dublin. Neither four-year-old Maja nor 18-month-old Amelia took to dummies. She fed both of them herself, so she thinks that may be why.

“I would not use them for my kids, but we are all different and every single one of us wants what’s best for our kids,” says Wrobel, who also refuses to judge Harper or her parents.

In Boots in the Ilac Centre there is a display of attractive-looking soothers with cartoon images and orthodontic teats. Shop assistant Mags sells lots of them. “Some people say: ‘My baby just needs it.’”

Maybe Harper just needs it.