Will the media please lay off David Beckham? The latest snipes are around that fact that he's putting his name to a line of children's clothing for Marks & Spencer and that, coincidentally, Posh is pregnant.

To listen to the rants, you'd think they'd planned it that way. Becks is constantly ridiculed for being a caring, home-based husband who takes an interest in his child and even gets in touch with his feminine side occasionally. (Okay, I admit that whether you think he looks good in a skirt or his wife's knickers is a personal thing.) Whatever about that, shouldn't we be celebrating this man? He's made fatherhood sexy, he obviously enjoys it, he sticks with his wife and appreciates her for who she is. She's happy and he's happy.

So why can't the media deal with it? Maybe we don't like happy endings. Maybe we're just hypocritical - a society that says men should spend more time with their children then criticises men who take joy in family life.

I may not agree with their taste, but I do think that Posh and Becks, by staying together through what must be challenging times even with all their money, are setting a good example for young parents. With all the young Irish men around who inseminate then leave with no regrets, we need good role models for fathers. Men who can behave like men on the pitch, and behave in loving, nurturing ways off it, are the kinds of role models our sons need.