As Harper Beckham uses a pacifier aged four, Jenny Album reveals the solution

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Jenny Album from London says she can sympathise with the Beckhams
Her daughter Bea would wail all day if she was denied her pacifier
Here Jenny, 42, reveals the simple solution to getting rid of them for good

Published: 03:08 EST, 11 August 2015 | Updated: 06:16 EST, 11 August 2015

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When Harper Beckham was pictured using a dummy aged four this week, the experts were quick to respond - warning it could lead to damaged teeth and speech issues later in life.

Father David Beckham hit back at critics on Instagram, defending his right to to pacify his daughter with a dummy.

He wrote: '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 criticise think twice about what you say about other people’s children because actually you have no right to criticise me as a parent...'

The Beckham's have faced criticism for allowing their youngest, Harper to have a dummy - but Jenny Album experienced the same problem with her daughter Bea (pictured)

One mother told FEMAIL how she sympathised with the Beckhams after her daughter Bea experienced the same attachment. Here she reveals how she overcame it once and for all...

When I first saw the pictures of Harper Beckham my heart sank. Victoria was clearly facing the same problem that I'd experienced with my own daughter.

Jenny (pictured) says that the book helped her daughter ditch the habit immediately

People have said that 'dummy dependency' can be the first addiction a person goes through in their life. It may sound silly but I have no problem believing this.

My child had used a dummy almost since birth. It was something that became a part of her life 24-7, day and night.

By age three she just could not be parted from the thing. If for some reason she got separated from her dummy during the day she would bawl continuously as though her heart was breaking.

She was inconsolable and would keep this up for hours, until the moment a dummy was found. Any deliberate attempt to separate her from her dummy felt cruel. Attempting to get her to sleep at nighttime without it was just not a possibility.

Outsiders would laugh when I tried to explain the issue. A friend once said to me 'Why don't you just take the dummies away from her – done.' I found it hard to explain to her why this was just not an option.

As she grew older I started to feel self-conscious. I wondered if other mothers were judging me for letting her use a dummy into toddlerhood. I'd also heard that, according to dentists, irreparable damage to the teeth and jaw starts to kick in when a child hits age three.

I felt the pressure ramping up. I needed to stop this, and soon, but I had no idea how.

When I asked other mums for a solution, some told me to leave the dummies for the 'dummy fairy' to collect, letting the 'fairy' exchange them for a gift.

But my child's dependency was such that I didn't see how this could work. It felt too immediate, too brutal, for her anyway.

I looked for a book to help with the problem, to ease her into the idea, and help her 'buy into' the process, but couldn't find anything suitable.

At age four experts worry that Harper could end up with dental and speech issues if she doesn't ditch her dummy soon

Jenny says that Bea suffered from dummy dependency until she was three (she is now six) and she could find no way to part them without her daughter wailing

Everything you need to know about infants and Pacifiers

It was then I decided to write my own children's dummy fairy story to help my daughter, with some mocked up pictures.

I read it to her, and – would you believe – it worked. She stopped. Overnight. No tears. Nothing. I was gobsmacked.

I realised I had hit upon something with this book solution and so I had Bea Gives Up Her Dummy published to enable mums like me to benefit from it.

It follows the story of a child who doesn't want to give up her dummy. Her mother then persuades her to collect up her dummies and leave them in an envelope outside her door that night for 'the dummy fairy' to collect - in exchange for a gift.

The next day she finds all her dummies gone, but an exciting gift lies in their place.

Believe me I'm not one of the mums judging Victoria, for I've been there. And we're not in the minority.

Go into any playground or shopping centre and you will see a million oversized kids using dummies.

Mothers all over the UK are buying my book, as are mums all over the States which proves how prevalent the issue is.

Feedback from those who have used the book shows how grateful they have been for a solution. I wish Victoria, and all the other mothers out there facing this particular hurdle of parenthood, the best of luck.

Bea Gives Up Her Dummy is available to buy from Amazon for £6.99

Bea Gives Up Her Dummy follows the story of a child who doesn't want to give up her dummy. Her mother then persuades her to collect up her dummies and leave them in an envelope outside her door that night for 'the dummy fairy' to collect - in exchange for a gift