Opinion Brief

Binkygate: Is 4-year-old Suri Cruise too old for pacifiers?

The blogosphere is aflame over a photo of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter sucking on a babyish pacifier — a supposed orthodontic threat

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have taken heat for letting their daughter Suri indulge in grown-up accessories such as lipstick and kitten-heeled shoes, but now fashion police are condemning Suri's latest accessory — a pacifier — as too immature. A photographer recently snapped a shot of little Suri, a month shy of turning 5, walking in Vancouver with a binky plugging her mouth. Ninety-seven percent of US Weekly readers responding to a poll said Suri is too old for pacifiers. Is it time for her movie star parents to take it away?

Yes, 5 is too old for pacifiers: Suri Cruise isn't a baby any more, says E! Online. It's "a bit odd" for her parents to let her parade around town with a paci. That said, the stuffed bear that the budding style icon was carrying when the paparazzi snapped her picture "was a nice little touch and effectively complemented her peacoat."
"Is Suri Cruise, almost 5, too old for a pacifier?"

Let her keep it until college if she wants: The "pacifier police" should give Binkygate a rest, says Julie Ryan Evans at The Stir. "My son was 4 before he gave his" up, and he's a perfectly healthy 7-year-old. Pacifiers are a "constant source of comfort" for little kids. Suri should surrender her binky only when she's ready.
"Suri Cruise has a pacifier at 5 and my daughter might too"

Suri has bigger worries: Paci abuse use may result in crooked teeth, says Mike Baron at The Post Chronicle, but that's "the least of Suri's problems." Due to her parents' fame, she lives under a glaring "media spotlight with cameramen taking photographs of her every step." That is "much more likely to be harmful to her development than a little binky binge here and there."
"Suri Cruise pacifier least of problems"

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