David Beckham Defends Kissing Daughter Harper On The Lips After Facing Backlash Over Instagram Photo

Football legend David Beckham faced criticism after posting a photo of himself kissing his daughter Harper on the lips. The father and daughter moment that was shared on the superstar’s Instagram account quickly sparked debate about boundaries in parenting.

Earlier this week, the 42-year-old former professional footballer finally broke his silence and shared his opinion about the criticism being thrown at him after posting a photo of himself kissing his 5-year-old daughter on the lips.

In a Facebook Live interview, David defended his action, pointing out that kissing his daughter is something that he and wife Victoria usually do. The former Manchester United football player also reiterated that he and his wife are “very affectionate” with their kids, adding that he was also brought up like that by his parents.

Beckham also revealed that he kisses all his kids on the lips except for Brooklyn, who turned 18 in March.

“I got actually criticized for kissing my daughter on the lips the other day. I kiss all my kids on the lips. Brooklyn, maybe not. Brooklyn’s 18, he might find that a little bit strange.”

It can be recalled that David took to Instagram last month and shared a sweet father and daughter moment. In the photo, Beckham can be seen kissing Harper on the lips and captioned it with “Kiss for Daddy.”

While many find the photo adorable, some were not pleased by the gesture and left some hateful remarks on the post. Some even called David’s kiss “wrong,” weird,” and “inappropriate.”

This is not the first time that the Beckhams faced criticism for showing affection to their children. Last year, the former Spice Girls member experienced the same backlash after posting a photo of herself kissing Harper on the lips while spending time together by the pool.

Similarly, Victoria’s Instagram post also sparked a huge parenting debate, particularly when it comes to kissing children on the lips.

Dr. Charlotte Reznick, a child and educational psychologist at California Univesity, previously insisted that parents should not kiss their child on the lips as it could be “confusing.”

“If you start kissing your kids on the lips, when do you stop? It gets very confusing.”

However, child psychologist Dr. Fiona Martin opposed her claims, saying, “It’s beautiful. Anything that promotes emotional connectivity is good. It’s certainly not inappropriate to kiss your child.”

Meanwhile, David also shared some interesting details about his four children — Brooklyn, 18, Romeo, 14, Cruz, 12, and Harper, 5. During the same interview, Beckham proudly talked about his children’s talents.

The proud father revealed that Romeo has been quite interested in tennis while Cruz is keen on singing. On the other hand, his youngest child, Harper, seems to be the only one who will most likely follow his footsteps.

Apparently, David’s only daughter came up to him and blurted out that she wants to become a football player.

“Daddy I would like to maybe play football. I was like, Oh my goodness that’s amazing.”

Meanwhile, Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn, recently debuted his photography book titled What I See. The aspiring photographer held his book’s launch and private viewing in London’s Christie’s on Tuesday.

The entire Beckham family was present during the event, showing their full support to Brooklyn. Also in attendance were Brooklyn’s proud grandparents, Anthony and Jackie Adams as well as Sandra Georgina West.

Watch David Beckham defends kissing his daughter Harper on the lips in the video below.

https://www.facebook.com/Beckham/videos/10154507514356571/

[Featured Image by Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images]