Are Kim Kardashian, the Beckhams Using Their Kids as 'Props' at Fashion Shows?

Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images

Little North West stole the show at yet another New York Fashion Week event on Saturday. Sitting front row on mom Kim Kardashian’s lap, the 20-month-old added to the drama of Alexander Wang’s punky grunge fall collection with a wild meltdown over a stuffed monkey.

Photographer Kevin Tachman’s Shutter Hugger plush caught the toddler’s eye, reports Us Weekly.“[I] ended up shooting the show right across from them,” Tachman tells the magazine. “So of course she wanted the toy.”

STORY: Kim Kardashian’s Daughter Causes a Scene at Fashion Week 

Victoria Beckham’s 3-year-old, Harper, was equally irritated the following day during her mother’s fashion show, where she sported a sour pout (and picked her nose) next to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour in a coveted front-row seat on her dad David Beckham’s lap.

Photo: Rex Images 

Though each of the mini fashion moguls looked the part – North was wearing her own “custom look” from Wang, noted Kardashian on Instagram – their reactions to the adult event showed just how out of place they were.

STORY: In Praise of Kim Kardashian’s Honesty About Baby No. 2 

But Us Weekly Fashion Director and author of Secrets of Stylists, Sasha Charnin Morrison, tells Yahoo Parenting that she doesn’t blame the kids for being cranky. “It’s bad enough as an adult in the front row with everyone looking at you,” she says of the intense environment at shows, which often include blaring music, bright lights, and crowds of people that bring many in the audience to a literal sweat. “To ask a child to be still and focus is a lot to ask.” Even veteran attendees are often on edge, she adds. “Fashion people have no patience for anyone after like two minutes.”

In other words, just because you can dress like an adult (Exhibit A: The bulletproof vest that North modeled for mom on Monday, shown in a controversial Instagram post that Kardashian hashtagged: “DaddysMuse” and “BabyYeezyBulletProofVest”) doesn’t mean you are able to act like one.

Photo: Instagram 

That’s why psychotherapist Amy Morin tells Yahoo Parenting it’s just not appropriate to bring young kids, period. “While some kids may be enthralled by the buzz of activity, others may be bored to tears as they struggle to stay seated or experience anxiety about all the strange things going on around them,” says the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. “It’s important for parents to consider the needs of toddlers and preschoolers. A 3-year-old shouldn’t be expected to sit still for two hours and it’s not age appropriate for a 2-year-old to be expected to remain quiet for an extended period of time.”

Of course, wanting kids to share in a special family moment is understandable. North’s aunt Kendall Jenner walked in Wang’s show, and Harper’s mom had the whole family on hand to support her presentation. “It is a joy to share the moment and celebrate the accomplishment,” concedes Morrison, “when it’s appropriate age-wise and the kids can fully understand.”

A fashion show, after all, is a work function. “Everybody thinks that it’s oh-so-glamorous seeing these new things, and yes it’s fantastic, but the people in the audience are there for their jobs” snapping photos of the clothes and jotting notes about the looks, Morrison says. “They won’t remember the beautiful silhouettes and amazing clothes they saw if a child causes a circus with a jarring tantrum.” The bottom line? “You don’t bring your baby to work.”

Ultimately, there just aren’t any positive aspects to the experience for the child, family therapist Paul Hokemeyer tells Yahoo Parenting. “Children have no concept of fashion, nor should they,” he says. “They just want to play and explore their world. By taking their children to a fashion show mothers are using them as accessories, props to feed their own narcissistic egos. Its insensitive to the needs of the child, the audience and the designer.”

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