How young is too young to be a parent? How about a 13-year-old boy? Alfie Patten became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman (15) gave birth to a baby girl. The couple decided to not abort, with Patten saying, "I thought it would be good to have a baby."
Both Steadman and Patten are living with their parents and have their full support. Steadman's mom was quoted saying that she loves her daughter and will support her with all her needs. When asked about how they would financially support the baby, Patten said, "I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me 10."
Hmmm…I find this alarming. When I was 13 years old, I was too busy playing video games and watching cartoons to even think about sex. Where were the parents when all of this happened? Also, having unprotected sex at such an early age? Kids should not be having kids. He should be thinking about school and playing video games at his age and not worrying about how he is going to support a baby. The BOY barely looks like he's 9 years old!
Anyway, what are your thoughts? Oh…they named the baby Maisie Roxanne for those who were wondering.
To read the full story, click here.
– Andy
Source: TheSun.co.uk
video no longer available by copywright of the sun?
Hmmm….not sure why the focus on these teens being parents are big news. Teen pregnancy is so common that it seldom receives any media attention. So why now?
Probably because of the young age, and especially the young look. THis boy is still mostly pre-pubescent, his voice hasn’t changed if you watch the video, and he didn’t even know what ‘financially’ meant. The girl looks much older and it’s just plain odd…
Why now? Because these are particularly young teens, and look even younger than they are.( And maybe it’s less common in Britain than the US?)
They shouldn’t have been having unprotected sex but I do think that once they wound up pregnant it was their decision and no one else’s as to whether they should abort.
And if their parents are willing to be supportive, then there is no reason to give it up for adoption, either, the baby still has a shot at living a decent life for its first 5-10 years.
But the comments by the father concern me a lot. £10, “sometimes”? That’s not even $20 anymore, and stuff in the UK is expensive as hell. Even at 13, I had some understanding of responsibility, he seems to have none. I hope her parents put her on the pill to avoid a repeat, and his make him get a job( if that’s legal? If not, make him do baby-related tasks.) And they both clearly have lessons to learn about safe sex and parenting.
Oop, just read the article. Parents are poor, reliant on the stste. 🙁
Ah, he looks young, she looks old. It’s some kind of freak show then. So he’s 13 and doesn’t quite understand his responsibilities as a parent. What 13 year-old does? Does looking young qualify them being in the limelight? I don’t think so, but I would surmise the sensationalism of the boy’s appearance being the key factor. How sad that it takes that to bring awareness.
The discussions on here mimic basically the same thing we’ve heard ingrained in our heads about teen sex, condom use, safe sex. Sadly, once the shock value of this article subsides (in an hour), some other teen will be knocking up another…except he’ll actually look 13. How boring is that.