13 year old boy becomes a Father

nis~sijai · 02-14-2009, 04:22 AM

Quote:

LONDON - He's 13. He scarcely looks 10. And according to a British tabloid, he's a father.

Baby-faced and only 4 feet tall, the boy, Alfie Patten, was just 12 when he impregnated Chantelle, now 15, The Sun reported Friday. Shown in a video posted Friday on the tabloid's Web site, the diminutive Alfie takes the newborn girl in his arms.

Asked what he would do to support the child financially, Alfie asks in a small, high-pitched voice, "What's financially?"

The girl was taking birth control pills but missed one, the newspaper reported. Friends and relatives left the family home near Eastbourne, about 70 miles southeast of London, Friday without speaking to reporters gathered outside. The teenagers could not immediately be contacted.

The Sun did not say whether any tests were conducted to prove the boy's paternity. The paper did not offer any immediate comment when asked whether it had paid the family for the story.

Police and child services in Eastbourne, in southeast England, said in a statement that they were "aware of a 14-year-old girl that had become pregnant as the result of a relationship with a 12-year-old boy," adding that they were offering support to both young people.

Alfie's front page picture has sparked renewed debate about teen pregnancy in Britain. The country has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Europe, and government figures show that about 39,000 girls under age 18 became pregnant in 2006. More than 7,000 of those girls were younger than 16.

"I don't know the individual details of the case, but of course I think all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies," Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday.

Britain had 27 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 between 2000 and 2005, according to a report published by Population Action International. Comparable figures are 10 per 1,000 for Spain, 8 in 1,000 for France, and 5 in 1,000 for The Netherlands.

Britain's teen pregnancy rate, however, is still far below that of the United States, which registers 44 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 and are more line with English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand, which respectively have 17 and 27 births per 1,000 women between 15 and 19, according to the report.
But the country's reputation as Europe's teen pregnancy capital has been an embarrassment to politicians.

In 1999 then-Prime Minister Tony Blair described Britain's record on pregnancies as shameful and vowed to turn it around.

"Put simply, you are still a child when you are 14 and, in a civilized society, children should not be having children," he said at the time. The government has since poured millions of pounds (dollars) into advertising and educational campaigns.

Educating youngsters
Brook, a U.K. group that provides sexual health advice to people under 25, said teen pregnancies had fallen by about 12 percent since 1998, but more had to be done.

"It can be easy to concentrate on young women but young men need as much support and information," Brook's chief executive, Simon Blake, said.

In a move last year to tackle the high teen pregnancy rate, British education officials announced they would start introducing sex education earlier in English schools. Beginning next year, children as in grades as low as kindergarten will be given basic sex education.

Tony Kerridge, of the sexual health group Marie Stopes International, praised the move, but local lawmaker Nigel Waterson said the pregnancy raised "huge questions" about whether British children were being educated about sex — at the expense of learning about healthy relationships.

'We made a mistake'
Chantelle and Alfie have reportedly pledged to raise the child as best they can.

"We know we made a mistake but I wouldn't change it now," Chantelle was quoted by The Sun as saying.

Alfie's father, Dennis — who reportedly has nine children — said his son told him it was the first time he had sex. He was reportedly allowed to sleep over at the girl's house.

"It hasn't really dawned on him," Patten, 45, was quoted as saying in the paper.

"I will talk to him again and it will be the birds and bees talk," he said. "Some may say it's too late but he needs to understand so there is not another baby."

Britain's youngest-known father was said to be a 12-year-old boy in a suburb north of London who impregnated a young neighbor in 1998.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29184929/?gt1=43001

It's sad to see that children are becoming sexually active at earlier and earlier ages.

CrimsonPythonidae · 02-14-2009, 04:31 AM

Yeah, that's pretty rough. Whatever happened to just being a kid? Things have changed so fast, even since I was a kid. We were much more innocent.

Alarica · 02-14-2009, 05:12 AM

And it was planned. That makes it more worrying that this boy at 12, wanted to have a baby with his girlfriend, when he should have been out with his mates and playing computer games. It's good to hear he's been making such an effort, despite his age and how sad it is that he's not going to have much of a childhood at all now.

I dont know what the figures are now, but where I live we had the highest teen pregnancy rate a few years ago certainly.

PortraitOfSanity · 02-14-2009, 06:30 AM

It didn't say it was planned....

nis~sijai · 02-14-2009, 06:31 AM

It says the girl forgot to take her birth control, which would make it unplanned .

Albert Mond · 02-14-2009, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrimsonPythonidae

Yeah, that's pretty rough. Whatever happened to just being a kid? Things have changed so fast, even since I was a kid. We were much more innocent.

Nah. It's always been like this. Just didn't get in the news as much.

badteccy · 02-14-2009, 07:03 AM

Yea, those children really need to give that baby up for adoption, unless the parents want to take a lot of the responsibility, because that is what is going to end up happening.

Alarica · 02-14-2009, 08:18 AM

The teenager, who told The Sun "I thought it would be good to have a baby", admitted he did not think about how he would afford to raise his child, saying: "I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10," he said.

Thats where I got the idea it was planned.

And I dont condone kids having kids, because christ knows it's hard work, but there are some 12 and 13yr olds who have had babies and still managed to finish school getting good exam results. It really does mean they need a lot of support though. I'd go fucking mental if any of mine came home pregnant, or my son had got someone pregnant.

Apathy's_Child · 02-14-2009, 10:34 AM

Love the way all the news articles have chosen to focus on the dad rather than the mom, since he's not only a year younger but about a foot shorter and looks roughly 9. It was obviously a slow news day, but they did what they could with this non-story.

Underwater Ophelia · 02-14-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

Love the way all the news articles have chosen to focus on the dad rather than the mom, since he's not only a year younger but about a foot shorter and looks roughly 9. It was obviously a slow news day, but they did what they could with this non-story.

Are you implying that making this shit public isn't important?
The fact that it's commonplace is even more reason for this to make news.

Geoluhread · 02-14-2009, 02:34 PM

When that kid is 18, his son will be going to school.
..." umm, so hey, where`s your dad?"
..." he`s at school, studying"
heh

PortraitOfSanity · 02-14-2009, 02:37 PM

Er, do kids go to school at 5?

Xombie · 02-14-2009, 02:49 PM

Yes, they go to kindergarten.

Albert Mond · 02-14-2009, 02:49 PM

Kindergarten.

AngelikDemonik · 02-14-2009, 02:50 PM

That is fucking disgusting.

Alarica · 02-14-2009, 07:54 PM

Front page news as I passed a paper stand the other day was a girl of 17 years old. At 15 she had her first baby, and at 17 is now pregnant with triplets. Neither her nor the father are working, and both look retarded. Was probably on the Sun's front page now I think of it. I'm sure Britain isnt the only country with a relatively high teen pregnancy rate, but it doesnt make it ok. It's fucking disgusting. Kids having kids.

Albert Mond · 02-14-2009, 08:05 PM

Britain sucks. It's like the capital of "Fuck you! I have the right to do stupid shit!".

Alarica · 02-14-2009, 08:39 PM

It certainly does and it's getting worse, and what makes it worse is that I may be stuck living here! Maybe I should fit my daughters with chastity belts, because I'm rather worried that sex education isnt going to be enough!

Saya · 02-14-2009, 10:11 PM

Dude.....when I was twelve I was still playing Pokemon and reading Animorphs. What the hell?

Opteron_Man · 02-15-2009, 03:06 AM

This is such a shame. When I was 13, I was playing
gameboy color and playing with my Pokemon card
collection (whichI still have tucked away).
I feel bad for those kids. That is too much. This ruined my morning.