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Monday 16th February 2009 News Index  A father at 13, a mother of 15, is it right? How will they cope? With all the media attention at the moment surrounding the birth of Maisie, important questions have been raised about parenting. We would like to hear your views on teenage pregnancies, when should people be ‘allowed’ to have children and what can be done to address the problem.
It seems News Of The World has uncovered claims that Chantelle was sleeping with as many as EIGHT teenage boys around the time the baby was conceived, so this relationship may lack stability as well as maturity. According to the BBC this morning, Alfie is due to take a DNA test this week to see if he is really the father.
Father Alfie, who apparently made this commitment when he was aged 12, is a particularly poignant case as his baby faced looks make him look even younger than he is. When asked how he will cope financially, he responded “what’s financially?”, a blatant reminder of how young and naive the boy is. Over 3,000 teenagers under the age of 16 give birth each year in the UK, the highest rate in western Europe.
Politicians from across the spectrum have been dragged into this debate and it rages fiercely. Ed Balls, the children's secretary, said: "It's not right - it looks so terrible. It has got to be sorted out. I want us to do everything we can as a society to make sure we keep teenage pregnancies down." The question is what can be done and how. It seems there is no quick fix solution and no single measure that will right the problem. Some argue that major social change is needed to address the issues at root cause, others that better sex education is required, whatever the answer, the controversy is sure to go on for some time.
Have you got the answer? Have you got a view?
Please log in to post your comments. Your Comments | | i had my son at 18 i was working up to 2weeks up to my due date and i was back to work at 6 months teenmums can be good mums some time even better than older mum becouse we now that they are looking at use | anikaamber
11/09/2009 | | when i was a teenager at that age i never even bothered about sex or boys the goverment should do more in the schools when i was at school we were given a doll and it is nothing like the real thing it is like with people with drug problems they give birth to babies that are cold turkeys the goverment should make alaw that they all get put on the inplant untill they can prove they are off the drugs they should also do thre same for teenages x | mel89
14/06/2009 | | I had my daughter when I was 18, I worked up until my due date, im working now, my daughter is now 18 months old and is very happy, just because girls can get pregnant young- it dosn't make them bad parents, or lazy parents.... older mums can be bad mums to. | jade1234
10/05/2009 | My daughter, aged 17, became a single mum. I thought I would have to leave my job to look after them, but even since day one she has been maternal and loved having him, she now has 3 children. She is at college and the children are all doing well.
Older mums are just as likely to be unhappy or happy with their babies as young mums are. | misty
24/04/2009 | | i think it's disgusting. my stomach actually turn everytime i see a picture of Alfie and Chantelle with that little baby. she looks old enough to be his mum! - not a pretty sight. Maisie will be ridiculed when she is older, no doubt about it, and Alfie and Chantelle will probably face the same fate throughout the rest of their teenage years. if that girl was sleeping with 8 boys, i think she was trying to get pregnant. why though? who knows? hopefullly social services will keep an eye on this case for a good long while. | banks08
07/04/2009 | kids bringing up kids!!!!!!!!
I think this will always be a problem, but with support from their families i dont see why it cant work. Normally when a young teenager becomes pregnant they do have the love and support of their parents, its not very often they get thrown onto the streets. I think as long as the child is loved and cared for, its upto them to decide. Is termination or giving up for adoption a better solution? I dont think their is any easy solution. | dedwards
28/03/2009 | | I think it is terrible that children are experimenting at that age (12 / 13). Where are the parents? Do they even care? | mellig
19/02/2009 |
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