• Parents let teenage daughter sleep with 12-year-old boy
• Commentary: Poor parenting and broken homes are risk factors
• Paul Waugh blog: Cameron and Brown on babyfather - compare and contrast

Reader views (142)

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I know its illegal to have sex with someone under the age of 16, but i don't think any of them should go to prison or pay.

- Allae, England, London, 17/02/2009 16:55
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When I was in school in North Staffs back in the early 80's, i think at least 2 girls from my year 'went away' for a while. This was well before we all reached 16.

I can also remember lots of party conferances with pollies going on about teenage pregnancies, and seem to recall the Sun and the Mail harping on as well.

Get real people, what this is about is 2 clearly poorly educated teenagers not having protected sex and the girl gettign pregnant, it is not the apocalype. I see that there are also allegations that they were not in an exclusive realtionship, so the baby may not be even his!

The loser is the baby and that is who feel sorry for.

- Charles, perth, Australia, 16/02/2009 07:28
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If you think about it at this rate Alfie could be a grandfather at the ripe old age of 30. And yes he does look absolutely terrified, hopefully a warning to others.

- Jimbob, Kensington, 16/02/2009 03:01
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Would there be so much fuss if they were 3 years older? What's the difference? Puberty has been reached regardless.

- Penglo, London, 15/02/2009 22:37
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Bashkim Krasniqi, Lewisham London. That's the most wonderful posting i have read on this subject,thank you,so refreshing, a absolute contrast to the usual drivel spouted about broken Britain,living of benefits,absolutely disgusting,little idiot,browns Britain etc etc.If blame is to be handed out it should land squarely on the education system in this country as regards sex education,and the culture of denial around doing what comes natural.I and many people started to have sex and experiment at the age of 12,the only difference between them and i is that i had a family that were open and educated enough to tell me to use a condom and drummed into me the results of not using one,indeed my dad used to buy them for me and i could ask him for them and no we didn't live on benefits,and i didn't get a girl pregnant till i was 21 and had been married for a year,but then Britain was broken as it was the 60s.

- Kev, London-UK, 15/02/2009 21:21
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Good luck them both, How can some people call them scum ffs they r kids, The parents have alot to answer for, I have a 20yr old girl and a 17yr old boy and i would never ever allow them to sleep with ppl under my roof. SHAME ON THERE MOMS FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN.

- Sharon, Pontefract, 15/02/2009 16:30
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Kids are getting older younger, doesn't mean they are more intelligent or even perhaps responsible for their actions. This is just another 'disater' that taxpyers will have to take care of. Dysfunctional parents producing dysfunctional children, perhaps the time has arrived for functional sterilisation.

- Kered Ybretsae, Nürnberg Germany, 15/02/2009 16:18
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Childish children playing adult games and not understanding because they are CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!
Idiot parents that have no interest in the children because they would rather be sucking on a bottle of beer or have a fag hanging out of their mouths (you must have seen the pictures of the mother) Social Services should act now, the baby needs to be taken into care for it’s own safety and well being the immature children that conceived this little miracle need to be in care as well because it is obvious their parents do not care what they are getting up to.
Keep your kids off school, get fined .. let them shag when and where they like and get Social Security for the rest of their lives.. Where is the justice?
P.S. I have some garden work that needs doing if they want to help support the baby!

- Jack, Far Away From The Idiots, 15/02/2009 15:07
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So who is the father? When the tests are done it won't be quite so newsworthy - or profitable! Remember Shannon Matthews?

- Cheryl, Hull, UK, 15/02/2009 14:56
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If the sexes of these two were reversed the male would be facing charges for sexual assault and end up on the Sex Offenders register. Why aren't females who sexually abuse treated in the same way as their male counterparts. Males are victims too!

- Tony Hornby, CAMBRIDGE UK, 15/02/2009 14:44
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I thinkthis is really sad, especially as the boy looks so young. no doubt they will be living off benefits for the rest of their lives along with more children. I think the namby pamby do gooders in this country have a lot to answer for, if they had to pay for the child themselves it probably wouldnt have happened the parents would have seen to that. we are far too soft in this country it is time that we hardened up and took our lead from other countries where this would be unheard of.

- Sarah Cutter, newmarket suffolk, 15/02/2009 14:34
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Calling ours a 'broken' society seems a bit OTT, although it has become rickety, particlarly in the high and wealthy places.

Look at this single event in the whole context - Britain had started to become a please-yourself-and stuff-the-others culture 30 years ago.

If there ever has been 'no such thing as society' as we were once told, then having the then Leader telling us it was so sure did contributed to the relaxing of social morality.

These kids and their parents have to some extent become the symptoms of that anarchistic pesronal morality so encouraged by that horrid mindset.

- Barrie, essex UK, 15/02/2009 13:39
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This is typical of today's society in Britain - these are two children having sex. Their parents should be prosecuted because this is tantamount to child neglect in allowing them to sleep together. Children's services should not support the upkeep of this baby - they should allow a childless couple to adopt this baby and give it a good life, without being in the public eye. These families will no doubt try and sell their stories to the papers very soon

- A Higgs, Hull, England, 15/02/2009 13:34
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A single incident doesn't prove anything about a society. But there have been hundreds - thousands - of such "broken Britain" incidents since 1997.

- Karsten Duncan, Perth, Australia, 15/02/2009 13:09
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I think the parents of these children if they have addmitted to allowing these two children to sleep together to engage in sexual behaviour they should be prosecuted this is underage sex nothing less than that..they aided and abbetted to it...but I blame the way this country helps it all to transpire.. we are paying them to misbehave we give them benefits and reward the situation ...when benefits were not paid the numbers of teenage prenancies were practically unheard of...the numbers we have now are shocking..and its is becoming a social problem... if parents raised their children knowing that it would be them... the household..that had to pay for the raising of a baby and not social handouts I seriously beleive this would reduce the figures... well its worth a try if nothing else because this system is not working but encouraging it.. its failing the whole of the family structure of this country...a shambles to be honest in my opinion

- Jw, CHESTER LE STREET UK, 15/02/2009 10:15
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The parents are surely to blame here, teaching your kids self respect and good morals should be the key to a well balanced childhood. Sex is always going to be a temptation but a solid family background and the right ideals are a good foundation. Uneducated and workshy, living on benefits all encourage this type of behaviour, I don't find it shocking just really, really sad. What kind of future has this child got?

- Tracey, London, 15/02/2009 09:34
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The parents (adult ones) are shameful. The parents(children) will palm the baby off onto the grandparents and no doubt continue having sex with other random children - Britain is not a country to be proud of any longer, we are so accepting of everything, so tolerant of appauling behaviour, we need to take a note out of other European countries books and have higher expectations, demand higher standards.

- A, berkshire, 15/02/2009 08:26
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The most unfortunate individual in this whole situation is baby Maisie. So Social Services are giving the families "every support" - when the grandparents and child-parents haven't shown much sign that they are responding appropriately to the support. What kind of environment will she grow up in? 2 immature and uneducated parents who are children themselves. When it comes to responsibilities like school, immunisation, health decisions, who is going to have the final say - the grandparents? the child-parents who have no idea what vaccines and GCSEs do? This is one baby who really needs to be adopted by an educated, clearly not underage, financially viable and loving couple who are able to give this little girl the start in life she deserves - appropriate morals for a start. And both mothers should be prosecuted - both children are under the age of consent. And since the girl has had sex with more than one male, there should be a DNA paternity test.

- May, London, UK, 15/02/2009 03:55
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I want to congratulate both Alfie and Chantelle on the birth of their first child. I hope they stick together forever and support one another as much as they are able to.Alfie you make sure you look after your wife and always be a good daddy to your daughter. Its great that you both received the support from your parents. I wish you both a very long happy life together. God Bless You Both!

- Bashkim Krasniqi, Lewisham London, 15/02/2009 00:32
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Ultimatatly the parents are to blame. Who would let this situation occur, only reckless parents, who should not be allowed the gift of children.
Irresponsible and neglectful. Should be prosecuted and sterilised.

- M, le marche, italy, 15/02/2009 00:31
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To mike, of course they have, are you a complete idiot or worse. How could this be condoned.
Morals and values are unfortunately of little concern to some in todays society.
Too few are doing too little to protect our children.
What the hell is happening to society.

- Maria, Italy, 15/02/2009 00:23
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As far as i am concerned about these two "children" having a child and being given full support from the social services this is all wrong,
They may or may not have chosen to have this child at this age but like any other citizen of Britain they should be made to pay their own way just like everybody else, why should they be aloud all the social service's just because they are 13 and 15. if they havent got an income of their own and arn't able to supposrt this child then it should be taken into care to give it a proper chance at any sort of life.
one of the few problems i see with the social service's giving them full support is how long is it going to be before they are going to get out and find a job and pay their way in life or is this going to end in another family scrounging off the hardworking taxpay???
Once they come of legal working age they should be both told you either find a job or your benefit's will be cut. simple as.
Under another note has the law for the legal age to have sex changed???
as far as i am aware the age is still 16.

i just hope that other's dont follow in their footsteps thinking if we have a child we will get a house and benefits

- Stuart, newcastle, 15/02/2009 00:12
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These 2 kids would have had sex education by now and been told the consequences of having unprotected sex.
If they chose to ignore that advice, or thought that it would never happen to them, then I have no sympathy for them.
It's about time youngsters started listening to advice and stopped going around thinking they know it all.

- Dave, M/Cr, M/cr. UK, 14/02/2009 23:34
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It's not Brown and Blair'ss fault, it's not the Tories' fault, if you look back through history, early teenage pregancy has been a feature of both the social underclass AND the aristocracy for centuries. And the notion of 'childhood' only began to come in in the hopelessly romantic Victorian era. Prior to that kids his age were working in the fields and going to war.

What does seem to be different now is that the community has collapsed, so we have lost the 'social shame' of worrying what the neighbours think, religion has collapsed with nothing to replace its moral code(except 'I'll do whatever makes me feel good'), and families have collapsed, and along with them strong, sensible parenting. We want rights but don't want responsibility, and want self fulfillment without self sacrifice.

How do we fix it? I don't think we can.

- Claire, London, 14/02/2009 23:09
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They deserve support so that they can grow into happy healthy adults. If nature didn't intend procreation at such a young age it wouldn't provide the tools. Yes it's taboo and socially unacceptable but with the right help they can come through it. The baby is gorgeous and a healthy weight, is that surely not the most important thing right now?

- Real, London, 14/02/2009 22:26
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These 2 parasites will have a 2 bedroom house lined up for them, while others will have to wait another 6 months to a year or even longer

- Alan, staffs, 14/02/2009 14:48
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Did this child decide that he was fed up playing with his Action Man, that he wanted a toy to play with that moved and made a noise? Because this is how it reads.

In my view the baby should be taken into care so should the parents (2 children) and their parents should be prosecuted. But, what do we read that Social Services will be giving all necessary support.

What a dreadful position for 2 children to be in, and they will very soon realise that a baby is not a toy to be put back in the toybox when they are fed up playing with it.

- Liz, East London, 14/02/2009 13:44
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Have the parents committed any offenses by allowing these “children” to have sex.

- Mike Melbourne, Bedford England, 14/02/2009 13:42
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Most of the comments talk about "broken Britain", Margaret Thatcher, John Major, society breakdown. These are ridiculous arguments in this particular context. Having a baby at age 14 with a 12 year old father is certainly worthy of discussion, but to extrapolate this onto a national scale is daft. Also, to talk about sterilisation is frankly a bit sick.

- John, arezzo, italy, 14/02/2009 13:20
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Alfie a dad?, i raise my eyebrows in disbelieve with half the country.DNA been proven, i doubt it another publicity stunt for ££££££s i think, prove it and the public will believe it. this boy looks like he should be with his action men not having unprotected sex.

- Sally, hull east yorkshire, 14/02/2009 12:27
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Is this country really sick? No problem to have a sex and pregnancy in 13? Where are the parents of this 13 year old boy ? How can we blaim education system? Why do we take all responsibilities of the parents? They just stop careing.Parents !!!! Stop blaiming everybody look at yourselves. You have the power.Why should you care? Social services will pay.

- Adriana, London, 14/02/2009 11:59
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Eugenics / adoptions / sterlisation? Some of you people are scary - if those of you that suggest such things were in poweder what a dystopian world we would live in! Whilst is is quite grim, its not common at that age is it?? For gods sakes peope, stop scaremongering and concentrate on living your own lives.

- Natty, London, 14/02/2009 11:49
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It's an indisputable fact, fueled by welfare benefits, sink council estates are a breeding ground for dysfunctional families. The only solution is to sterilize all the children and parents of these families. Of course lawyers and most social workers would soon be out of a job so expect the biggest outcry from them. The bleeding heart profession would also kick up a fuss but as most of the problem families are white trash they will soon find a new cause, for example demanding we bring all the inmates of Guantanamo Bay to the UK where they can demand their right to benefits and housing.

- Sid, peckham, 14/02/2009 10:51
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Whats the problem? Is it wrong that they had sex or that they got pregnant? If kids are having sex without the addition of pregnancy or STDs is it so terrible for them to be having sex? I mean, if I had sex when I was 14 I would probably have been a lot more confident...

- George, London, UK, 14/02/2009 10:35
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Other countries, with lower teenage birth rates, start 'sex education' (reproductive biology) at an earlier age than Britain. If these children had been properly educated they would have known even at the age of 10 that their actions would result in pregancy. They are let down by (a) not seeing any financial hardship for their parents when having more children than a working couple paying taxes could afford and (b) not being given a 'bigger picture' by Society of what great things their future could hold if they prioritise what is important and strive for it. You simple don't have a baby if you realise it will stuff-up your chances for something else.

- Roz, Chamonix, France, 14/02/2009 08:26
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It is shocking that this is happening, but I remember a 6th grader at my middle school having a baby at 12, so it's definitely not exclusively to the UK.

I also knew a 17 year old with a 6 year old when I was in high school.

I think if schools had better sex education classes, not abstinence-only, there would be a lot less teen pregnancies. Except for the poor, misguided souls who get pregnant on purpose because they think that they will feel more loved if they have a baby.

- Lori, Overland Park, Kansas, United States, 14/02/2009 05:40
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For the good of everyone STERILIZE them both and their immediate/extended family

- Jc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 14/02/2009 03:13
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I am just imagining how Britain will look like in 10, 20 years.

- Marcos, Colnbrook, UK, 14/02/2009 01:04
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Lets face it the U.K is sick. There is nothing Great about Britain.
While the rest of the world is moving ahead with standards and humanity we are going at full speed creating a social and moral human cesspit.

- Mr S.Port, London, 14/02/2009 00:05
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There really is only one way to deal with this. The baby should be taken into care by social services and put up for adoption. The parents of the the 'couple' should be arrested and charged with neglecting their children. The girl should be placed on the sex offenders register and both should be forced to attend sex education classes.

- Adam, Harrow, UK, 13/02/2009 23:21
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Eugenics, its an option.

- Gary, London, 13/02/2009 23:12
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The key to this whole sad story was the ending "other boys were also allowed to stay with Chantelle. He said there was talk of a DNA test to make sure Alfie was Maisie's father"

All the sex education in the world won't make up for parents with no rules or limits--and stuffing for brains. This was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

- Pam, Michigan, USA, 13/02/2009 22:18
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When my children were born I kept the front cover of the daily newspaper as a keepsake. Somehow I don't think Alfie and Chantelle will bother. I am disgusted with Ian Duncan Smith for his heartless comments and with the Evening Standard for headlining them. Maisie is not an 'example' - she is a person. If we live in a society where its ok to print pictures of newborn babies and imply thier birth is 'tragic' then I am not surprised people feel we are in 'social decline'.

- Lydia Coleman, Surrey, 13/02/2009 21:54
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I don't know what kind of sex-ed programs they have in the UK, but this is another example of why we need to get rid of abstinence only crap.

- Rachel, Alaska, 13/02/2009 21:51
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shocking. in any other country the "mother" would be arrested for sex with a minor. britain truly is in hopeless decay, morally, politically, economically. my heart is bleeding. why do you allow all this???

- Dominik Von Muehlberg, Cologne, West Germany, 13/02/2009 21:19
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Wot's financially?? Well said, kiddo. As Margret Thatcher once said, "Wot's society??"

Society is that broken thing that is going to pay for this kid's baby until it is old enough to have it's own babies - which won't be too long in the future, from the look of things.

I'm just dumb enough to go to work and pay my taxes, and I'm even dumber to ask: wot the hell's happening to my broken society?

This is definitely a "who ate my porrige?" moment, and Labour and the Conservatives - they are the real goldilocks in this story. How do we chase them away?

As for one co-respondent's comment "to bring Christ into the government" - his mother was a virgin???

- Baffled Citizen, Somewhere Up North, 13/02/2009 21:18
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Too many uneducated morons firmly believe,society owes them.Cut the bloody benefits for them.You order the music,you pay for it.Excess energy?Try work.

- H.J., London, 13/02/2009 21:10
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This isn't the first instance of its kind, nor will it be the last. All anyone can do is deal with individual cases as they arise and according to the prevailing circumstances.

Right or wrong, Nature isn't interested in age limits when it sends hormones on a rampage through teen bodies. Social restraint? There's so many negatives flying around that kids aren't content to 'wait' if they see no future - they just want to live in the here and now.

Job prospects, gangs, drugs, social breakdown, hopelessness and more are the major contributors. These are what need fixing.

- Rogan, Irving, 13/02/2009 17:37
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This is absolutely insane. It just goes to show how the UK is socially very backward, in no other country do cases like this happen, obviously there will be cases of teenage pregnancy but none like this what we have here in the UK and certainly not of parents to be as young as this, which truly is rather disgusting. This new born child is extremely unfortunate to have parents this young, and in my opinion this child should be taken into care as besides the financial issues these young teenagers are simply just not fit to be parents at this stage. But this also goes to show how the Labour Government in this country does nothing to sort out the extreme social issues in the UK, and that it is now time for a Conservative Government who will sort out these problems we face.

- Daniel, London, 13/02/2009 17:33
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If you are going to become accepting of children of this age having sex and ultimately have children themselves, and then as a government condoning the behaviour by giving them financial and morale support to try and bring up this child, then you are just giving more fuel to the argument paedophiles have that it is acceptable to have sex with children.
pls stop at once, this is not an acceptable way to carry on in modern day society.

- Catherine, Canada, 13/02/2009 17:27
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The fact is more kids are having sex at a younger age and the educators/adults just ignore this fact. I was this age in the 80s and the boys wanted to have sex or do sexual acts with the girls all the time, this was something they were very curious about. It was usually the girls that were not quite ready but eventually end up doing it by the time they are 16-17, the boys however are thinking about it at 9. Instead of ignoring the fact that these kids ARE going to indeed have sex no matter what, parents and educators should be preparing these kids for these feelings they have and the importance of practicing safe sex which means giving boys the access to condoms and girls having easier access to birth control. I think if they didn't have to "ask" their parents for these things they would be more likely to use them. My youngest sister was dating a boy for quite some time at 16-17 and my parents had yet to ask her if she wanted to get on birth control. I told my mom to simply make her an appointment with a gynecologist, she did, told my sister the date of the appointment and she went on her own, no argument or questions asked. It was that easy. Maybe they need to start having mandatory appointments with doctors where these kids feel safe to talk about sex and ask for birth control if they need it.

- Denise, New Mexico, USA, 13/02/2009 17:22
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selfish is as selfish does - just reading all these comments - supportive, angry, stunned - basically whichever way you cut it we are all being selfish - the kid wanted to have sex - so he had it; the girl wanted to keep the baby - so she did; the parents cared more about themselves and not about their responsibilities and all of us blogging are mainly angry about how it hits our tax money - because heaven forfend we can't cope with anything less than perfect.

I am waiting for the first person to write saying its a shame we don't have any big wars any more to get rid of all the cannon fodder.

This society is broken, as Margaret Thatcher wanted it to be - she said she "killed society" and look at us now - a terrified bunch of individuals who can only find solace through buying, or in this case having experiences just for the sake of it.

A little more compassion for our fellow human beings. And give the child up for all their sakes - so two children can grow up and perhaps this new baby can find a home with someone who wants a child.

- Jc, se1, 13/02/2009 17:20
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Someone needs to stand up for family values, Alfie is doing just that.

Jonny - Why do you assume becase I support someone morally I would also choose to do so financially? The DSS can pay for baby Maisie's upbringing until Alfie leaves school and gets a job.

- Clive, London, 13/02/2009 16:46
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A MISTAKE!! Rebecca of Eastbourne what planet do you live on. He may be a smashing kid but to call this a mistake is incomprehensible, who is going to support this child, not mother or father. The trouble is kids of this age treat sex as "a laugh" or a dare, they are not interested in being kids any more and it is a complete waste of time if you think Gordon Brown is going to make a difference, same old hot air from him about teenage pregnancies.

- Mrs.Pamela Mckay, Dagenham, United Kingdom, 13/02/2009 16:45
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When such young children are involved in such adult situations then the GP who seems to be the 1st person to know that Chantelle was pregnant should have immediately contacted her parents and told them. No child or teenager should be allowed to keep her pregnancy a secret from her parents. Patient confidentiality should not be considered in such cases. It is the parents of the girl who have to take care of the baby so they should decide whether she should have an abortion or not. Why do doctors support secrecy in such cases and encourage such pregnancies. Anyway it cannot be kept a secret for long so they should tell the parents immediately. Teenagers do not think twice before producing babies they cannot look after because they know they have the support of their doctors, parents and benefits which immediately provides housing and shelter for them. Since there is no sense of fear or responsibility they go ahead and have the baby. This a case of uneducated parents living on benefits and now their kids are in the process of doing the same. Stop all benefits for teenage pregnancies. This will immediately halve the rate of such pregnancies and irresponsible births.

- Jill, London, 13/02/2009 16:43
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From reading what I have about the sort of families both these children come from, it doesnt surprise me! It sounds like they are both learning from the parents, start having kids young and scrounge off the state for the rest of your life! And as for the girl that says he is a great lad and he wanted to start a family..... HE IS 12 FOR GOODNESS SAKE, HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW WHAT FINANCIAL MEANS!!!!

- Annemarie, Slough Berks, 13/02/2009 16:41
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Disgusting, I blame the parents, where were they when they were having sex? Also another thing to blame today's promiscous society on is music video's! more than half of them should be rated as pornographic!! beats me why the BBC banned Frankie goes to Hollywood - these are far more serious!

- Tracy, blackpool, 13/02/2009 16:37
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Susie, London and everyone else wanting to turn this into party political stuff - Britain was Broken before Blair and Brown.....The Tories boke down society, remember Thatcher didn't believe in it and then Major's govt was mired in sleaze and sex. I think we have a little memory problems as a country at the moment.

The issue for Briatin is to get away from Petty party political stuff and lest make this socity fairer to all and instill some common respect for all.

- Simon, Newcastle, 13/02/2009 16:33
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Nature's Natural.Do not worry.

- Kumar, london, 13/02/2009 16:31
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Its disgusting! The parents should be ashamed of themselves and the government need to look at this country and the society we are living in! The government need to make it harder for these people to claim benefits and houses. I am 20yrs old and I struggle to rent my house with my partner, we are both working full time with good wages, but are always left short each month! Why should our taxes be given to these people who have not done an honest days work in their lives, and just because they got themselves pregnant, we have to support them?! If a mother/father decides to have a baby, they should have to support them, not rely on council & government support! Where is the support for the full time workers?? I cant afford to go out each weekend have have the top pf the range clothes/cars....but all the young mothers who live in my town do? Where's the logic in that?? Life needs to be made more difficult for these teenagers....not easier!!! Whats stopping me quitting my job, getting pregnant and getting a council house, my life would sure enough be easier! But luckily I was brought up with morals and in a full time working home, with loving parents who have always pushed me to succeed and be succesful...which is hell of a lot more than most of the British Society!! Morals,hopes & aspirations dont cost a penny, so whats the excuse?!

- Shenah Rose, Penryn, Cornwall, 13/02/2009 16:29
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The boy doesn't look as though he has reached puberty yet - DNA test, maybe?

- Holly, London, 13/02/2009 16:28
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when i read this headline my first thought was are they serious!! its absolutley ridiculous that a 13 year old CHILD has fathered another child. its clear in the articles that have been written about this issue that this child has no idea what it takes to raise a chld although i'm sure his and her family will be there to help out it doesn't change the fact that they shouldn't have been having sex in the first place. the baby should be adopted and offered a more stable environment. When i read a comment he had made about pocket money i was absolutley astounded! this surely proves that teaching children about sex education when they are in infant school is not a good idea. if they know about it then they are going to do it!!

- Fringe, Southampton UK, 13/02/2009 16:20
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Alfie goes to my school and he is a great lad its just a shame people have to make a fuss over a boy who made a mistake wanting to start a family.

- Rebecca Kefford, Eastbourne, 13/02/2009 16:05
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The parents' ages, especially the Dad's, are too young for modern society. Playing devil's advocate, though: Nature obviously doesn't believe they are too young as Nature has given them the ability to naturally reproduce at their age!

- Ross, London, UK, 13/02/2009 15:49
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I can honestly say that 20 years ago when I attended a normal school, I never heard of any pupils of this age having children, How would any of you explain to your parents that you at (13) had got a girl pregnant, My mum would have disowned me.There were repercussions and society frowned apon this,Now it seems the benefits of allowing this to happen are too great. My wife and I tried for 8 years to have children and then had to pay for IVF because of my income and our location.Both of their parents should have done the decent thing and thought about the future for their children and their grandchildren. I will unhappily support this child through my taxes for the next 16 years.

- Adam Stone, East sussex, 13/02/2009 15:46
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At these ages they aren't able to support the child.

As they both had sex under-age, they should both already be on the Sex Offenders and 'At Risk' registers.

The child should be adopted, and the parents taken to court for encouraging under-age sex.

....and of course the Benefits system nneds to be drastically revised to stop this occuring

- Cap, london, 13/02/2009 15:45
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I first had sex at 13 but was smart enough not the get pregnant. My mother had very sensibly attempted to put the fear of God into me, words to the effect that we were a very fertile family. Did it stop me? No. Did I use condoms? Yes.

I like the comment below, ignorance can be cured, stupidity cannot.

- Female, London, 13/02/2009 15:45
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poor baby! they cant take care for this child!!

- Melanie, the netherlands, 13/02/2009 15:25
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I'd prefer to live in broken britian where this is not considered the norm as opposed to the following places where the age of marriage is as follows:

Afghanistan: 18 for males and 14 for females, more than half of marriages involve females under 16.
Brunei: No minimum marriage age specified.
Russia: 18, 16 for males or 14 for females with consent of a parent or guardian (depends on region), unlimited in special circumstances.
Canada: Varies by province, but generally 18 years old, 16 years with parental consent, 14 years with judicial consent.
New Hampshire: 18, 14 for males and 13 for females, in cases of "special cause" with parental consent and court permission.

- nu, london, 13/02/2009 15:22
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Poor kids! (All three of them.) I hate to ask but has anyone done a DNA test to check the paternity? The father hardly looks out of nappies himself. Is it possible for him to be a Dad?

- Ann,, Lutterworth, Leics., 13/02/2009 15:22
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It is not just a question of whether they will good parents or not. It is a question of who will pay? Their respective families should be made responsible for the cost of bringing up that baby. I am fed up to the teeth with paying of other people's irresponsibility. The problem is that today people think they can do anything they want, without having to face up to the responsibilities. The taxpayer has to pick the bill.

- Beatriz, London, 13/02/2009 15:20
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Indeed it is a BROKEN Britain. We should see this coming, having posters of Sex pasted nearly in every nook and corner as an advert! My daughter once asked, after staring at a Poster, "mom, what is sex".

We have left these children to all sorts of imaginations, fighting between morals being taught at home and the immorale allowed by our Government and our society.

And moreso a society that rejects CHRIST will obviously embrass all sort of CRISIS.

An advise to the government, bring CHRIST back in your government and HE will stop the CRISIS.

- Yemi, London, United Kingdom, 13/02/2009 15:15
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Benefits Holly, benefits. We all need to work that little bit harder now there's another one of them in the world.

- Tim, Germany, 13/02/2009 15:01
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How many other kids will look at this and just see 'fame' rather than anything else. We live in a society that craves celebrity. Very dangerous.

- Helen, London, 13/02/2009 14:55
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Strikes me there are some easy things the government could do:

1) Any child under the age of consent who has children will receive not one penny of taxpayer money. If they need items they will have to be provided by their parents or a charity. They are still the legal responsibility of their parents so the onus falls on them.

2) Anyone already claiming government benefits will only get paid for the amount of children they have when they signed up. So if you had one child when you sign up you get benefit for you and one child, if you then have a second child it is up to you to figure out how to make your benefits stretch, no extra government money. If you don't like it, get off your backside and get a job.

3) Be stricter in taking children away and putting them up for adoption. It is not hard to see this is not going to work out, he is not going to marry her when he is 16 and live happily ever after so everyone else is going to have to pay for his stupid mistake.

4) Drag in both sets of parents, find out what moral lessons they taught their children, did they explain birth control, the dangers of unprotected sex, how having a baby will change their life forever.

Taxpayers need to start having their rights respected. We just had the woman in California with 14 children, another one who expects everyone else to pay for her stupidity. You want children fine, you raise them, you pay for them, don't expect a hand out for life because you have no moral compass.

- Graeme Brown, Austin, Texas, 13/02/2009 14:53
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Clive, London, UK, You are an imbecile. 'good on him' what cretinous type of person are you. if you are that pleased for him then i'm sure you don't mind helping him out financially aswell................

- Jonny, london, 13/02/2009 14:50
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Morons breeding morons, who will breed more morons, who will...and so on.

Take a good look, this is the future of this country.
Will the last civilized person please turn out the lights.

- Colin, London, 13/02/2009 14:49
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We must all take some blame including the Government. Our society no longer feels confident telling people what is right and what is wrong. Yuo come across it every day, people who feel the rules do not apply to them. There is no shame and everybpdy feels justified in doing whatever they want. This is the result.
Notice none of the people involved were even slightly embarassed and happily assumed somebody else would deal with the circumstances.

- Mark, London, 13/02/2009 14:47
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Until the benefits are taken away, this will never stop.
Sometimes, the hard way is the ONLY way to learn.

- kataobi, london, 13/02/2009 14:45
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In response to KH, London UK, I agree with Len, Oban UK. The last generation has grown up with the mentality that if they have a child, they will get a house, money, clothes etc from the government, and they have been right.Consequently, their children, the ages of little Alfie here, are growing up believing that this is the right way to live. They are not being taught morals, responsibility, consequences or right from wrong, because their parents don't have them to pass on. So yes, stop the benefits to everyone and anyone who chooses to get pregnant just to get a roof over their heads or because they haven't been educated enough to know the consequences of unprotected sex. Maybe if the next generation realise that they actually have to do well at school, pass some exams and actually work for a living, they may think twice about having unprotected sex as they will understand what the consequences will be and know that no handouts will be forthcoming. This sorry story is the consequence of Blair & Brown's Broken Britain - shame on them.

- Susie, London, 13/02/2009 14:31
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Has anyone thought about the impact media plays towards this? Sex sells and dont we know it at the mo - TV is full of racy stuff, bands such as the Pussycat Dolls aimed at a young market are explicit - of course kids are going to be influenced by what they see and hear around them and grow up fast. I dont think its a sign of broken Britain at all, just a sign of how times have changed and what had the capacity to shock or be banned in the past is seen as harmless now, although its effects are teenagers growing up all too fast.

- Natty, London, 13/02/2009 14:19
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This is a shame!! I was not much older when I first had sex and know exactly what they mean - you don't think of the effect that comes until after - it's just one of them things that everyone is talking about and you want to fit in.. People can think bad of parents etc, but my mom never forced me into having sex and would have killed me. My mom done all the talks with me growing up - pregnancy, sti etc but it is something i thought i was grown up enough to do (i know differently now!!).. Again just because they are 13/15 what makes you think they will be bad parents - look at Baby P's mom - she was an adult and look at how she was.. Not all teenages make bad parents - yes they are young and young minded, but my gosh will they grow up and get a taste of reality very quickly.. Not always a bad thing!! I think people should only comment if they fail!!

- Stacey, Birmingham, 13/02/2009 14:18
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I'm almost lost for words. He just looks so young. And it's clear from the short video clip that they both don't actually realise the enormity of their actions.

At 26 and recently married, my husband and I would love to start a family but feel we just can't afford it at the moment - even though we both have full time jobs.

I can't even imagine how this family is going to cope, both financially and emotionally.

- Holly Wilson, Glasgow, 13/02/2009 14:12
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surely you can't claim benefits until 16 anyway as you are meant to be in school?

- Ag, The Village of London, 13/02/2009 14:11
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I am sick and tired of seeing my tax money going to these blood sucking scum bags! The goverment need to stop throwing these people a bone. If they know they will have to fork out their own money to look after these kids then they would be a bit more careful, but they are safe in the knowledge that they can pop these poor kids out till their hearts content and spunge of people like myself, a hard working tax payer. NO MORE MONEY FOR LAY-ABOUTS BROWN, STOP MUGGING TAX PAYERS OFF!

NC

- Nc, London, 13/02/2009 14:09
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How grim ..... shouldn't that girl be charged with something?, she was 15 and was 12, it is just so so wrong.

I am sure the baby will be well looked after, by maybe the children who had her, but mostly by the govenment.

- Tanya, Patcham, Brighton, 13/02/2009 14:09
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the saddest thing about this story is that these children have completely lost their childhood - things will never be the same for them.... Good on him for wanting to stand by them but he doesn't have a clue what that means - he is only saying/doing what he is being told to - shame he couldn't have done that before....

If there is one aspect of broken Britain it is that children are simply not allowed to be children anymore - and the media, in the way they portray celebs etc are largely to blame - not the govt...

- Madgefan, London, 13/02/2009 14:07
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He looks like a baby himself what is this world coming to, he doesn't even no what 'financial' means.

- Kyle Bartle, BIshop Auckland, 13/02/2009 13:58
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Clive from London, that comment is simply ridiculous, how can someone aged 13 look after a child of their own when they are still children themselves.

- Stuart, UK, 13/02/2009 13:46
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"He described his son as a typical 13 year old, who enjoys computer games, boxing and supports Manchester United."

Oh, and has sex with a young girl. If that passes for "typical" in Mr Patten's world, then god help us all if the world starts to get populated with people like this.

And Clive, what are you on about? "Proud of little Alfie". I want you to be sarcastic, but I'm really afraid you are not..."...standing by..."? He is 13. He hasn't a clue what is going on. The care of that baby is going to be abdicated to others.

- Escobar A-Lop-Lop, Camden County, 13/02/2009 13:44
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Has anyone thougt that giving them sex education may actually be part of the problem?

- Malc, London,England, 13/02/2009 13:43
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Two young people feel in love, have sex, don't know about the consequences ... it's nothing new. In the past the "scandal" would have been hushed up, the baby confiscated at birth and packed off to adoptive parents. Further in the past the church would have packed the "sinning" mother off to a convent, for life. Were these ways of dealing with it better?

If they'd learned the facts of life and birth control earlier, this might not have happened. Was this baby born of innocent ignorance or wilful stupidity? Ignorance is curable, stupidity is not.

- Nigel, London, 13/02/2009 13:42
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What is the world coming to. Thanks to broken families, irresponsible parenting etc. that my children will have to bear the cost of keeping these types of families in the manner they have become accustomed to. It is about time the parents of these children took responsibitity for their kids mistakes. Most times these families are on benefits. What is it, the lack of education!!!!!

- Val Smith, Tokyo, Japan

How will your kids have to bear the cost Val? you don't even live in the UK!!!!

- Kh, London UK, 13/02/2009 13:23
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It's not a sign of 'broken Britain' at all. It's a sign that some people are completely dopey and feckless.

- Jilly, London, 13/02/2009 13:18
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No doubt teachers will be blamed for poor sex-ed in schools, we are an easy scapegoat - especially for parents who absolve responsibility and are the first to blame schools and teachers. We can't watch children all the time but I'm assuming the conception didn't take place in school time?!

- James, London, 13/02/2009 13:13
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What is all the fuss about? Women have been giving birth to children this young for years.

We should be proud little Alfie is standing by Maisie and Chantelle. Good on him!

- Clive, London, UK, 13/02/2009 13:07
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Sex Ed in schools plays a minor part in this sorry tail. Teachers can influence children for a finite period - after that, it's off home.

- Cliff, on the edge..., 13/02/2009 13:03
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Poor Baby, really feel for it....I don't think sex education is anything to do with it, rather than the low morales and lack of decent role models of the lower classes, nothings going to change that.....

- Dc, London, 13/02/2009 12:57
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Time to stop the benefits to young parents

- Len, Oban Uk

and how would that help prevent sexually naive children becoming parents Len?

- Kh, London UK, 13/02/2009 12:56
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choose your parents wisely!

- Chris, wirral, 13/02/2009 12:54
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What is the world coming to. Thanks to broken families, irresponsible parenting etc. that my children will have to bear the cost of keeping these types of families in the manner they have become accustomed to. It is about time the parents of these children took responsibitity for their kids mistakes. Most times these families are on benefits. What is it, the lack of education!!!!!

- Val Smith, Tokyo, Japan, 13/02/2009 12:45
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Len, stopping benefits would have no impact especially in this case as it both parents don't claim benefits.

Rao T, if there was proper sex ed in schools this would not happen as kids would be taught not only safety but to respect sex and the decision to have it.

Yes it is dissapointing that a 13 year old has a child, but it is not a sign of the mythical broken Britain.

- Lee, Cardiff, UK, 13/02/2009 12:43
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Funny how Tories blame Gordon Brown for everything - even the Thatcher years. Amazing

- Keith Price, Luton, England, 13/02/2009 12:39
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Calm down for goodness sakes. This has happened before Gordon Brown was a twinkle in his own parents eyes and will happen again. It's not that common, however, otherwise it wouldn't make the front page of a national newspaper. "Broken Britain" "PC culture"...these are all made-up constructs fashioned by the politicians and media who (for a number of reasons) want to keep us in a state of appalled tension. Break free..think for yourselves. It's the lack of common sense thinking which is destroying this country. Not some fallacious conspiracy.

- Michael, Croydon, UK, 13/02/2009 12:32
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Usually the right wing is against teaching school children about sex and contraception, now they suddenly leap out of the closet and scream about Broken Britain.

- R Pitts, Dulwich England, 13/02/2009 12:29
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sad yes, symptom of a "broken britain" no, its not the youngest parent ever, in fact the youngest parents where 9 and 10 yearolds in china in 1910, it's not a "new" phenomenon its just one of those things that has happened, it is not indicative of anything "bad" happening in society...

- Daveb, london, 13/02/2009 12:25
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Time to stop the benefits to young parents

- Len, Oban Uk, 13/02/2009 12:10
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Parents and elders are to be blamed for this. Sex education at 10 years is adding more fuel to the broken Briton.

- Rao T, Leeds, 13/02/2009 12:05
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Not the most shocking thing I have ever heard, what's the moral panic albout... don't people have better things than judge how other people live their lives?

- Nj, London, 13/02/2009 12:04
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Children bringing up children. Says everything about rotten Britain today. What a legacy for people like my Dad who fought for this country during WWII. I'm just so sick and tired of this country and some of its inhabitants.

- Sue, Orpington, Kent, 13/02/2009 12:03
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Upon reading this story I'm just lost for words!

- Sharon, London, 13/02/2009 11:57
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None of them very bright; none of them with any sort of future. Broken children in broken homes - of which there are many, many in our country.

- Steven Davidson, Colchester, England, 13/02/2009 11:57
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Its a sad state of affairs indeed when children have children. I think he looks terrified in all videos and pictures

- Huseyin, London, 13/02/2009 11:56
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I Think it is discusting , the 15 year i think is to blame as she is 15 and nearly an adult and she is having sexual intercorse with a 12 year old BOY !!! this is frightening.

- Lydia, Wrexham, 13/02/2009 11:54
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its not what this country has become its what it is going back to. History will judge us as wasting a period in time. This story would fit in the 19th or 18th century or even before. That's the tragedy - we have had all this opportunity and blown it.

- Jc, se1, 13/02/2009 11:53
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Stu,
Shock! Horror! A dad at thirteen.
Here we go blaming the government again.
Perhaps better sex education in schools and from his parents would have prevented it.
So it's Labours fault?
And there were no teenage pregnancies under the Tories?
Laughable.

- Steve, Gloucestershire, 13/02/2009 11:48
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No doubt he will find it easier to breed children and claim benefit instead of working which seems so typical of UK today

- Mike, London England, 13/02/2009 11:44
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I agree with the sympathies here...this is all Gordon Brown's fault!!!!!!

also my dishwasher packed up last night....that Brown he has to go.........

- Martin_Clerkenwell, london, 13/02/2009 11:44
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As well as blaming the parents, i do think the childs mother is to blame. For gods sake what was she doing with a twelve year old boy?!!!

- Kh, London UK, 13/02/2009 11:42
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20 years of sex education and still it happens.Are we teaching them how to avoid this or are we teaching them how to do it.

- Dave Smith, Croydon, 13/02/2009 11:31
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I wish them all the best (but only because I am no longer a UK-taxpayer!)

- John, london, 13/02/2009 11:29
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How can some parent allow their children to have sex at such young age?

Another typical sad story of broken Britain. People sitting in sink estates with nothing to do but drinking and having sex. A sad day for the everyone involved in this sorry saga. I hope my children are not affected by the lack of morality in todays society.

- Ahmed, London, 13/02/2009 11:27
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If the boy's father has nine children, it sounds like lack of education.

- John, Wandsworth, 13/02/2009 11:17
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Of course these people think it's 'just a mistake'. When the families combined have had over 15 children, with what appears to be only one earner (as it is not stated that the boy's mum works), they automatically assume the government will pick up the tab for housing and benefit. I disagree with Duncan-Smith. Maybe someone ought to be accusative and perhaps benefits should be less or benefits penalties imposed if these people persist in bringing children they cannot afford (as if the government or the tax payer really can) or bring up with a modicum of decency or concept of correctness into the world. Children are a wonderful thing, but when all they do when brought into the world is suffer and grow up to perpepuate this cycle of poor upbringing and have nothing but a life lived on benefit, it makes me sick that I live in such a PC world. All I can see is that the lack of discipline in children-rearing, concepts of right/wrong and a good work ethic are causing a lot of countries to go downhill.

- L, London, 13/02/2009 11:15
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how many children between both parents !!!education in uk is improving according to the goverment remarkable dig deep you taxpayers

- Phelps Robert, bussiere, france, 13/02/2009 11:10
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This story is just so sad.

- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 13/02/2009 10:59
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This underage sex is getting ridiculous. Save children until you're 18.

- H.J.Jones, London UK, 13/02/2009 10:42
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Having sex at 12...what in the hell?

- Philip, Magherafelt, 13/02/2009 10:39
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this is quite frightening. is this the future for many of todays uneducated/deprived youth? will the next father/mother be 8 years old? where does society go from here and what will the government do to improve and inform children of the responsibilities parenting entails.

- Louise, london, 13/02/2009 10:35
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Teenagers having sex is not a new phenomenon.
If this society had a more grown up view of birth control and a more reasoned view of abortion, these tragedies would not occur...

- Dan, East London, 13/02/2009 10:27
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What a shame. Is this the sex education being thought in schools? What were the parents of these children doing, have they got any idea what are their children doing when they are not at home??.
Everthing is down hill in Britain,the economy,the pound,the houses,the education,the religion. The only thing which is going up is crime,sex and food prices.
Is it possible that nobody cares any more about the family life?
BRITAIN needs a great change in everything.
A.Messina

- A.Messina, Malta, 13/02/2009 10:20
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Broken society - and this is the result - lack of education parental supervision and here we go again - taxpayers will be supporting this lot for years to come no doubt and many more like them

- Wallytrader, London, 13/02/2009 10:17
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The boy (dad) looks too young and hopelessly underage to even consider his predicament and the future consequences. I bet he will soon be running around playing the hooligan and leaving the child for the grandparents to look after. Probably benefits will be paid to them and their lives will be forever after financed by other hardworking taxpayers.

- Peter Noterfed, Paris, France, 13/02/2009 10:17
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We need a change of Government and I don't mean a swing to the Tories neither because they started the rot!

- Paul, Mansfield, 13/02/2009 10:16
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This is about a robbed childhood and very sad situation indeed. These two children have been denied the real joys of being children themselves. I hope this story is not glorified by the press and makes us have a debate on how to protect our children in Britain.

- Maria, London, 13/02/2009 10:14
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Incredible.

Will be a good dad when he has not been a good boy.

What were the parents doing?

- Harry, London, 13/02/2009 10:08
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This is so wrong. If these children ("parents") are old enough and mature enough to create a life (which they're not), then they should know what "financially" means.
When they support the child without using benefits, then I'll give them praise, but for now I blame the parents.

- Richard Stanbury, London, 13/02/2009 10:07
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Another shining example of Labour's Britain.

- Stu, Beckton, 13/02/2009 10:01
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how did this kid even know what to do? Where are his parents?

- Fly, london, 13/02/2009 09:57
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IT MAKES ME WANT TO GO MAD..........I don't care if he says he's going to stand by her, SO WHAT LITTLE IDIOT. take him to Downing St to meet Brown and let Brown see for himself what we're bringing up in this country......THANKS BROWN.

FINAL STRAW.............

- Jonny, London, 13/02/2009 09:49
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what's happening?

- Mario Bernardi, Cremona - Italy, 13/02/2009 09:49
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The poor baby doesn't stand a chance.... I don't think its TV, I don't think its films, I don't think music has much to do with it- It is a painful testimony to the awful situation this country finds itself in. Look at these two, young yes but ultimately the look of no hope and not a braincell between them.

- James Mcardle, London, 13/02/2009 09:47
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