Birth of 13-year-old dad's child sparks outrage

The birth of a child fathered by a 13-year-old boy has sparked an uproar in Britain.

Alfie Patten, who was only 12 when the baby was conceived with his girlfriend, Chantelle Steadman, 15, was first pictured on the front of Friday's tabloid Sun newspaper with his daughter, Maisie Roxanne, after her birth Monday.

He told the newspaper that he thought "it would be good to have a baby."

"I didn't think about how we would afford it. I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10. When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried about how people would react. I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it."

Chantelle, meanwhile, said, "I'm tired after the birth. I was nervous after going into labor, but otherwise I was quite excited."

She later told the Sun that they wanted to "prove to everyone" that they could give Maisie a "great future" and said both of them planned to stay in school.

The Sun reported that police had investigated but said they were not going to prosecute, as it was "not in anyone's interests."

Conservative party leader David Cameron told the British Press Association that parenthood should not be something the teenagers should even have been contemplating.

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who runs the Centre for Social Justice think tank, told PA that the birth highlighted another case of "broken Britain" where "anything goes."

"It's not being accusative; it's about pointing out the complete collapse in some parts of society of any sense of what's right and wrong."

"There is no opprobrium any more about behavior, and quite often, children witness behavior that's aggressive, violent, rude and sexual. It's as if no one is saying this is wrong."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said "all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies," PA reported.

Tony Kerridge, of the sexual health specialist Marie Stopes International, told PA that children needed better education.

"We have got the social aspect of young girls in the UK seeing having a baby as a route to getting their own place," he said.

London's The Times newspaper reported Saturday that in the past decade, more than 40 other boys younger than 14 had fathered children.

The UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe: 385 girls under the age of 14 became pregnant between 1998 and 2007.

Whatever happened to kids being kids, hanging out, playing sports, watching all the great new movies we can, playing video games..being kids...enjoying there youth? 13 year olds should not be having children, they themselves are still children, they are still developing both mentally and physically... The pressures that go with raising another human being in this world, making sure they are healthy, well nourished, cared for, clothed, have a roof over there heads... Are these things any 13 year old should have to be thinking about?? Should he/she be thinking about there excess homework load, projects due soon, getting a better post secondary education... or should they be thinking about there own child, if they're well fed, is there enough food for both them and the child, are they running out of diapers, formula, are they running out of clothes that fit.... when this kid (yes KID) is 19, when others his age are out partying, spending nights out with friends, studying hard for college/university and so on...He'll have to be thinking about his child and making sure they're in a good school, and doing well.... Is he really ready for all that??

His girlfriend, not to let her off here either, she's only 15... Is she really ready for this? They say they decided and made the decision that they wanted to be parents... What sort of real decision making can children that age really make? how well thought out can it really have been?

I fear for the future of these children (both, the parents, and the young one they brought into the world)... What happens when the kids have a change of heart (as all kids do, they'll be really interested in something one moment, lose interest in it the next) and decide they no longer want to be parents? What then? Leave the child to THERE parents and have the child raised by the grandparents?

As the saying goes "Anyone can be a dad...But, it takes a real MAN to be a father" at 13... being called a man would be a real stretch....

Thoughts???