Baby-faced boy is father at 13

[carmen_kass]

Hot Mess on a TV near you?

This is getting classier and classier.

Alfie To Prove Paternity On TV?

News: Tue 17 Feb, 2009

12 Hours Ago

Alfie Patten
We were as shocked as anyone to hear that 13-year-old Alfie Patten had become a dad.

But as reports that he may not be the father emerge, rumour has it Alfie may prove his paternity on TV.

According to the Daily Star, Alfie's father Dennis wants his son to declare the result live on a TV talk show.

Before his paternity of baby Maisie was questioned, Channel 4 series Cutting Edge had already agreed a deal for a documentary about Alfie.

The schoolboy was spotted with a film crew yesterday as he gestured rudely to the media camped outside his mum Nicola's house.

An onlooker told the newspaper: "It was a bit disturbing really; Alfie came out of his house just to give this gesture - with the film crew alongside him - and went back in again.

"It was totally stunted up, they came out of the house, got in the car, drove to the roundabout and came back again."

Publicist Max Clifford said that the documentary will provide "a realistic insight into a major issue of our time," and confirmed Alfie will be taking the DNA test "as soon as possible," but made no further comment on whether the results would be announced on TV.
Meanwhile, Maisie's 15-year-old mother, Chantelle Steadman, has signed a deal with Sunday tabloid, The People.

 

[saka]

ugh what kind of father is that?

 

[eternitygoddess]

Holy f*ck. The boy's dad agreed to do a "documentary" and LIVE paternity test, and the girl's mother signed a deal with a tabloid?

These parents are pimping their kids out! No wonder their kids ended up in this mess.

Disgusting.

 

[tigerrouge]

Though it's not so much a surprise, when you consider that a mother was recently jailed in the UK for organising the kidnap of her own child, so that she could receive sympathy donations (after seeing the Madeleine McCann case attract substantial funding), and then go on to profit from the official reward money when her daughter would be 'found' by someone involved in the plan. However, the whole thing fell apart, and the plan was exposed.

When there's money to be made, there's someone ready to exploit it, even at the cost of their own family.

 

[ckashie]

He was probably told that he would make a lot of money to use for raising the baby in exchange for selling his story, and didn't realise the media attention that would come with it. I imagine he is overwhelmed enough without having strangers camping out on his lawn. If their motives for earning money are for the baby's sake, then I don't begrudge them, it would be such a shame if their families took the money though. It's sad but media attention in these areas is often what it takes for people who are struggling to get money and support, so you can't blame them for taking extreme measures for their kid's future.

What if he isn't the father though? The whole thing would be a pretty traumatic thing to go through, he seems so keen to be a good dad to the child and it seems almost cruel to snatch it away from him (if it was proven he wasn't the father) and let it be raised by another child. It's just an awful, tangled situation.

 

[quiet heartbeat]

Well-done Richard Goodsell on accusing himself of statutory r*pe. He'll go far.

How would he be accusing himself of statutory r*pe? She clearly has willing sex with these boys. Either way, because there is a grey area concerning age/willingness, etc. the law is not widely enforced in these situations in the UK.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

How would he be accusing himself of statutory r*pe? She clearly has willing sex with these boys. Either way, because there is a grey area concerning age/willingness, etc. the law is not widely enforced in these situations in the UK.

A 16 year old boy having sex with a 15 year old girl is, by definition, statutory r*pe. There is no grey area, willingness has no bearing on the matter.

 

[quiet heartbeat]

A 16 year old boy having sex with a 15 year old girl is, by definition, statutory r*pe. There is no grey area, willingness has no bearing on the matter.

Not in the UK. The law varies depending on circumstances if both children are underage.

Two years ago his [Alfie's] father Dennis, 45, who works for a vehicle recovery agency, moved out of the home he had shared with his wife Nicola, 43, their three children – Joe, 16, Alfie and Isabella, 11 – and a bull terrier called Winnie.

Both Pattens also have children by other partners; Dennis is a father to 10, one of whom, Jayde, is said to have become a mother at 13.

 

[LetThemEatCake]

The mother is frighteningly bizarre looking.....

 

[luckynines]

I'm young and in the UK, and my life has been far from miserable

I just find it sick how they are getting money, by telling the world that he has sex at 13.

True, my life hasn't been miserable however im from quite priviledged background, but for the majority of young people in UK especially those from deprived areas the story is much different and this child having a child is part of a much wider social problem, seriously a couple of years ago the UK was ranked the lowest for child wellbeing by unicef in the industrialised countries and for such a rich country that is shocking and appalling.

Here's the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6359363.stm

 

[Working Girl]

True, my life hasn't been miserable however im from quite priviledged background, but for the majority of young people in UK especially those from deprived areas the story is much different and this child having a child is part of a much wider social problem, seriously a couple of years ago the UK was ranked the lowest for child wellbeing by unicef in the industrialised countries and for such a rich country that is shocking and appalling.

Here's the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6359363.stm

Good point. And people call the girl disgusting. The conditions she has to live under and others are disgusting. Children are the innocent ones. The parents are no better due to the lack of opportunity. Child poverty can not fixed without focusing on adult poverty. Or the more single mothers who are increasingly poor.

 

[TommyGirl]

Omg what a mess. I don`t have any right to judge, though...But this whole tabloid thing is somehow disgusting. I think it would be much better, if they didn`t make such a big public deal of this, now it seems like the parents of these kids just make money with them. What a great start for a new life. I bet tabloids will dig up this baby girl when she`s a teen ager, and make stories about how it feels like to be daughter of so young parents and bla bla bla.

 

[BerlinRocks]

this is so sad and sick... the world is messed up
i heard him talk about it all and he seriously doesnt even know what is going on. at one point hes being asked about how he will cope financially and he said "whats that?" that even his so called girlfriend laughed.
he looks not much older than my 7 year old nephew

i blame the parents, sorry!

i've heard the story some days ago on the radio ....
i was just shocked ..... i never understood how little kids like that can imagine having a child ... i always thought it was unresponsible ... and to me it's same when you are 20-25yrs old, that your bf is not with you anymore and that you have no stable financial situation ... a child costs a lot, requests a lot of time .... etc.

about the family .... well not to be insulting but that's a bunch of freaks .... i think this is the same situation, the father and mother had their kids young, they have like 10 kids etc.
on the radio they said England was the country where there are the most young (before the age of 15) mother in Europe .....


i don't understand why she didn't abort and why any doctors told her to do it !!! why they didn't protect themselves (condoms + piles !!!! condoms, kids !!!!)

 

[BerlinRocks]

Though I was thinking, all this talk in the media of "decline of moral standards"... when throughout history, as soon as people have become fertile, they've been having babies, it's just that we don't have any statistics from 1909 or 1846 or 1645 to let us know the full picture of what went on back then.

And when was this golden age of morals? Was it when having a baby was something that got girls shoved in a home for a while and the baby forcibly removed for adoption? Was it when religious morals ensured children grew up suffering a lifelong stigma from being illegitimate? None of that stopped babies being born to young people.

I think we're hoodwinked by society to think everything was better 'back when...' when they're really referring to a fantasy world of nostalgia that never existed.

i've always approved you tiger ... and i know you are a smart woman .... but c'mone these are different situations and times ...
and yes, of course, you can have stats of births in these centuries ... do you think historians are doing what ?

anyway ... it's not because in the past those things happened that these situations have to happen again !! We have everything nowadays to avoid this ! Birth-control pills, condoms, abortion etc. Our society is tiny different (when I'm reading those stories I think we are more in a post-medieval time than anything else ... but ...)
And sorry but make kids just to earn ££££ is not sincerely .................... it's a shame to do that !

(i don't know if this is gossip but i heard Alfie's father had so many children just to get the social financial aids ... i mean go to work man !)

edit : i hadn't clearly understand your post ... oops ... so i agree with you i think .... !!!!!

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Not in the UK. The law varies depending on circumstances if both children are underage.

16 is the age of consent in England and Wales, Richard 'the genius' Goodsell is a legal adult. Furthermore, all laws vary in their application, this being something like the definition of a common law system. While the law may not regularly be enforced, as it isn't for a whole range of offences, it's a lot more likely to be after the offender confesses to it on public record.

Not to get arsy, but having lived in England for most of my life and done the compulsory citizenship classes like everyone else...

 

[quiet heartbeat]

16 is the age of consent in England and Wales, Richard 'the genius' Goodsell is a legal adult. Furthermore, all laws vary in their application, this being something like the definition of a common law system. While the law may not regularly be enforced, as it isn't for a whole range of offences, it's a lot more likely to be after the offender confesses to it on public record.

Not to get arsy, but having lived in England for most of my life and done the compulsory citizenship classes like everyone else...

Don't you think something would've come up already if it was a big problem in the scheme of things, though?

 

[leyla m.]

The mother is frighteningly bizarre looking.....

HAHAHAHHAHA
this is not a joke but when i saw her on the news i honestly though it was the boy's GRANDDAD!! just with longish yellow hair... i swear

uhm...

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/nicolapattenREX_175x125.jpg

 

[tigerrouge]

and yes, of course, you can have stats of births in these centuries ... do you think historians are doing what ?

My point is, newspapers constantly talk of some great moral decline - so WHEN were things great? What year should we recreate in order to get back to 'moral living'?

The records from previous centuries are illuminating, but also incomplete. Historians are people who try to create certainty from tangled scraps of information, mixed in with their own personal bias, and who then make their findings sound like hard facts.

But historical record-keeping cannot compare to modern record-keeping, and we do not have the true picture of what life was like (especially for the illiterate sections of society who did not write down details of their own lives, for someone to read in 2009). The only historical certainty is a biological one; that as soon as humans reach a fertile age, they have been having children.

And the 'ideal' age for when people should bear children changes from age to age, society to society. In some ages, people got married at 13, these days they get married at 33 - or not at all - before having children.

We have everything nowadays to avoid this ! Birth-control pills, condoms, abortion etc.

Abortion is illegal in my country, it's illegal both in Northern Ireland and Ireland. And we all know what the teachings of the Catholic Church say about the use of condoms. It is an approach that says birth control is somehow immoral. Not that young people listen to anyone, but when they do become pregnant, it makes it difficult for them to make the right decision for themselves, because of social judgements from religious people, and the lack of options for dealing with it.

This atmosphere doesn't exist on mainland UK, but it means I am more inclined to have sympathy for young people who are pregnant.

 

[Bamhutt]

This story is unbelievable.. I've read every page of this thread and it just gets worse and worse.. Everyone involved in this situation is clearly lacking any sense. It is really just a reality tv show, I'm sure all sorts of films and documentaries will be produced, and everyone seems to have forgotten about the poor baby tangled up in all of this.

 

[hepburn]

i haven't been following this thread from the beginning but this is just my two cents: i hate when children say that they think it was a good that they have a child. they clearly don't know what it takes to raise a kid when they are a child themself. this reminds me of that episode of the tyra show when she had all those girls on that wanted to be mothers... ridiculous.