Baby-Faced Teen May Not Be the Dad

Teen parent stands barely four feet tall

(NEWSER) - Thirteen-year-old Alfie Patten, who, with his baby face, could pass for eight, became a father on Monday, the Sun reports. The 4-foot-tall Brit—who did not know how much diapers cost but said, "I think it’s a lot"—was not sure how he and girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15, would care for their daughter. "I don’t really get pocket money," he said. "My dad sometimes gives me £10." More»

(NEWSER) - Families appear to be putting off that baby until economic conditions improve, the New York Times reports. The birth rate fell 2% in 2008 compared to 2007, and the trend looks to be continuing into 2009. “It’s the recession," a sociologist says. "Children are the most expensive item in every family’s budget, so it’s a good place to cut back when you’re uncertain about the future.” More»

(NEWSER) - A British National Health Service trust posted a controversial staged video on YouTube showing a teenager giving birth amid a pack of yelling high schoolers as a way to scare girls about pregnancy, reports the Daily Mail. The video shows a teen, played by an actress, giving birth on a sports field with the help of a friend whose face is smeared with blood. More»

Swab results sink claims about UK tabloid sensation

(NEWSER) - The British 13-year-old who became a tabloid sensation because he fathered a child with his teenage girlfriend isn't the dad after all, reports the Mirror, via the Mommy Files blog of the San Francisco Chronicle. A DNA test shows that Alfie Patten is not the UK's youngest father. The boy's mom said he had been "devastated" to learn that he wasn't his 15-year-old girlfriend's one and only. More»

They need guidance, sure, but who cares if they go on the dole?

(NEWSER) - Don’t be so sure 13-year-old Alfie Patten and 15-year-old Chantelle Steadman will be bad parents for their newborn, Sarah Sands writes in the Independent. Sure, the young father “loves computer games and Manchester United,” but that “does not actually set Alfie apart from the adult male population.” The kids will have parental and state support, and what “this dazed-looking father needs is some direction and guidance.” More»