Children Raising Children

It takes all sorts, and today, according to the paper, it takes a few more. I have just read the story of April Webster and Nathan Fishbourne who, at just fourteen years old, have become the youngest parents in Britain. Obviously, as I wouldn’t be talking about it on my blog if not, but, I have some problems with this.

Let’s start first at what two thirteen-year-olds were doing having sex to get to this point of them holding this dubious record. Personally, I didn’t even kiss anyone until I was sixteen. Late bloomer? No, I don’t think so – most of my friends clock in around a similar age. And, granted, everyone loses their virginity at their own pace but at thirteen, I wouldn’t have known the first thing about sex.

I can’t get myself into the mind of these children (they might be parents, but they are still children) who thought that it was something they should do. Maybe they felt they had to. Apparently Nathan used a condom once, didn’t like it, so they stopped using protection. So let’s thank god that the government has plugged extra money and emphasis onto sex education at younger ages since everyone’s clearly paying attention.

Look, different strokes for different folks, I get that, but personally I feel that fourteen is far too young to be having sex. Besides, isn’t sex under the age of sixteen illegal? Or is it fine when it’s between two children?

I don’t believe that two fourteen-year-olds, no matter how mature they may seem, are at all capable of raising a child when they haven’t finished being raised themselves. What annoys me most, perhaps, is that their parents are so accepting and supportive of the situation.

Things have moved on but, let’s be honest, in some places they haven’t moved on as much as others, and the new grandparents will be stuck with the social stigma of how they let their children have sex. I know parents can’t physically stop you, but what about education? Were Nathan and April at all aware of the potential consequences of their actions?

Nathan’s parents, at least, had the decency to be angry at their son (at first at least) and tell him that he’d been stupid and irresponsible, but now they seem to love the idea. April’s parents, on the other hand, seem really chuffed.

Maybe I’m a little old-fashioned on this front, but I don’t believe it is possible to be a good parent at such a young age. I mean, you can do everything you can think of for the child in theory, but how are they going to pay for the new addition without hand outs from their parents or draining more money from the taxpayer?

Like I said, you can’t stop people having sex but you can get them to wise up. If two thirteen-year-olds do decide to have sex then fine, but they should be responsible. If Nathan didn’t like condoms, then April should have refused to have sex with him, or perhaps gone on the pill. They both appear like doting parents now but do you remember how fickle you were at fourteen? Tomorrow’s next big thing was very quickly yesterday’s junk. But having a baby isn’t a novelty, it is for life, and I just don’t think that’s something many of these teenage mothers grasp.

I always think that this kind of thing isn’t fair, to anyone involved. The baby may not be raised in a secure environment and the child-parents have thrown away any chance of a normal teenage life. Nights out in the park or drunken parties aren’t possible when you’re responsible for a young child.

I’m not saying it can’t work, because it can. I just think that at fourteen, it is practically impossible to be able to raise a child better than if you had waited ten years or so.

I wish April, Nathan and Jamie good luck and I hope that they can make this a success. I do however hope that this doesn’t make other children sit up and go, “Hey, that looks like fun.”

Enjoy your childhood while you can and never be in a rush to grow up.

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