Britain's youngest parents

At that age, yes I think it's brave. They must have been really scared. Most teenagers are persuaded into abortions or adoptions I'd assume.

The really brave option would have been to get it adopted, so it has the chance of a stronger family.

then clearly you don't have enough facts to make a valid argument.
no one forces teenagers into an abortion.most teenage pregnancies are a secret to almost everyone until its too late, or unless the child has been brought up to consider teenage pregnancy the norm.
There's a very fine line between bravery and idiotic self destruction, and i think by having the child these kids have crossed it.

Wow.

At this rate the grandparents could be great, great, great, great, great grandparents before they die. What's the record?



They're so brave to put this massive burden on the rest of their family (because they obviously can't actually look after a child at 12/ 13 years old), yes.

Not having any idea what you're getting yourself into isn't bravery.

It depends on the family and the support they can offer.

I think parting with your child is extremely difficult and would cause later pain for the parents if they feel they could have raised the child and then want it back but they can't because it's settled with the adoptive family.

Could you really expect your parents to be the sole benefactor to your own child?

Or what about that childs life, when your trying to get on with your own education? What about going to university, your child will be about six? Will you leave them behind and be an even biger burden to your own parents?

And what about when they are at school, and they're getting bullied for having parents who are so young?

Or what are the chances of the two parents staying together when they only children themselves?

And how can a child truly look after a child? Children get taken into care if their parents make them the sole carer of their younger siblings, how is this that much different.

If they had the baby adopted, they would garuntee a good, stable home for their baby. Is that not what parents are supposed to want for their children? And they could do open adoption, so they could still be in their childs life, but all so have the chance for them to grow up themselves.

I definitely couldn't say proud with a straight face if that was my daughter

Why is there not a law against this?

That kid should be taken by social services and put into adoption. Those people are not parents they're children.

It depends on the family and the support they can offer.

I think parting with your child is extremely difficult and would cause later pain for the parents if they feel they could have raised the child and then want it back but they can't because it's settled with the adoptive family.

If my child got pregnant at a young age I'd be sad that they had sex and had their innocence taken away, but they're still my child and I'd try my best to support them. I'd explain what having a child means and see what their reaction is. If they decide to have it then I would ensure they carry on with their education and I'd raise the grandchild, unless the mother wants to be the known mother to them. Bottom line is I'm hardly likely to neglect the child and my grandchild just to save face. You don't abandon your kids.



I'd expect that the bulk of the care would come from the grandparents. At say 6 years old, the child will have their uniform costs covered, food can be bought by me, extra curricular activities etc. For me this isn't that much of a stretch and I'd be happy to help.



Never an excuse for bullying. Says more about the child's parents than the teenager who had a baby.



Good point - but for some, it may be a kick to be responsible. For others, they may abandon. The boy's parents should contribute too.



Grandparents help older parents (20s-30s), grandparents are also carers.



This comes back to my feeling that parents shouldn't abandon their kids. Of course parents want the best for the child, but they want to be part of that. I don't think parents can fully separate them wanting the best for the child from having their child adopted. It's going to bite them and I think it would be worse than raising the child and having a short term inconvenience for a few years.

If the parents are abusive then obviously I'd agree the child should be put into care. But if it's down to being too young they just have a little bit to learn.

Also, I think sex education needs to be better.

I'm not sayin the grandparents shouldn't want to help, its could you really ask that much of them? To basically make them go through the whole process of bringing a child up again?
Nothing is ever an excuse for bullying, but people are horrible, and it will happen. It's like when a parent gives their child an absolutely ridiculous name.

I'm not saying that they should automatically give their baby away, I'm saying that would have been the bravest thing that they could have done.

Baby's a child, not a burden. It could be like raising a child for the grandparents until the teenagers are old enough to support it. Whilst it's inconvenient, hardly a disaster as long as the parents are supportive.

It's brave because it's not giving up and facing up to the reality of the situation. At such a young age where there are big responsibilities now.

Yes, because letting your parents to raise your child is bearing big responsibilities.

What else could you have said in his situation though? He knew it only four weeks before her due date. There was nothing he could have done.

And being judgmental doesn't help anyone in his family now.

exactly, you'd just learn to accept it I suppose. but I'm not going to feel pride in such a scenario