Fathering a child is a beautiful experience that comes with a big set of duties. But the joy of fatherhood is above any responsibilities that may weigh you down. Sadly, this isn’t the case when you become a father at the age of 13. Alfie Patten learnt this lesson the hard way. When media exploded with the news of Alfie’s son, he was dubbed “the youngest father in Britain”! That one statement changed his life beyond repair until the family came forward to tell the full story of Alfie and his girlfriend, Chantelle.
The Prior Life
Life of Alfie was as usual as any other little boy. He was a loved boy and his parents adored him. The first 12 years of his life were spent on a coastal area of Britain and he attended school in that region itself. At the age of twelve, he had a height of 4’4” and it was time for him to level up to high school.
Growing Up
When a kid hits adolescence, it becomes obvious that the little one is budding into an adult. This boy who was still a kid at heart was now growing physically. He was eager to grow up as soon as possible and he started hanging out with new people. He knew shifting to high school meant making new friends and that is what he did.
New Friends
As a kid, we all love to play and be in a huge group of friends. This little boy was popular among his local friends and outside of the school, he started being friends with kids older than his age. He found teenagers fun and loved being around them. He barely understood the things they talked about as most of the topics of discussions revolved around girls. The guys were always chasing them.
Dwelling Interests
The more time this lad spent with the guys older than his age, the more he was interested in girls. Before this, he was never interested in girls but now he was intrigued by their presence and started noticing why other boys were always after them. Before this, he had never had a girlfriend but now he thought that it would be nice to have one.
And There Comes Chantelle
At this point of time, Chantelle entered his life. She was a family friend but the two of them had not spent much time together. Chantelle was three years older than him and they loved spending time together. She was the first girlfriend of Alfie and according to Chantelle; she had never been before with any guy as well. Alfie even started spending nights at Chantelle’s home.
The News Came In
It had been a while since they both started dating and the happy couple was now going to have a difficult time. It was a regular day and Alfie was going out to play. He was excited as he knew he would meet Chantelle there. That is when she dropped the bomb on him. She told him that she was pregnant and he was going to be a father soon.
Questions Started Popping In His Head
When he got the news, Alfie didn’t know what to think and how to handle the situation. After all, what could a twelve-year-old boy do? He couldn’t beat his head around the thought that Chantelle was nearly eight months pregnant. He asked her numerous questions to confirm it was his child. After a while, he didn’t think it was okay to question her further. He straight went to his home and started to think of a way to tell his parents about what had happened.
Revealing The Details To Parents
Being a kid, Alfie didn’t have much knowledge about babies. Telling his mother about the happening was difficult but he had no other option left. He had to tell his mother. The parents were devastated by the revelation of this news. They said, “His voice hadn’t even ¬broken. Then he told me he was going to be a dad.”
After this, his parents would want to talk to him to get details but he would always avoid the topic.
Supportive Parents
At a young age of twelve, no one really knows what they are doing and no one thinks of the conclusions. His parents knew that it would be tough for him to handle the situation and they decided to be supportive of the situation. Alfie’s mother decided to help her son be a dad and did everything a supportive mother should do.
Due Date
The family got to know about the pregnancy just a month before the due date. So, they had a little time to prepare Alfie for the coming struggle. Alfie’s mother prepared his room like a nursery and did everything that was possible. Even Alfie decided to do everything he could do for the baby and was excited to be present at the time of baby’s birth.
Delivering The Baby
The D-Day arrived and Chantelle gave birth to a baby girl. The new parents named the baby Maisie Roxanne. The parents were fond of the new daughter in a matter of a few seconds. Amidst this happy moment, the news of this delivery was all around the media. Every newspaper wanted to report this news and they arrived at the hospital to take pictures. Alfie, Chantelle along with the baby took part in the shoot. This is when Alfie was declared as the youngest father of Britain.
Unnecessary Publicity
As the days passed by, the attention towards the family of Alfie was increasing and how. The story was reported in every newspaper and it was in every nook and corner of the city. The judgmental people on social media started giving hatred to the family and made things bitter for them. When Alfie started appearing in public, the situation got worse. The issue reached the parliament and was discussed and they suggested reforms in sex education. Alfie’s family was turned upside down.
Being A Parent
Despite all the attention, Alfie had a major task to do at his home. He was now a parent and he had to spend time with her and take care of the little one. The parents of the new parents were supportive throughout the journey but still, it was tough for Alfie and Chantelle to get used to the idea of being parents at such a young age.
Doubts Started Coming In
As the pictures of the father circulated in the media, people started doubting if Alfie was the real father of the child. Alfie didn’t seem to hit puberty and that made it difficult for him to be a dad. There were people who started saying that the father was another guy in the locality. Chantelle used to go out with that guy as well. Bummer! This is when Chantelle answered back all the claims and said, “I love Alfie... there had been no one else...the other stupid boys are lying.”
Other Boys
When Chantelle claimed that there was no other guy, two guys came in the scenario and claimed that they had slept with Chantelle. So, there was a probability that Alfie was probably not the actual biological father. Between all the rumors, Alfie decided to believe Chantelle and focussed on being a good dad. He took care of the baby as a dad should.
DNA Tests To The Rescue
Alfie might have ignored the rumors but his parents couldn’t do the same and wanted to clarify for once and for all. To get rid of all the doubts, Alfie’s parents suggested that they should take the DNA test. And find out about the real dad. Alfie wasn’t grown up enough to know what a DNA test is but after his mother explained it to him he was ready to get it done. To close the matter for once and for all, all the other guys claiming to be the dad were also invited to get the DNA test.
The Day Of The Result
Alfie was nervously waiting for the result and the other guy Tyler had given details of the night he had spent with Chantelle. Now, Alfie was worried about the outcome of the test. Alfie’s test came out to be negative and Alfie broke down in tears and left the room crying. He ran out of the room in an overwhelmed state.
The Real Deal
After the awful news, the real father was also found out from the boys who were claiming to be the dad. As other people had suggested, the real father turned out to be Tyler Barker. After the results came out, Tyler was shocked by the result as he had been with Chantelle just once. Tyler did agree that they hadn’t used any contraceptive but Chantelle told him that she would take the morning pill.
Shock And Distance
When the news broke out, Alfie and his mother were in a state of shock. It was hard to leave Masie after all this. He was then asked not to see Masie and Chantelle for obvious reasons. The family moved out of the area to give Alfie a stable environment. The family then didn’t want to involve Alfie in any more controversy. His mother was already worried about him as he had to go through major hardships at such a young age.
Depression Hit The Little Boy
Leaving someone you love is hard and that is what Alfie had to do at the age of thirteen. When Alfie found out that he isn’t the real father, he was devastated and didn’t know how to deal with the changes in his life. All his parental feelings were now of no use as Masie was not around him anymore. He even stopped going to school for a while.
We Gotta Move On
After some time, Alfie started to get used to the thought that he wasn’t Masie’s father and Chantelle was not in his life anymore. He decided to move on and went back to school as it was expected out of him. He started to lead a normal life and even started dating a new girl. As time passed by he got over the pain and decided to talk about his life after the DNA results.
More Revelations
As time passed by, the mother of Alfie talked to all the newspapers and cleared that Alfie never slept with Chantelle. Alfie never knew what it takes to become a father and just accepted the fact that he was the father of Chantelle’s child. When Alfie got some sense, he talked to his mother about it and told her that he was still a virgin and plans to remain until he turns eighteen.
Lesson Learnt
There was news of another you gest couple who was set to become parents. This is when Alfie decided to talk about the effect all the situations had on his life. He is now eighteen and due to his not so regular attendance in school, he didn’t do great in studies. Consequently, he is jobless right now. Alfie talked about it and said, “It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made and it’s really affected me. I left school with no GCSEs, and I’ve never worked. I can’t imagine how hard life would be if I had to be a father too.” The things are tricky at this point but it will be better. This lesson for young needs to reach everyone for the betterment of society.
