Kids with kids: Where are Britain’s youngest parents now

When the story of then 13-year-old Alfie Patten went viral, then Prime Minister David Cameron stated, “I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.”

Even before reaching the legal age to buy party poppers, Alfie became the youngest ever father in Britain. It was later determined that another young man, slightly older than Alfie was the real father, and this incident ruined Alfie’s life completely. Even today, he’s facing plenty of issues, including alcohol abuse and problems with the law.

However, the story of Alfie and the girl who gave birth to his alleged daughter isn’t the only one of youngsters becoming parents in Britain.

Tressa Middleton, the youngest mother in Britain, who gave birth to her first daughter at the age of just twelve, recently announced she’s expecting her fourth child.

The now 29-year-old mom shared the news of her pregnancy on the social media by posting a photo of the ultrasound. She welcomed her latest child 17 years after she made headlines for being the youngest mother Britain has ever seen.

“So guys, it’s another girl!!” she captioned her post. “Four girls, I can’t believe it. Good luck, Darren.”

Former Britain’s youngest mum Tressa Middleton with her daughter in 2006

Tressa’s story is a heartbreaking one. Her parents were alcohol and drug abusers and her childhood was a tough one, to say the least.

She fell pregnant at the age of 11 and gave birth at 12, shortly after finishing elementary school.

Following the birth of her daughter, the young mom battled depression and started using drugs and alcohol, which resulted in losing the custody of her girl. The baby was put up for adoption.

The father’s identity was kept a secret until 2009, or three years after Tressa gave birth.

At one point, she broke down and confessed that her daughter was her brother’s who s******y assaulted her from the time she was seven years old.

The 34-year-old Jason was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison in 2009.

Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2011, Tressa confessed that “sometimes he blackmailed or bribed me to do it.

“He’d say he was going to tell Mum. He’d give me things – joints, drink, cigarettes. Or he’d threaten me.”

Since then, Tressa has battled to put her life back on track and overcome her addictions, which cost her around £400 every day.

Up until 2011, Tressa was considered to be the youngest mother in Britain. But then, the news of an 11-year-old girl who gave birth filled the headlines.

The girl’s identity was kept a secret, but what is known, as per The Sun, that she was s******y assaulted and her family was unaware of that.

“It has come as a big shock,” a family friend said in 2021 to The Sun.

“She’s now being surrounded by expert help. The main thing is that she and the baby are OK.”

Prior to the case of Alfie, it was Sean Stewart who was thought to be the youngest father in Britain.

In 1998, Sean’s next door neighbor, Emma Webster, 15, got pregnant with his child. At the time, Sean was 11 years old.

A month after turning twelve, Sean’s son, Ben Louis, was born and Sean was granted a day off from school.

Sean and Emma were neighbors and according to her, he would climb to her rooftop to see her.

“He said he was 12, I’d never have gone out with him if I’d known he was 11,” she told The Sunday Telegraph at the time.

Shortly after giving birth, Emma married someone else and moved to a £200,000 house, while Sean continued attending his local school before leaving Bedfordshire in his early adolescence.

According to The Daily Mail, in the early 2000s, he was incarcerated for seven months for stealing.

Speaking of him, Emma said at the time, “I don’t know where Sean is or what he is doing. I don’t want to talk about it anymore because I don’t think it helps Ben.”

No matter how unbelievable these stories sound, the one that is the most shocking of all is that of Lina Medina from Peru who gave birth at the age of just five. Today, Medina is 89 years old.

When she gave birth in 1939, she became the youngest mother in the history. Allegedly, she suffered from “precocious puberty,” a disorder that causes puberty to start earlier than usual.

Teenage couples of a comparable age who have consensual s*x in the UK and are under the legal consent age of 16 are unlikely to face legal action.

But all s****l activity with children under the age of 13 is illegal.

Pittie Mom Can’t Stop Crying For Her Puppies After Being Abandoned At Shelter

When Cinnamon – a red nose Pitbull girl – was dumped at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control shelter in North Carolina, she was absolutely heartbroken. 

She had been abandoned without her babies, and every time anyone stopped to talk to her, tears filled her eyes.

This sad Pitbull mama caught the eyes of one volunteer, who then decided to film a short video of her and post it on Facebook. 

Only 48 hours later, the life of Cinnamon completely changed. 

Cry Of A Broken Heart

photo of sad pitbull at shelter
Source: Sarah Jennings Sleime

Subscribe to the Dog Lovers Club!

Sarah Jennings Sleime, normally a volunteer for the Greater Charlotte SPCA, decided one Saturday that she was going to make a spontaneous trip to animal control to check out a couple of dogs for rescue. 

She had no idea that one dog in particular was going to break her heart. 

“I walked the kennels and a pit bull caught my eye… she was sitting up, kind of slumped-over, almost human-like,” Sleime wrote in her Instagram post.

It was pretty obvious that she recently had puppies and was completely heartbroken since her puppies weren’t there with her. 

“[The shelter workers] believe she was confined and used as a breeding machine. She’s obviously had many, many litters,” Sleime told The Dodo. 

She then bent over and started to talk to Cinnamon, but each time she did so, Cinnamon’s eyes filled with tears.

“It was the craziest phenomenon,” Sleime said.

close-up photo of sad pitbull
Source: Sarah Jennings Sleime

In the absence of a foster home, the SPCA was unable to rescue any big dogs, but Sleime knew she had to do something to help this poor dog.

“I snapped some video footage of her “crying” and posted it to Facebook. 48 hours later, that video has been viewed 1 MILLION times and shared by 20k people,” Sleime wrote. 

In only a day, Sleime’s inbox was filled with hundreds of messages about Cinnamon and her availability. 

So many people wanted to adopt this pretty girl and give her a new life that will not be filled with tears.  

Happily Ever After 

Sleime’s friend, Meghan Connor Shelton, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was also among the hundreds of people to see Cinnamon’s video. 

She told The Dodo: 

“I have a special place in my heart for pit bulls. I think they’re a very misunderstood dog and a misunderstood breed. And when I saw her in that video, literally crying in a cage, I cried. My kids cried. I showed my husband, and he said we could go look at her tomorrow.”

The next morning, Shelton’s family was first in line to meet Cinnamon.

The whole family, including the children, were immediately in love with her. “It was love at first sight. She just kind of pulled at our heartstrings,” Shelton said. 

They filled out the paperwork, and as soon as Cinnamon – now known as Rosie – was spayed, they brought her home. 

family with a pitbull at shelter
Source: Sarah Jennings Sleime

The family already had another dog at home – a 3-year-old Pitbull male named Blu. 

At first, they weren’t sure if the two would get along, especially since Rosie had suffered a lot in her life, but she surprised everyone.

“It was interesting because you never know how it’s going to go, but they just kind of sat next to each other with tails wagging,” Shelton said. 

two dogs lying next to each other in sunshine
Source: @rosie_the_red_nose_pit

The two are now the best of friends, and they enjoy each other’s company. It’s like they’ve known each other their whole life. 

As Rosie slowly got used to her new home and life, her personality also blossomed. According to the family, one of her most interesting characteristics is that “when she gets excited, she snorts like a pig”.

Rosie’s touching video not only secured her a new home, but it also helped many other dogs at the shelter find their forever home. 

pitbull sitting in a chair
Source: @meghanshelton

“Small acts have a big impact: Not only was this sweet dog, Cinnamon, adopted the next morning, but other families who came to adopt her saved other dogs at the shelter, freeing up kennels for strays and owner surrenders waiting in the back who would have certainly been euthanized as the shelter is full,” Sleime said. 

One simple video or a photo can reach millions of people and in a matter of seconds, change someone’s life. 

Visit the CMPD Animal Care and Control page, and the Greater Charlotte SPCA’s website for more information about adoptable dogs for an opportunity to save another pup’s life just like Rosie’s was saved.  

Related Posts

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*