Well, now Alfie Patten, our 13-year old dad, will be undergoing a paternity test.  Apparently, two other boys have claimed they slept with his girlfriend.  There has been no report on whether the girlfriend denied or confirmed the claims, but the council will be paying to have the paternity test done.

I see nothing seriously wrong with the council paying for this test, as they want to sort this out as best they can.  However, there had been questions about whether Alfie, who may not have passed through puberty, could have impregnated his girlfriend.  At the time, doctors had said there was always a remote possibility as we never really know at what stage in puberty the adolescent is going through.  These new allegations now bring that question back to the forefront.

Which then brings us back to the issue of teenage sexual behaviour.  If these allegations are true, then at the tender age of 14, when this girl became pregnant, our young mother had already had three partners.  It seems then that those critics pointing fingers at the social system have a point.  Where did we go wrong?

Have we created a world where anything goes?  Have we made it too acceptable for people to show too much sex and violence on radio, TV, computer, movies, in public?  Have we become too tolerant in the name of free speech?  Have we implicitly expressed our approval of unacceptable behaviour because we have not explicitly disapproved?