She's ten and she's a mum. An unidentified Romanian girl has given birth in Spain, it's understood that the dad is 13. Despite cries of horror from many parts of the world, her own mother says she's happy about the birth, which she described as "something common in my country".
The girl apparently arrived in the country already pregnant and now authorities in Andalusia are deciding whether to take the child into care. A UN report says 10% of girls in low- and middle-income countries become mothers by the age of 16.
What about the baby that fell out of the Paris high rise window, bounced off the awning and landed safely in the arms of a passerby? Would you consider the parents of this child, however old, responsible? Ivy, Kenya
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18:14
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Muhumuza - Unfortunately in our generation there is no 'right age'. As long as one feels that something is ok, they will go ahead and do it. Perhaps our societies have become immoral.
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18:13
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Jacques in Nairobi - At 10 kids should be in school, what will they do by the time they are 40?
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18:12
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PC Hitman on the blog - Far to young obviously and down to very bad parenting
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18:12
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Susan on the blog - Our society has developed a theory that young girls shouldn't have children But this doesn't seem to square with nature. Girls start their periods from 9 years onwards - so nature is saying their body IS ready to have children - is it right to deny nature?
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18:11
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David in Cleveland emailed - I haven't heard any mention of a father. Why not?
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18:11
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Half Hybrid on the blog - Just because many girls reach puberty earlier these days does not mean that they are emotionally or mentally developed enough to be mothers. Early maturity is not necessarily down to a 'better diet'. I'm pretty sure it's down to the hormones and additives that our in our food.
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18:10
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Milwaukee Ray on the blog - I am not interested in tolerating child molestation or statutory rape because they are part of someone's culture, any more than I feel obliged to respect cultures that promote stoning women to death.
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18:10
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Pregnancy @Age 10 is profanity against sanctity of marriage&family values
Callistus.Kampala
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18:10
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Ronnie on the blog - Age is not as important as income. No woman, what ever her age, should have a child unless she and the father can afford to look after it.
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18:09
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Keith emailed from Gainsville, Florida - Unless it's cultural, a child having a child is is selfish - showing that a child is too young to make a mature decision. A child will not be able to relate to problems a 'normal' teen has growing up - physically and mentally.
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18:07
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A UN report says 10 percent of girls in low and middle-income countries give birth before the age of 16. A statistic worth bearing in mind in our debate today...
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18:04
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Then we''ll be moving on to look at the 10-year-old Roma girl in Spain who has given birth. How young is too young to have a child?
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18:04
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Airbus....the bigger they come, the harder they fall. The sheer size of these aircraft has always been spooky. Banks, amsterdam
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Hello! It''s Ben S in London. Two topics on today''s WHYS. First - the incident involving a Qantas A380 plane, which was forced to land after an engine exploded.
How young is too young to have a baby?
| Thursday, 11 Nov. 2010 | 18:06 - 19:00 GMT
She's ten and she's a mum. An unidentified Romanian girl has given birth in Spain, it's understood that the dad is 13. Despite cries of horror from many parts of the world, her own mother says she's happy about the birth, which she described as "something common in my country".
The girl apparently arrived in the country already pregnant and now authorities in Andalusia are deciding whether to take the child into care. A UN report says 10% of girls in low- and middle-income countries become mothers by the age of 16.
Your comments
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What about the baby that fell out of the Paris high rise window, bounced off the awning and landed safely in the arms of a passerby? Would you consider the parents of this child, however old, responsible? Ivy, Kenya
Comment sent via Facebook
Muhumuza - Unfortunately in our generation there is no 'right age'. As long as one feels that something is ok, they will go ahead and do it. Perhaps our societies have become immoral.
Comment sent via Facebook
Jacques in Nairobi - At 10 kids should be in school, what will they do by the time they are 40?
Comment sent via BLOG
PC Hitman on the blog - Far to young obviously and down to very bad parenting
Comment sent via BLOG
Susan on the blog - Our society has developed a theory that young girls shouldn't have children But this doesn't seem to square with nature. Girls start their periods from 9 years onwards - so nature is saying their body IS ready to have children - is it right to deny nature?
Comment sent via YOURSAY
David in Cleveland emailed - I haven't heard any mention of a father. Why not?
Comment sent via BLOG
Half Hybrid on the blog - Just because many girls reach puberty earlier these days does not mean that they are emotionally or mentally developed enough to be mothers. Early maturity is not necessarily down to a 'better diet'. I'm pretty sure it's down to the hormones and additives that our in our food.
Comment sent via BLOG
Milwaukee Ray on the blog - I am not interested in tolerating child molestation or statutory rape because they are part of someone's culture, any more than I feel obliged to respect cultures that promote stoning women to death.
Comment sent via SMS
Pregnancy @Age 10 is profanity against sanctity of marriage&family values Callistus.Kampala
Comment sent via BLOG
Ronnie on the blog - Age is not as important as income. No woman, what ever her age, should have a child unless she and the father can afford to look after it.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Keith emailed from Gainsville, Florida - Unless it's cultural, a child having a child is is selfish - showing that a child is too young to make a mature decision. A child will not be able to relate to problems a 'normal' teen has growing up - physically and mentally.
Comment sent via host
A UN report says 10 percent of girls in low and middle-income countries give birth before the age of 16. A statistic worth bearing in mind in our debate today...
Comment sent via host
Then we''ll be moving on to look at the 10-year-old Roma girl in Spain who has given birth. How young is too young to have a child?
Comment sent via SMS
Airbus....the bigger they come, the harder they fall. The sheer size of these aircraft has always been spooky. Banks, amsterdam
Comment sent via host
Hello! It''s Ben S in London. Two topics on today''s WHYS. First - the incident involving a Qantas A380 plane, which was forced to land after an engine exploded.