Testing It Up

Last week, UK shocked the world by releasing photos of a cherubic thirteen year-old boy holding his baby daughter. An alleged one-time tryst with 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Steadman turned Alfie Patten, who could even pass for a ten year-old, into a father and a celebrity. He was crowned ‘Britain’s youngest dad’ by tabloids.

Controversy followed that feature, though, as several other boys stepped forward claiming rights to the ‘throne’. Now why would boys fight over the responsibility of being a father to a baby girl at such a young age?

Apparently having your fifteen minutes of fame translates into big bucks, money that everyone wants to get their hands on. Tabloids reportedly paid the young couple huge sums of money for photos of little Maisie and young daddy Alfie. And as if that’s not enough, no less than fifteen television companies are trying to put one over the other to grab the exclusive rights to make a documentary on the young father. Media experts are speculating that if all these stories are true and push through, Alfie could become half a million pounds richer.

Some British newspapers are now reporting that the adults in these children’s lives may have something to do with all this hoopla. Chantelle’s mother Penny Steadman is said to have been the brains behind the plan to make money over the publicity and media frenzy that Alfie’s fatherhood will undoubtedly create. A family friend reportedly revealed to a newspaper that the elder Steadman advised her own daughter to keep mum about the other boys she’s had relations with since it is Alfie’s fatherhood that the public will be most interested in. If this is indeed a scam, then the media may have fallen for the ruse hook, line and sinker.

Alfie is not backing down, though. He is steadfast in his claim of being Maisie’s dad, and has agreed to take a paternity test to prove it. There’s definitely a lot of drama, and it looks like there’s more to come. This, along with the story of the Suleman octuplets and the Hayer twins, certainly makes one wonder, what has the world come to?

For seventeen years, Mark Webb raised a daughter with his wife, Lydia Chapman. At least, that was what he thought.

It was not until his alleged daughter turned eighteen in 2004 that he found out the truth — he was not the child’s father. So what was he doing raising a daughter and spending for a child that wasn’t even his?

This scandal is now the cause of a court battle between the ex-spouses, with Webb crying foul. Webb has filed a case against his ex-wife for allegedly deceiving him over the paternity of her child.

The girl was conceived in 1985, and since Webb and Chapman were married at that time, he had no second thoughts about claiming the child as his own. The girl is officially registered on record as the couple’s daughter. Unknown to him, though, his then wife Lydia was actually carrying on an illicit affair with another man during that time.

Webb suspects further that the real father is in on the deception. He thinks that the affair went on after the birth of the child and Chapman and her lover deliberately planned to let him believe that the child was his. From a financial standpoint, Webb supported their ‘daughter’, without any contribution from the real father.

Mark Webb claims that he found out that he was not the girl’s father through a paternity test performed when the child turned 18 in 2004. This is being refuted by his ex-wife Lydia, who claims that she came clean about the child’s real paternity in 2002, before she filed for divorce in 2003. How a difference of two years in the length of deception can make it any better escapes me.

The justices hearing and trying the case are one in feeling a sense of misfortune for all the parties involved in this case. Webb’s bid to take the case up to the House of Lords was denied by the appeal court.

Click here to see more on paternity testing.

The Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA, known as the genetic building block of life, has been a widely known concept in recent time because of its great contribution in solving complicated issues. One of the popular uses of DNA testing is paternity determination.

There are cases when the mother is no longer around to say who the father is. With serious matters like child support and custody at the center of the issue, the men involved simply want to make things sure before they jump into the responsibilities of fatherhood.

Decades ago, this is usually done with a thorough look on the child and on the father. Comparing facial features has been primarily used as a technique. Of course, we know better these days. We already have DNA testing, and it’s definitely a better and more accurate way to determine paternity.

Confirming paternity is actually a very sensitive issue which private individuals like to keep within the family or within a small group of trusted friends. The good news is that Home DNA Test Kits are already available in the market.

A Home DNA Test Kit includes specimen collectors, instruction sheets, consent form and a prepaid return envelope. The specimen can be oral fluids or blood. You just need to seal the collected samples well and promptly mail it back to the manufacturer’s laboratory for testing.

A DNA Test Kit can guarantee 99.99% accuracy. Every single person has a unique DNA pattern, and our DNA sequences can be compared with others to establish relationships. Many paternity test results are now admitted as legal evidence.

Home DNA Test Kits also give fast results. It will take less than a week to see the results and know the truth. As this stage can be very emotionally stressful to any family, the people involved usually appreciate how this quick and reliable process can protect their privacy.

I’m sure you all have heard about it by now, but I still thought it was worth mentioning. As you may know, Melanie Brown–”Scary Spice”–recently gave birth to a baby girl. She claimed to know who the baby’s father was all along: her ex-boyfriend, Eddie Murphy. Murphy denied (repeatedly) paternity in the press but after a paternity test was completed, he is most definitely the father. Brown must be breathing a sigh of relief, though she seemed pretty confident from the start.

It’s amazing how people even allow things to get so out of hand they they require a test though, don’t you think? But as long as people are people, it can be useful.

Sometimes, testing can help people out. DNA and paternity tests are definitely one of those cases. Hopefully, Melanie Brown will be able to get on with her life and Eddie Murphy will live up to his duties as a father. With the ever-watchful eye of the media, I’m sure we’ll find out if anything goes awry!

So I got this email from a potential customer the other day. Sure, that’s not anything unusual. That is my job, after all. But as I read the question, I had to do a double take. “Did she really just ask me what I think she just asked me?” the logical part of my brain questioned. But of course, she really did ask me this:

“I don’t know if my husband is the father. There are actually 3 different people that could possibly be the father. They are all in different cities. Can I get a discount? Also, how many paternity tests will I need?”

“Huh?” my feeble brain inquired. “What?”

Yes, a real customer question everyone. Sit back and marvel at it. Now let me explain something to you. Normally, my day consists of answering customer questions about all of the fine products over at TestCountry. These are usually simple enough like, “I live in outside of the U.S., can I order from you?” or “What drug test is best for my situation?” You get the gist. Other than the exciting task of writing this blog, I answer questions about home testing for a living. Normal questions.

So, when I get a doozy like the one above, you can imagine my glee. My utter satisfaction. Plus, I was just able to add person number 324 to my list of “Those Who Should Not Breed.”

I mean, three different potential fathers? Where are we? On Springer? And the nerve to ask for a discount for your promiscuity! Actually, I have to applaud her on that one. That takes some guts.

But the thing that gets me is that last part. The “after thought” that obviously never even came near a thought. “How many paternity tests will I need?”

Well, let me put on my thinking cap. Let me see. That’s a tough one, but I’ve consulted the oracle and I think I have an answer. Yes, I believe I do. The divine spirits are telling me that you will need three tests to sort out your baby-daddy drama. Either that or some contraceptives. Yeah, I’d go with that last one. That way, you side step the paternity test issue altogether. Well, I guess it’s too late for that now, but you get my point.

Send your feedback to me, Lena, your humble home testing customer service rep or leave a comment.