Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:30 Y Byd ar Bedwar

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-Over the past 12 months, Y Byd

-ar Bedwar has followed the lives...

-..of Chloe Banks and Bradley Davies.

-I'm Bradley Davies.

-I'm going to be a father in a week.

-We've been with them

-every step of the way...

-..as they grow from being teenagers

-to first-time parents.

-It's better to have kids

-when you're young.

-You can bond with them better

-when they're older.

-Tonight, a look at their lives...

-..as we record

-the moments of happiness.

-It's easier

-than I thought it would be...

-..but I'm not with him

-24/7 like Chloe.

-And the frustration

-when things don't go their way.

-Having a child at 16 is big,

-it's not something that...

-.."Oh, yeah, it's gonna be so easy."

-It's not. It's really hard.

-The number of Welsh children

-becoming parents is decreasing...

-..but the level is still one

-of the highest in Western Europe.

-I see it as a big problem.

-Yes.

-Children having children.

-They don't know what to expect.

-It's hard work.

-Tonight, how much support is there

-for children having children?

-14 March

-2016

-In Llangefni, Bradley and Chloe

-are settling into a new flat.

-They've just turned 16.

-This is the first time

-they've lived alone.

-It's been stressful

-but it's been OK too.

-It's been nice having our own place.

-It's nice doing whatever we want.

-There are no rules, really.

-Today, Bradley's mother and partner

-have called to see the young couple.

-Bradley and Chloe were 15

-when she became pregnant.

-Initially, Bradley didn't want

-to tell his mother...

-..he was going to be a father.

-I found out

-on Bradley's Facebook page.

-It was a shock -

-he didn't tell me himself.

-I'm excited now.

-I'm excited now.

-

-I was scared of telling you myself.

-He was scared of telling me himself!

-Great way to find out.

-Both had been expelled from school

-at the time.

-Bradley lived with his mother,

-her partner...

-..two brothers and two sisters.

-Chloe spent her time between

-her mother and father's houses.

-It's nice to come here

-and see that they're coping.

-I didn't think they would

-but they've proved me wrong.

-Are you worried at all?

-Are you worried at all?

-

-Yes, I worry every night.

-In case they haven't switched off

-the cooker.

-They've done well, fair play.

-14 April

-2016

-A month later, Bradley's out

-on his scooter in Bangor.

-The couple now know

-they're expecting a boy.

-I've been scooting

-since I was 12 years old.

-I've been coming here

-since they opened.

-Bradley's looking forward

-to bringing his son here.

-I hope so.

-I'll try and get him into it.

-They've just been to the hospital

-to check the baby's progress.

-Chloe is expected

-to give birth next week.

-They've been preparing

-for the big day.

-We've had a good week.

-It's been sunny.

-We've been out a lot, for walks.

-Chloe's been on her ball.

-It should come quite quickly now.

-What's the ball?

-What's the ball?

-

-An exercise ball.

-She's been sitting in positions

-which helps her labour.

-For the girl

-who'll soon be a young mother...

-..the past few days

-haven't been easy.

-I've been in a lot of pain

-and not being able to sleep.

-Getting heavier.

-I just want him out now,

-like I've said loads.

-1 May

-2016

-In Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor...

-..Bradley and Chloe's baby made his

-first appearance a fortnight late.

-It felt as if

-we were there for days.

-We were there for about 17 hours.

-We got in about half-two.

-She came out from the labour room...

-..about five, six days later.

-It took a long time.

-2 June

-2016

-A week later, our journalist

-visits the flat in Llangefni...

-..to see the young parents.

-Today, Bradley's family are

-also here to visit the little baby.

-I try not to visit every day in case

-they think I'm hounding them.

-If I'm passing, I'll call in.

-He's staying with me tomorrow night,

-he's staying at Nain's house!

-In England and Wales, over half

-the mothers and even more fathers...

-..are over 30 years old

-when they become parents.

-These parents are glad they had

-their first baby at 16 years old.

-It's better to have kids

-when you're young.

-You can bond with them better

-when they're older.

-You're always around and you're

-close to them in terms of age.

-You can still do things with your

-children when they're growing up.

-You get to do more stuff with them,

-like go out...

-..instead of staying in

-when you're old, older.

-You don't do much stuff.

-What about yourself and Bradley?

-We're really well, yeah.

-Getting much closer than we were.

-22 June

-2016

-The couple receive 175 every

-fortnight in personal benefits.

-They receive just over 20 a week

-in child benefit...

-..on top of children's tax credits.

-The money's OK

-to cover all our shopping.

-With any money we have left over,

-we buy things for ourselves...

-..or shop for the cupboards.

-It's easier

-than I thought it would be...

-..but I'm not with him

-24/7 like Chloe.

-I like going out for walks.

-I don't like

-being in the house constantly.

-They also receive 181 a week

-in housing benefit.

-Despite the changes in their lives

-over the past year...

-..Chloe doesn't regret

-having a child.

-This time last year I was probably

-like partying, drinking and stuff.

-But now I'm just, yeah, a mum.

-But... I don't know.

-I wouldn't change it now.

-13 July

-2016

-A few weeks later,

-Chloe's had enough of the flat.

-She says there's a broken window

-and dampness in some rooms.

-I've said I want to move out...

-..because I've had enough

-of the damages here.

-I've been here since March

-and nothing's been sorted out.

-A few things but nothing

-compared to the bad things...

-..the mould and the damp and stuff.

-Bradley's been told they could lose

-some of their benefits...

-..if he doesn't find work

-or return to education.

-He says he's registering

-with a college to become a plumber.

-I'm hoping to start work soon,

-to earn money for myself.

-I don't want to be on the dole

-for the rest of my life.

-I want to earn money.

-Bradley and Chloe were 15 years old

-when they met for the first time.

-They attended different schools.

-They'd both been expelled

-when they met.

-Bradley doesn't accept

-that they're to blame...

-..for their current predicament.

-I believe education has let us down.

-Not just me,

-it's let Chloe down too.

-They weren't good enough in school.

-They didn't know how to support

-people. It wasn't good enough.

-They supported everyone else.

-Not everyone gets expelled.

-The people who need most support,

-they're not there for them.

-In Part 2, we follow the lives

-of the young couple...

-..as their relationship falls apart.

-I'm not talking to her.

-I don't want to talk to her

-after what she put me through.

-We hear criticism

-that not enough is being done...

-..to support young parents in Wales.

-We need a national strategy...

-..and there's definitely

-no national strategy in this field.

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-3 October

-2016

-Gaerwen, Anglesey.

-Last month a local charity

-found a larger house...

-..for Bradley, Chloe and the baby...

-..but the strain of being

-a young parent is starting to tell.

-It's just so overwhelming.

-Having a child at 16 is big.

-It's not something that,

-"Oh, yeah, it's gonna be so easy".

-It's not. It's really hard.

-Our journalist has filmed

-the lives of the couple...

-..for seven months.

-Today, there's no sign of Bradley.

-Chloe, Bradley's not here today.

-No, we've split up...

-..for good reasons really.

-Well, kind of good reasons.

-It was for the best,

-for both of us, both our families.

-For both our lives really.

-We just couldn't carry on

-the way we were.

-Bradley's at his mother's house

-in Llangefni...

-..after an argument

-between himself and Chloe.

-He says the pressure of living with

-his partner and son caused tensions.

-It would have been better

-had I gone to college...

-..and not been constantly

-in the house.

-I'm in college now,

-I'm there four days a week.

-I haven't been angry at all

-in that time.

-I've been happy in college,

-heading off at 6.30am.

-8.00am at the bus stop, waking up

-at 6.30am, it hasn't bothered me.

-I've liked it really.

-His son is now five months old.

-Chloe hasn't allowed him

-to see his son since the argument.

-That's been difficult for him.

-I was crying every night

-and I'm not one for crying.

-I was sitting here crying every

-night, not being able to see him.

-The percentage of pregnant girls

-under 18 in England and Wales...

-..has halved

-over the past 20 years...

-..but it's still the highest

-in Western Europe.

-In Caernarfon, the Gisda charity

-runs the Young Parents Project...

-..to give parents under 25

-practical advice.

-One of those is Maddy Edwards.

-Daughter Millie was born

-when she was 17 years old.

-People judge you a lot.

-They think that you

-don't want to find a job...

-..and you want to live

-in a council house...

-..and don't want to do anything

-with your life.

-That's not true.

-She says that the Gisda sessions

-have boosted her confidence...

-..and helped her meet

-supportive and friendly people.

-Before joining the project,

-she felt lonely and isolated.

-One, two, three.

-I used to sit in the house all day.

-I never went out,

-I didn't speak to anyone for days

-Coming here has helped get me out of

-the house for one day of the week.

-I've made friends

-and I've left the house more often.

-It gave me a lot of confidence,

-making friends with everyone.

-The National Lottery has funded the

-project for the past three years.

-According to Lottery rules, the

-same project can't be funded twice.

-On Friday, support for parents

-like Maddie will end.

-We're losing somewhere

-we visit regularly.

-We make friends and talk to people.

-We meet people who understand

-what you're going through in life.

-Eleri Owen has been working

-on the project for Gisda.

-The Young Parents Project has

-supported 118 mothers and fathers...

-..over the past three years.

-They've provided

-practical support...

-..such as dealing with bills,

-benefits and training for jobs.

-Parents need long-term support.

-We need something

-more stable in place.

-We need Assembly funding,

-funding we can rely on...

-..to provide continuous support

-for young parents...

-..and not just for a period

-of a year, two years, three years.

-In Bangor University,

-Dr Myfanwy Davies agrees.

-She specialises in social policy.

-She's about to publish a study...

-..on the way the Young Parents

-Project helped in Gwynedd.

-She wants to see similar projects

-across the country.

-These are low-cost schemes when

-you consider the benefits created.

-Young parents

-who were part of the project...

-..have returned to education,

-gained qualifications...

-..learnt to drive and secured jobs.

-There are clear benefits

-in that respect.

-It's a valuable investment

-in every community in Wales...

-..but especially so in communities

-where young parents feel isolated.

-She says schemes like this

-can keep fragile people...

-..from being a burden

-on social services...

-..or the justice system

-in the future.

-She wants the government

-to do more to fund it.

-In terms of public policy, there's

-no national strategy or direction.

-That's a significant problem.

-It's a disjointed system -

-that's a kind way of describing it.

-There are very few schemes

-such as Young Parents Project...

-..in terms of bilingual provision

-and provision in rural Wales.

-The Young Parents Project

-is coming to an end.

-We need a national strategy...

-..and there's definitely

-no national strategy in this field.

-The Welsh Government told us that

-they support positive parenting.

-They've invested 120m this year...

-..in the Flying Start

-and Families First schemes.

-They also said that local

-authorities provide the services.

-They decide on priorities in line

-with the demand in their areas.

-12 January

-2017

-Back in Llangefni, it's not a happy

-new year for Bradley and Chloe.

-I'm still not talking to her.

-I don't want to talk to her

-after what she put me through.

-Anglesey County Council say

-they offer support and advice...

-..to parents like Bradley and Chloe

-through many schemes...

-..funded by the Welsh Government.

-That funding hasn't saved

-the young couple's relationship.

-We had our own house,

-we were together all the time.

-The arguments didn't help.

-It wasn't worth it in the end.

-Bradley's mother, Kelly...

-..thinks putting two 16-year-olds

-together in a house was a mistake.

-At the time, that's what

-Bradley and Chloe wanted to do.

-She says she tried

-to support the couple...

-..but it was difficult since

-she had four children of her own.

-What do you think should happen

-to young couples...

-..who find themselves

-in the same position...

-..as Chloe and Bradley.

-They need a lot of support.

-They're only young.

-They're children having children.

-I wouldn't put them

-straight into a flat.

-I'd put them in a hostel first

-to give them that support.

-It's better than throwing them

-into their own flat.

-20 March

-2017

-Chloe is now back in Llangefni.

-She's had support

-to move house again.

-She's in a flat underneath the one

-she shared with Bradley.

-She says the strain of being a young

-parent was more than she expected.

-If I go back,

-I wouldn't have got pregnant.

-I didn't try and get pregnant...

-..but I would have used

-contraception and stuff.

-Yeah, it's happened now,

-a year's almost been.

-I can't really change much now.

-A health visitor calls every week.

-Social Services are also in touch

-to make sure everything is OK.

-It's been... Oh.

-So many different emotions

-to explain this year.

-At the end of it, I've got my son

-and that's all that matters.

-Across town,

-the baby's father and grandmother...

-..enjoy contacting him online.

-Bradley cares for his son sometimes

-but he's mostly with Chloe.

-The number of teenage parents

-is falling...

-..but Bradley's mother says

-that her son's situation...

-..shows how difficult it is

-to have a baby at 16.

-Ta-ra, baby.

-It was too much stress for them.

-They had to deal with money,

-a house, a baby.

-They didn't know what

-they were getting themselves in to.

-They're young.

-A baby is a lot of work

-for people our age, let alone 17.

-They like going out,

-they like doing their own things.

-Having a baby, it's not as easy.

-By now, Bradley's studying

-a college course...

-..and works in a shop in Bangor.

-The past year

-has taught him some harsh lessons.

-After seeing what happened, I don't

-want to look at another woman again!

-I've just got to move on.

-It's put me off

-moving out of Mam's house.

-I'll stay here

-for the rest of my life.

-At the age of 17,

-he's become a father...

-..and separated

-from the baby's mother.

-He says he's determined

-to stay part of his son's life.

-I've finished with her.

-I haven't finished

-the relationship with my little boy.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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