Is Lembit Opik too old to be a Dad at 52?

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Today I joined politician Lembit Opik, who was famously engaged to one of the Cheeky Girls, on his BBC Radio Kent Show as he has revealed he is to have a child with a Bulgarian lawyer at the age of 52.

The ex-Lib Dem MP made the announcement despite fears he was sterile after impaling himself on a tree when he was six.

Speaking to a newspaper, he said: ‘I get emotional about it all the time. The arrival of our baby is compellingly exciting.

‘I’ve wanted to have kids for a long time. It’s an emotive, uplifting, hope-making feeling.’

He added: ‘In 1971, I had a very serious accident when I fell 10ft out of a tree, impaled myself on a stick and damaged my personal parts. That could have meant that I was sterile.

‘I’ve twice been in situations where I tried to have children, which both ended in miscarriage. I didn’t want to talk about this pregnancy until I was sure things would be OK.’

Becoming a Dad is exciting – whether you are 22 or 52. It’s a wonderful moment in your life & older Dads are not so intent on climbing the career ladder if they have chosen to have a baby later in life.

Children spell love T-I-M-E and older Dads may have more patience, time and wisdom.

The main worry is that an older Dad won’t have so much energy but we are all living so much longer with increased health and vitality that I don’t see that as a problem either do you?

Opik said he worried that he won’t necessarily see all the major milestones in his child’s life – but none of can be sure when we will die so my advice was to live very fully and consciously in the moment, building memories that last a lifetime.

Love is love no matter how old you are.

I wish him well and I said I’d send him a copy of my Parenting Made Easy – How To Raise Happy Children book and he said he’d put my number on speed dial! 🙂

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