Wow, this kind of thing gets me worked up. Rod Stewart and his third wife, model/photographer Penny Lancaster, 39, announced today that they are expecting their second child together and his seventh overall.
"We were thrilled and delighted to be able to tell Alastair that he was going to be the big brother to a little baby, expected just before Mummy's 40th Birthday," they announced.
This is jolly and all and we wish everyone involved the very best, but Rod the Mod is freaking 65 years old and doesn't need any more kids.
I am sure the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who has been a rock star for well over 40 years, can afford another child; and I would guess at 39, assuming she's healthy, that Penny can handle the process just fine.
At 65, though, Stewart still has a four year-old, Alastair, to raise, and it just isn't fair to the new child to have a father who will be 85 when he/she is 20. Fathers don't exist just to provide biological juice and monetary support - their job is to actually PARENT: interact, impart wisdom, and play with their children.
Perhaps Rod has taken better care of himself than other British Invasion era rockers, but at 65, the odds are not great that he will live to see his seventh child reach adulthood. And it isn't just about surviving, either. It's about being vigorous enough to be there in body and mind, to help with homework, to coach baseball (or in Rod's case, soccer), to do Dad things!
I speak from personal experience on this, too. I had two kids in my twenties, got divorced, remarried, and had two more kids - one at 41, one at 45. 
Well, I didn't have them, my wife did. I sometimes feel guilty about being 65 when my youngest is 20, but I try very hard to take care of myself, to remain active and youthful, and there is a vast difference between 45 and 65, even with all the help and support money can buy.
At this point of his life, and with as many children as he already has (Kimberly, 30; Sean, 29; Ruby, 23; Renee, 18; Liam, 15; and Alastair), another child is just about ego.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dawn
Hopefully his youngest will turn out a whole lot better than his oldest two. Complete wastes of flesh those two are.
2 - Alan Kurtz
Forgive me for being a stickler in what I guess is meant to be a frivolous setting, but I believe it ought to be "Rod the Mod is freaking 65 years old and doesn't need any more kids." That space between "any" and "more" is missing from both your article and its home-page headline.
3 - Irene Athena
There are two ways to amend the sentence, but either way, the sentence is wrong.
Add a space: There's nothing egoistical about siring a younger sibling for the four year old. Alastair has too much going for him already. He is, for all intents and purposes, an only child, and on top of that, "his daddy's rich, and his mama's good looking."
Reposition the entire anymore as a unit: "Rod the Mod is freaking 65 years old and doesn't need kids anymore." That'd be really bad news for the first six, and especially bad news for the youthful bride Penny.
4 - Alan Kurtz
Wherever you add a space or however you reposition it, what's irksome is that the publisher of what presumptuously bills itself as "a sinister cabal of superior writers" should: (a) make such a beginner's mistake, and (b) concern himself even in jest with the procreative proclivities of an aged rock star. Perhaps, speaking of repositioning, Mr. Olsen is trying to reposition Blogcritics? Somewhere between Globe and The National Enquirer, it appears.
5 - Irene Athena
I don't think people should talk smack about Rod Stewart, that's all.
6 - Eric Olsen
thank God Alan is the eyes, ears and conscience of Blogcritics
7 - Josh Hathaway
That's the beauty of Blogcritics: agreement is not required. Unfortunately, neither is tact.
8 - Eric Olsen
Incidentally, there is nothing trivial about a child's life
9 - jeannie danna
I agree with Eric.
He wrote this piece from personal experience and observation.
there is nothing trivial about a child's life
A childhood friend of mine was a, "Change of Life Baby." When she was 12 years old her parents were in their late seventies, and it was very difficult for her. she was working as their caregiver.
: )
10 - Eric Olsen
thanks Jeannie! Celeb activity is often emblematic of things going on in society in general - nothing trivial about it
11 - Dawn
The main reason Rod Stewart shouldn't have any more kids is because he effed up so badly on the first two. Just because you CAN have kids, doesn't mean you should.
Also, it's bizarre the nitpicking going on over perceived grammatical errors. If you want to disagree with Eric's assertions, by all means, go for it. But really, NO ONE likes a grammar Nazi. Not now, not ever.
It's the epitome of douche-like behavior. There, I said it.
12 - Irene Athena
YOU'VE apparently never heard of "practice kids," Dawn. For your information, the world would be a lot more screwed up than it is now if parents hadn't soldiered on after the first couple of disappointing results.
TO ROD STEWART'S SEVENTH KID WHO MIGHT STUMBLE ACROSS THIS ARTICLE IN A GOOGLE SEARCH ONE DAY: (Quote from the Desiderata:) You are a child of the Universe. You have a right to be here....
13 - Eric Olsen
Irene, I am not suggesting the clock can be turned back - just saying this is a very selfish act that does NOT take the best interests of the child into account
14 - jeannie danna
NO ONE likes a grammar Nazi. Not now, not ever.
not so true...I like both Clavos and Doc!
15 - Alan Kurtz
… perceived grammatical errors …
Dawn (#12), you write that "Rod Stewart shouldn't have any more kids." Note the space between "any" and "more." Yet despite knowing how to write correctly, you cannot bear to concede that your husband made anything more than a "perceived grammatical error."
You're much too defensive when it comes to Eric. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. If he wants to call me a "douche," that's fine by me. I'm a big boy too. I've taken lots worse than that from the foul-mouthed BC commentariat and lived to tell the tale.
But honestly, Dawn, you come across more like Eric's mom than his wife.
16 - Alan Kurtz
Oh, right. Eric didn't call me a "douche," you did. You also called me a Nazi.
Such refined commentary from one of BC's esteemed founders no doubt inspires the rabble I must deal with day in and day out on the threads to my own humble Blogcritics articles. Thanks for setting such a stellar example.
17 - jeannie danna
I thought personal attacks were not tolerated...
: 0 Haven't you found your paying job yet?
just wondering...
18 - jeannie danna
see...this is the lesson you still have not learned...you can't control the threads...: )
19 - Dawn
Alan, you are just making trouble, and you know it.
If you really thought Eric had made a mistake, why not just email him and tell him? Oh I know, because like any person trolling, you wanted to embarrass him. If that's not a douche move, then I don't know what is.
I didn't call you a Nazi or a douche. Implied statements aren't the same as direct statements. I'd think such a stickler for semantics would be able to discern the difference.
And I will always defend Eric, when it's reasonable. This whole exchange was an effort to just be obnoxious. Exactly how old are you anyway?
Irene - no I have never heard of practice kids. What an absurd concept. Who practices at screwing up their kids? Seems pretty irresponsible to me.
Jeannie, I have no idea who or what you are talking about.
20 - zingzing
alan, a grammar nazi isn't a nazi. their germane nazis. i refudiate.
21 - Alan Kurtz
I've emailed Eric in the past to no effect. From him I get nothing but resistance whenever I'm critical of how he (and I guess you) run BC. Why should I continue to waste my time back-channel?
And your evasion about how "implied statements aren't the same as direct statements" is pure copout. If you insinuate that I'm a douche and a Nazi, that's OK. However, if I declare directly that you are a douche and a Nazi, that constitutes a "personal attack" under BC's comment policy and will be stricken immediately from the record.
What a bunch of hypocrites. You deserve to be embarrassed at every opportunity.
22 - Cindy
I recently called my cousin's 4-year-old a train nazi. My poor husband offered to play, but couldn't remember the names of all Thomas' 40 friends or who was supposed to be friends with whom. It wasn't pretty. Douche-like behavior if I ever saw it.
23 - Cindy
oh, i should have said i referred to him as a train nazi. bad i may be, but i'd never really talk that way TO a 4-year-old. just to his mom. ;-)
24 - jeannie danna
Dawn,
#17 & #18 were for Alan.
I was defending you and Eric.
25 - Dawn
Oh! I'm sorry Jeannie - it's so confusing trying to figure out what's going on around here half the time.