Kevin has never minded sharing a birthday with his father. It means that no one forgets the day and there is always a big party. But this year he cannot help feeling overshadowed. There is his cake with 17 candles, and beside it is his father's with... 100.

This is the age gap facing Al PacinoAn American actor, considered one of the most influential of the 20th Century.'s fourth child, due next month. But at least he or she may have a playmate in the same situation. In May, Robert De NiroAn influential American actor, born in 1943. announced that he had just become a father for the seventh time at the age of 79.

In the West, the average age of parents is rising. Since 1970 the number of fathers in the US aged 45 to 49 has increased by over 50%.

In the UK, the number of children born to mothers aged 45 or more rose by 72% between 2000 and 2018.

Medical advances such as IVFIn vitro fertilisation is a technique used to help people with fertility issues have a baby. have made a big difference. It is now much easier for women to have babies in their forties of fifties. But it has been found that children of older fathers are more likely to have poor health.

According to one expert, Amanda Jenner, "Older parents are wiser and more patient." They may also have fewer money problems.

Alan Lucas, a writer who became a father at 50, agrees: "I know I'm a much better dad than the 30-year-old version of me would have been."

But what about the children? "I would cry at night because I thought he was going to die soon," said a teenager called Vicky,¹ whose father was 49 when she was born.

But because he retired when she was very young, she was able to spend lots of time with him.

A woman who was born when her father was 56 says it gave her a strong sense of history.² It also gave her a good understanding of old people and what they go through at the end of her lives.

But, she added, the strain of looking after him in his old age "is coming awfully close to costing me my own family and career".

Yes: Being a parent requires energy which many older people lack. There is a higher risk of birth defects in children born to older parents. And the age gap makes it hard for parent and child to connect.

No: The most important thing for a child is to have a stable home. That is more easily achieved if he or she has mature parents who are established in their careers and have time and money to spare.

Or... Being too old is better than being too young. Parents who are too young may resent their responsibilities and feel that their children prevent them from living the lives they want.