A new report on teens finds teen pregnancies are at an all-time low.

This just in: Teenagers are still sleeping together, and we don’t mean resting.

The newest National Survey of Family Growth report finds 43% of teen girls and 42% of teen boys report having had intercourse, rates that have essentially stayed the same over the last nine years.

For those that are having sex, condom use is up, particularly among boys, 80% of whom report using one during their first “encounter.”  Despite this though, use of condoms is not consistent.  USA Today reports that only “… 49% of girls and 66.5% of boys said they used one every time they had sex in the past four weeks.” (In the past four weeks? How often are they getting it on?)

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How many wedding rings will these kids wear?

The teens on reality TV show Sister Wives aren’t allowed to date while they’re in high school. Their dad also discourages them from having premarital sex, in mellower terms than I’d have expected.

Bringing up the topic of premarital sex also raises the expectation that these kids will one day be getting married. Are they interested in the kind of polygamous marriage their parents have? Not so much. Only one of the four teens said she’d like to have sister wives when she grows up. The other two girls and one boy were not enthusiastic about the idea.

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Every day I’m nearly run off the road by some driver texting with one hand on the wheel…. the other wrapped around his or her phone.  Sure, I know it is dangerous.   Sure, it makes me crazy.  But it also made me crazy the other day when I  watched the guy in front of me swaying in and out of his lane while taking his shirt off.  (Yes, I could actually see that was what he was doing — and when I drove past him — just to get away from him — I confirmed — he was, in fact, shirtless…..)  it also frustrated the heck out of me that he was weaving while reaching across the passenger seat for his food.

I see people chatting on their phones every day.  And in some states, like California, talking on the phone while driving, without a hands-free device, can get you a ticket.  But what about all of the other things people do while driving that provide distractions?  Eating, GPS, applying makeup, hassling with kids?  These are all still ‘legal’ activities….  what are you thoughts on cell phone and hands free device laws?

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Do you ever get fed up with your children? Even, occasionally wish they would just, like,  GO AWAY? Well, you’re not alone. The scourge of the young is such a wide-ranging problem that people are inventing things to get those darned kids outta here. You may be familiar with the principle behind these devices. It’s the same technology used to clear the vicinity of other pests. For example, rodents.

I am the owner of one of these devices. The “Sonic 2000″, pictured at left,  came into my life at the intersection of some very convincing Hammacher Schlemmer catalog copy and a tail poking through the ceiling fixture in my apartment. The device was supposed to emit some inaudible frequency that would make whatever was attached to this tail—and all his presumably furry friends—run squeaking into the tenement building next door. It did not work. Fortunately, I no longer live in this apartment. Using the same basic technology as the Sonic 2000, The Sonic Screen Vandal Deterrent promises to rid your premises of unwanted youth.

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Are teen fashion trends really heading towards less trashy looks?

Parents everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief over this New York Times’ back to school fashion piece: teenage girls are tired of tight clothing.

Skimpy is out; “grandma chic” is in. Girls are shopping for oversize sweaters and high-waisted jeans this fall, leaving the miniskirts on the rack.

Almost nothing makes me want my own daughters to grow up faster, but if this fashion trend is real, I kind of wish it were happening during their teen years. I’d love for them to come of age at a moment where girls’ are encouraged to develop their sense of style and beauty without being pressured to show off their bodies.

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New website Rookiemag.com gives teen girls a voice.

Rookie is a new site for teen girls thought up by 15-year-old fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson when she was a freshman in high school. It’s not a cheesy  guide to be a teenager; as Tavi puts it in her editor’s letter: “It is, quite simply, a bunch of writing and art we like and believe in.”

The Rookie staff is a dream team of fabulous writers (not all just teens) and creative types with amazing experience and credentials, including Jane Pratt of xoJane.com (remember Jane magazine when you were a teen?) and be sure to read their memories about their first day of high school. Rookie also features its own readers as writers, with a way to submit content to be published.  Continue reading »

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Starting now in the quest to instill self-esteem deep within my daughter.

The part I’m dreading most about parenting a daughter doesn’t really involve my daughter at all.  It’s about the other girls.  The mean girls.

I remember those times all too clearly.  Two little girls can play nice, but throw a third one in there and someone is bound to get excluded.

Exclusion.

I can’t bear the thought of someone telling my little sweetheart they don’t want to play with her.  But an even worse thought than that:  finding out my daughter is a mean girl.  I would be devastated.  That would mean I didn’t do my job. Continue reading »

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