The Not-So Sexy Side of Teen Sex

You had to see this one coming. From the very first minute I saw Dr. Drew Pinksy’s new primetime HLN show last month, I knew it would be just a matter of time before his peeps from MTV would show up to chat. For the record it took exactly 29 days. The good doc had to wait less than a month to parade out the mega-popular teen moms, who went from complete obscurity to tabloid fodder after getting knocked up by their boyfriends, and letting MTV document the tumult that ensued in the series “16 and Pregnant” and the spin-off, … Continue reading

Post Pregnancy Showers

For all you ladies out there looking to give birth on 11-11-11, you’d better get conceiving, pronto. If the romance of Valentine’s Day is not enough incentive to get the room rockin’, then consider the fact that ddisgraced figure skater and convicted felon Tonya Harding will be joining the ranks of motherhood in a few short months. Really. The 40-year-old shamed skater, who masterminded the attack on fellow Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, recently announced that she is “super excited” about her first child. According to tabloids, Harding’s baby daddy is a 42-year-old Portland, Oregon, repairman. If you are looking to send … Continue reading

Parents with Parking Privileges

My daughter cackles like Woody Woodpecker each time I drive past the stork parking spaces at Wal-Mart and suggest she get back into my tummy, so that we can snag the sweet spot. It’s a great joke. Kind of. Maybe. Ok, I’m not really joking. I really wish the kid could crawl under my shirt so I could pull into the first stall… but only during the winter months… and when I am in a hurry… and during the back-to-school sales and… Who am I kidding? I would love to bypass the jokers in the parking lot, who drive like … Continue reading

Can Breastfeeding Reduce Teen Pregnancy?

According to a new report, women who were breastfed as babies tend to get pregnant later in life compared to those who were bottle-fed as infants. If that’s true then my daughter shouldn’t expect to get pregnant until she’s in her forties. That kid nursed 24/7 for the first 18 months of her life. Give or take a few months. By my calculations that means she won’t be procreating until she’s well past her teenage years. Then again, perhaps, I am reading too much into this new study. The published report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows … Continue reading

What Would You Like To Ask A Teen Mom?

This past summer I wrote about a series on MTV called “16 and Pregnant,” a show that follows the life of a teen throughout her pregnancy. Each episode depicts a different teen’s trials of dealing with relationships, high school, parents, jobs and becoming a parent. Now MTV is coming out with a new show, a sequel called “Teen Mom.” This series will depict the difficulties of young parenthood. I have had the privilege of previewing the show, which will first air next Tuesday night, and on Friday I’ll have the opportunity to interview one of the cast members. I would … Continue reading

Teen Vogue Promotes Teen Pregnancy

Who are these magazines for anyway? It was not their intention when they set out, but after the photo shoot with teen supermodel Jourdan Dunn, the magazine learned of the pregnancy and decided to take advantage of a teachable moment. “Teen pregnancy is a difficult, real-life issue that Teen Vogue readers are mature enough to be exposed to,” Astley (Editor-in-Chief)said in a statement. “Teen Vogue felt it was important to support, not punish, Jourdan Dunn, who contributed to a beautiful photo shoot and who will surely have an ongoing and successful career in fashion.” The cover has raised eyebrows among … Continue reading

We’ll Tell You if We Cover That Later

A member of my family has been having a terrible time with his sinuses… to the point where his doctor has suggested surgery. As it happens, I had a similar surgery when I was nineteen to cut away infected sinus tissue and correct a deviated septum. (What a thing to have run in the family!) After he inquired to his insurance company about the surgery, he got this reply (I’m paraphrasing): Go ahead and get the surgery, and then we’ll tell you if we’ll cover it. That’s a pretty big risk to take, Insurance Company, in the hopes that you’ll … Continue reading

India’s Solution to Excessive Baby Making: TV

Government officials in India would be much happier if parents would stop procreating, and they think they have the perfect way to get moms and dads to stop doing the dirty: TV. Lots and lots of TV. The Indian government just unveiled a new campaign to bring televisions into more homes in rural parts of the republic. Officials hope that residents there will be too busy making time to watch must-see TV that they’ll spend less time making babies. Speaking to local news reporters about the new TV measure Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Health and Family Welfare Minister, said “If … Continue reading

Parents in Denial: Pool Pregnancy

You know you are a parent in denial when… You insist that your 13-year-old daughter got pregnant from swimming in a hotel pool—-ALONE! No parent wants to think that his or her child is anything less than perfect, but Magdalena Kwiatkowska may want to consider taking off the blinders for a split second before proceeding with her recently filed bizarre lawsuit. Kwiatkowska says she was forced to hire a lawyer upon returning with her daughter from a lavish holiday at an upscale hotel in Egypt. Apparently, the family returned home with more than a few shiny trinkets from the souvenir … Continue reading

Would You Pay Your Teen NOT to Get Pregnant?

You might not, but there are some parents who have no problem allowing their daughters to accept cash as incentive to keep their clothes on. Whatever works, right? Actually, the cash incentive program is a trademark of a group in North Carolina called College-Bound Sisters. The organization offers $1 per day to young girls ages 12 to 18 years old as a way to keep them out of the maternity ward. Only the cash reward comes with some stipulations, namely that the girls can’t blow the money on a mall shopping spree. Rather, under the program’s guidelines $7 is deposited … Continue reading