statistics

by Heather Maddan

The spotlight might be on the teen moms and (their copycat friends) becoming celebrities courtesy of MTV, but not all adolescents are sexually active. A recent report by the National Center for Health Statistics says "27% of young men and 29% of young women ages 15-24 say they've never had a sexual encounter." That's a five and seven percent increase (of those that are abstinent) from the organization's 2002 study. While pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases may be deterrents for some kids, parental influence, ethics, and maturity also likely play a role in their decisions. One report said:

Among those ages 15-19 in the new study, 45% of girls and 41% of boys reported no sexual contact; among ages 15-17, 58% of girls and 53% of boys said they had no sexual contact with another person. For ages 20-24, just 12% of women and 13% of men had never had sexual contact.

Do you think teen virginity will become a trend?

Photos copyright 2011 MTV

by Heather Maddan

From Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry to Celine Dion and Kelly Preston, many famous women have decided to put off having children until later in life. Some even admitting they weren't concerned with the risks. While the media covers women well into their 40s and beyond giving birth, they don't talk much about what went into getting them pregnant. Then there's the rest of the world. When we asked our readers to cast their vote on when the average woman should become concerned about fertility, 38 percent said the late 30s are the time to worry. Yet, studies seem to repeatedly contradict that notion, are you influenced by them?

by babysugar

Your kids may have just gotten into the swing of Summer camp, but retailers want you to start shifting your mindset (and money) to the classroom. Back-to-school ads are popping up in store windows, and the National Retail Federation recently announced that the average family will increase their school shopping budget by 10.5 percent this year. According to their research, mama can expect to spend $225.47 to outfit her tot and an additional $102.93 on his shoes. We've already got our eyes on a few items, but we're curious how much you've budgeted to spend?

by coutorture Its tough being an outlier. As much as we think of fashion as being a creative business a lot of it boils down to the technical aspects of design such as creating garments that fit as you get bigger and bigger or smaller and smaller individuals. And if you don't fit nicely into the bell curve of shapes getting dressed can be a real bear in the morning. It just so happens that our lovely Wardrobe Oxygen has some fantastic advice for women that are a few standard deviations away from the norm when it comes to calf sizes. Her guide to boots for larger calves is impressively complete. So if you find yourself in that 13.6% or even in that 2.2% away from the rest of the "normal" women in the 68% one standard deviation bracket have no fear as there is something for you there. Check Out Our Other Shoutouts Here