Some scary things to consider this Halloween:

• The teen birth rate is on the rise after 15 straight years of decline.
• Fully seven in ten pregnancies among single 20-somethings are unplanned.
• More than half of pregnancies reported by unmarried men in their 20s are unplanned.
• Rosie O'Donnell is launching a new radio show.
• The magic less sex/more contraception formula that drove down the teen pregnancy rate over the past decade plus now seems to have morphed into a more sex/less contraception formula.
• 3 in ten girls in the United States get pregnant by age 20.
• Mariah Carey continues to record and release music.

What are some things that are scaring you? Let us know.

I must admit that I have been a reluctant participant to blogging, but finally something caught my attention. Recently, I had two interactions with a shopping mall that revealed to me the younger generation's--albeit, misguided in my opinion--obsession with looking good. I am a child of the 60's, when mothers routinely reminded us to wear clean underwear and never to leave the house without a slip and girdle when wearing a dress. As an African-American, I was often told to be careful with the selection of the color of my lipstick, so that my lips would not be too pronounced. "The times they are a-changin'".

Flying home on Virgin America from San Francisco this week I took in an episode of MTV's "Sex with Mom and Dad" on the in-flight entertainment system.  While I was prepared to be entertained, I was not expecting to be as engaged as I was by Dr. Drew Pinsky's moderation of the parent-kid talk.

TV critic Brittany Doctor says in her review that, "Sex" is an enlightening show. It's a shock to see how little many teens around the country know about the dangers of unprotected sex, as demonstrated in episode five when Tiara revealed that she didn't know that she could get pregnant or infected even if her boyfriend "pulled out."  Exactly...except I wouldn't limit the commentary to teens--as you'll see for yourself.

The bottom line in all of the wide-ranging episodes is that parent-child communication is so very important.  And the age of the participants doesn't matter.  Talking about and planning for your most important moments makes sense.  "Sex with Mom and Dad" takes a step in the direction of making the conversation easier.