FAQs / Twilight Toll on Marriage (really?) / Childbearing (rapidly changing) - 6/29/10

[Smartmarriages]

- HAVE A QUESTION? CHECK OUT THE FAQs ­ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- TWILIGHT TAKES TOLL ON MARRIAGE € yahoo June 29, 2010
-Tick, Tock: More U.S. Women Running Out Biological Clock for Childbearing

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- HAVE A QUESTION? CHECK OUT THE FAQs ­ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Diane,  I just registered. What is the dress code for the banquet?

Casual.  Most people don¹t even take time to go back to their rooms. The
afternoon keynote ends at 5pm, followed by two great Teach-In¹s.....and
people also want time to shop the exhibits.  You might want to read the FAQs
page ­ all kinds of info/hints:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/faqs.html

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- TWILIGHT TAKES TOLL ON MARRIAGE € yahoo June 29, 2010
(Really?  I think I smell a very clever PR person ­ that this report was
devised to create curiosity....make more adults want to go see what all the
commotion/sexuality is about.  - diane)

With fans turning the area outside the Nokia theater in L.A. into a tent
city in advance of the "Eclipse" premiere, the Los Angeles Times examines
the phenomenon of fans whose lives are upended by their fierce love of the
vampire books and movies. The Times found women who have nearly lost their
marriages by neglecting their husbands in favor of "Twilight" fan sites,
blogs, and message boards.

One woman gushes that she's seen the movies "over 300 times."

So-called "Twilight addiction" proliferates on the Internet, where a fan can
take any of hundreds of quizzes to self-diagnose their condition, and
websites sell hand-made crystal-encrusted T-shirts that say "Twilight Mom."
Some "Twi-Moms" as they're known, have even argued that their love of Edward
and/or Jacob has actually improved their marriages. "If there is a chemical
that's released when you're falling in love, your brain has it when you're
reading or watching 'Twilight.' You get that utopic feeling of first love
and you want to experience it over and over again," one 50-year-old former
engineer who has experienced her own "Twilight"-related marital problems,
said. 

The names "Bella," "Jacob," and "Cullen" are climbing the popular-baby-name
lists every year as more and more parents make their "Twilight" fandom a
permanent part of their families.

While the phenomenon of life-altering "Twilight" obsession is mostly
confined to women and girls, the Internet reveals that even some men are
falling victim to the vampire love triangle. "How do I go about combating my
husband's 'Twilight' addiction?" reads one desperate plea on Yahoo! Answers.
"He even has a Team Edward sparkly shirt."

It seems that the super-fandom known as "Twilight addiction" always reaches
a fever pitch, at least in the media, right before a new movie in the
franchise is released. With "New Moon", we learned that "Twilight" mania
wasn't just for teen girls, but their moms as well.

With "Eclipse," we're seeing grown-up married men afflicted by the
obsession. With two more movies to go ("Breaking Dawn" parts one and two, in
2011 and 2012), could the entire U.S. population eventually succumb to this
crippling disease? 

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-Tick, Tock: More U.S. Women Running Out Biological Clock for Childbearing
By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 29, 2010  ­ Nearly one in five U.S. women now reach
the end of childbearing age without having a child, doubling the number of
childless women since the seventies, according to a new study by Pew
Research Center. 

Back in 1976, just one out of ten women (580,000) between ages 40-44
reported they were childless. As of 2008, nearly 1.9 million women ages
40-44, or 18% of women in that group, reported being childless ­ a jump of
80% in less than 40 years.

Pew reports that rates of barrenness have risen in all ethnic and racial
categories, with white women leading the way at 20%. But Blacks and
Hispanics have seen a substantial increase in women reaching the end of
their fertility without having a child. The rate of childless women for each
of these minority groups rose from 13% in 1994 to 17% in 2008 ­ a 30%
increase in just over a decade.

What has declined over the past decade, however, is the number of unmarried
women being childless by ages 40-44. In 1994, 71% of unmarried women in this
group were childless, compared to 56% in 2008.

For women who are educated, the rate of childlessness has also steadily
increased, with one exception: the percentage of women with advanced degrees
who are also childless has gone down significantly over the past decade.
Back in 1994, 30% of women ages 40-44 with masters degrees and 34% of women
with Ph.D.¹s or their equivalents reported being childless. But in 2008,
only 25% of women in this group with masters degrees and 23% of women with a
professional degree or Ph.D. reported being childless.

Pew reports that scholars say that some factors involved may be that social
encouragement for women to bear children has lessened, contraception has
increased, improved career goals have more women putting off childbearing,
and society no longer views having children as part of a fulfilling life.

In 2007, only 41% of adults responded to a 2007 Pew poll saying that
children are very important for a successful marriage. In 1990, however, 65%
had said children were vital for a successful marriage.

But Pew does indicate that a growing percentage of Americans are concerned
about how women not having children will impact society. While a 2009 Pew
Research survey reported that 46% of Americans did not believe that an
increasing proportion of women not having children makes a difference, 38%
were reported as saying the trend toward barrenness is bad for society. The
number reflects nearly a ten-point jump in concern, as only 29% of Americans
held this opinion in a 2007 Pew Research survey.

For full report: http://tinyurl.com/24a2tr2

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