Your Family: Sep. 13, 1999

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SENIORS AND WORK Baby boomers, note: retirement no longer means lounge chairs and unread novels. A survey out last week says 1 in 5 retired Americans ages 50 to 75 work for pay; 42% of those not yet retired have plans to do so; 60% of both groups do volunteer work. Some reasons: longer active life and healthier self-esteem. Respondents' least favorite labels: "elderly" and "golden ager."

BABY BLUE...OR PINK? Expectant moms: your guess about your baby's sex is, overall, no better than chance, says a survey. But researchers did find that women with 12 or more years of education were correct 71% of the time--far more than less-educated women, whose accuracy rate was 43%. More puzzling: the most accurate predictors were women who relied on dreams or gut feelings, not physical signals. Still, says Johns Hopkins study co-author Janet DiPietro, none of the above dare "run out and paint the nursery pink or blue."

BACK TO SCHOOL Students carry more stuff in backpacks these days, including laptops and athletic clothes. Doing so the wrong way, warns the American Physical Therapy Association, can lead to back pain and even scoliosis--especially for pubescent girls, who are at greater risk for curvature of the spine. APTA's advice: buy packs with wide straps (narrow ones can cut off circulation), wear both straps, and make sure the pack is no more than 15% to 20% of body weight.

--By Harriet Barovick