This Mothers Day is arriving with a motherload of fresh research on the how our families are changing.

We have seen more older moms. In another twist, older moms are more likely to keep working after having children than younger moms, according to an analysis of federal data by former Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Charlotte Yee.

In 2004, 67 percent of moms age 30 to 44 were in the labor force after having their first child, compared with 56 percent of moms in the 20 to 24 age range, according to the analysis.

We also aren't seeing a trend of moms opting out of the workforce, a topic I wrote about today in The myth of the stay-at-home mom.

This week the Labor Department also offered us a snapshot of how married moms and dads spend their time.

- "In households with children under 18, married mothers who were employed full time were more likely to do household activities -- such as housework, cooking, or lawn care --on an average day than were fathers who were employed full time (89 versus 64 percent)."

"In households with children under 18 where both spouses were employed full time, mothers spent an average of 2.1 hours per day doing household activities, while fathers spent about 1.4 hours."

"On an average day, 71 percent of these mothers and 54 percent of these fathers spent time caring for and helping household children. Mothers spent more time providing this care than did fathers--1.2 hours per day versus 0.8 hour (49 minutes) per day." -- Labor Department report, Married Parents' Use of Time 2003-2006, 5/8/08.

There is a lot more family data to crunch, and we'll get to it next week. Now it's time for Sports Center and bed.

My sister blog, The Poop, is talking about push prizes, the gems and treasure you are supposed to buy your wife after she gives birth. Poop star Peter Hartlaub offers his last push prize, TiVo, and I applaud his bravery. But you knew he was going to get flamed.

But, I have to say, on one level TiVo makes more sense than a diamond bracelet or spa treatment.

I want to know who is buying these Push Prizes and who is taking a pass.

A key source for all those "dads doing more childrearing" stories may be drying up.

This year President Bush proposed eliminating the American Time Use Survey, according to supporters. Sound wonky and irrelevant? The survey is actually the Deep Throat source for reporters covering the changing American family. It tells us how much time moms and dads spending cleaning house and other jobs.

It "is an annual survey that provides the only available information on how Americans use their time. In the view of many social scientists, it is the most important new data initiative begun by the U.S. government in at least 35 years." -- Letter to congressional powerbrokers who oversees spending. (Read the whole letter here.)

The demise of the time report is far from certain. President Bush proposed cutting the program, but Congress controls the purse strings and will decide whether to fund the effort. It turns out the Labor Department program costs $6 million a year, though supporters are willing to settle for $4.3 million to keep it going.

A new study suggests breastfeeding may increase a baby's IQ, Reuters reports via MSNBC.com.

Mothers Day is right around the corner, though most moms are probably too busy to notice...

The Council on Contemporary Families reports:

"- 70 percent of working mothers with new babies are working the same hours they worked before the child's birth."

- "In 1963, 14 percent of working women who bore a child returned to work by the baby's first birthday. "

-"Today, 83 percent of working moms return to work by baby's first birthday, and 55 percent of first-time moms return to work by the time their child is 6 months old."

You can read more at CCF Mother's Day Fact Sheet on Day Care

I get a lot of children's music on this beat, and none has received the acclaim from Working Dad's reviewers, Working Son and Daughter, as Recess Monkey's Wonderstuff.

The pop-opera tells the story of Everett the Wonderbee's battle against the gray. It's a tale of bravery, humor and green-thinking that is just vague enough to appeal to a 5-year-old's sensibilities.

Working kids clamor for the music, and I've heard from enough parents to know it's a hit with a lot of families. While the songs are for kids, Recess Monkey offers a nice pop sensibility many moms and dads will like, and others won't find annoying. "Backpack" is arguably the best song on the album, but there are plenty of hits.

If you're buying a copy on iTunes, you might want to pick up a copy of "The Johnny Cash Children's Album." I think it's one of the best vintage albums for kids. Any other nominees?

Our regular hurl reviewer, Tegan Tigani, is on vacation overseas. She will return in mid-May. Until then you are stuck with me.

We took a look at the stress on parents raising autistic children today in Autism's Hidden Victims, but there wasn't space to detail the startling and mounting stress on schools, therapists and medical providers.

Twelve years ago, for example, Washington public schools had 253 autistic students ages 3 to 21; last December schools counted 6,025, a 2,281 percent increase, according to data from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The rising tide of families searching for services is creating obvious strains around Seattle and the nation.

At one point popular Kirkland–based Northwest Behavioral Associates had 145 families on its waiting list, yet it took only 26 new clients in the previous year.

"I don't know how they (universities and training agencies) would keep up with the demand," said Stacey Shook, the firm's executive director.

Families told me they spent $17,000 to $55,000 a year on intense behavioral therapy. Most middle-class families can't pay those bills, and even if they could, they might not find much help. In one week, the mother featured in today's story, Lillie Addams, called 14 therapists trained in behavioral therapy, and not one called back.

(While few companies offer health care plans that cover behavioral treatment, homegrown Microsoft Corp. is one of those concerns.)

There are encouraging signs of growing federal and state support. In December 2006, Congress and President Bush approved $101 million for autism research at the National Institutes of Health, up from $56 million six years earlier.

But, parents say the fresh funding is nowhere near enough.

"I think that (I) would not be surprised if most families feel like the progress is woefully inadequate and painfully slow," said Dr. Bryan King at Seattle Children's Hospital and Medical Center. "The clock is ticking on each of their own children in terms of getting in there and doing something about it."

Whatever happened to the opt-out generation of moms? A few years ago, moms were supposedly dropping out, turned off by the rat race, to raise their children, at least according to some media reports.

A quick glance at employment data shows moms did not drop out. The population of working moms with young kids has been stable in recent years - their labor force participation rate hovered around 76 percent in 2006 and 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The level is near the record high of 77 percent set in 2000, according to The New York Times.

Author and feminist Amy Richards certainly doesn't believe there is an opt-out revolution. In fact, she wrote "Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself."

"Consistently, what the data says is that women are not opting out," Richards told me this afternoon.

Instead, women take 2.2 years off for childrearing Richards says, which makes the terms off ramping and on ramping more appropriate.

I am writing about how moms opt into the workforce next week. That means I want to hear from moms about how they are handling the work-family balance. Post a comment or send me an email, and remember to include your contact details if you want to be in the story.

The typical child care worker earns $18,820 a year, a new report says.

Despite all the work and money flying around early education, the most important folks in the field, teachers, make less than baggage porters, locker room attendants, stock clerks, service station attendants, maintenance workers, data entry "keyers" and telemarketers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found.

And they make a little more than a maid.

Making matters worse, child care workers who have a little college received a whopping 39-cent raise over the last 35 years, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

The teachers union released these findings Thursday as part of its national event, Stagnant Child Care Worker Wages Hurt Children.

Now the federation is a union with a motivation to organize workers. But, any parent who has dealt with the child care system knows these numbers are in the ballpark.

If you want to ask the authors of "Grand Theft Childhood" a few questions, they will be hosting a chat on Toronto's Globe and Mail Web site tomorrow.

You can submit questions in advance here.

CDC: 3 out of 4 new moms in US now breast-feed their infants

More than 3 out of 4 new moms now breast-feed their infants, the highest rate in the U.S. in at least 20 years, according to a a government report released Wednesday.
...
"It looks like it is an all-time high" based on CDC surveys since the mid-1980s, said Jeff Lancashire, a CDC spokesman. -- Associated Press, 4/30/08

It certainly matches what I see in the neighborhood.

What would be a better Mother's Day gift than a little libido?

Balancing a sex life and raising a family appears to be an eternal question, and Seattle's upscale sex shop Babeland will help moms get their sexy back and find the big O at a free Sunday evening session, "Sexy Mamas: Mom's Night Out."

Before you turn off because it's a sex store, with an understated and warm decor Babeland could be a shoe boutique, if it wasn't for the vibrators and lube displays. The 15-year-old Babeland is owned by women and staffed exclusively by sexuality educators

These women take sex seriously, helping couples reignite or keep the fire going, with good ideas on finding time for intimate encounters

Mom's Night Out is also for those moms who realize "I might not get that card I want," says Babeland's Shannon Carnes. "I am going to pamper myself."

To pamper mom, Babeland will offer mini-facials and mini-massages, cupcakes and sex ed, with a freewheeling panel discussion about "sex, sanity and sleep - you can have it all."

My editors and I have been tossing around ideas for a Mother's Day story - mom rights, pay inequality, opting-in moms - but this sounds like a lot more fun to write. If you're planning to check out Sexy Mamas or have any thoughts on sex and Mom's Day, drop me an e-mail or post your thoughts, though get me your contact info if you are willing to be interviewed.

You can get all the details on Sunday's event here. The link may not be appropriate to view at work - our filter blocked it. Here are the important things to know:

Sexy Mamas: Mom's Night Out
7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4t FREE!
707 E. Pike St., (Capitol Hill) Seattle.
206-328-2914 to reserve a spot

I think some of these moms are selling themselves short. Nearly a third of moms said their mothering was worth $50,000 a year, according to a Parenting.com poll.

Other moms demanded a bigger paycheck, as 34 percent of those surveyed moms said their work was worth $100,000.

Parenting.com

Of course, the poll begs the question, what is your role as dad worth?

By Tegan Tigani

Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta

As I pack my bags and check my passport for a big vacation, I thought I would make a quick mention of a wonderful book for armchair travelers of all ages: Around the World in 80 Tales.

Chock full of international myths and legends, this big book is easier to juggle than a toddler on an airplane, cheaper than the carbon-offset Terra Passes for a family of four, and a lot more fun than either. There really are 80 tales from different cultures, full of magic and princesses and adventure, and they are beautifully illustrated. It is a gorgeous gift book, but it's not just one for looking pretty on the nursery shelf. I think children will really enjoy flipping through its colorful pages and exploring all that it has to offer. Grown-ups will love the diverse and exotic offerings.

Kingfisher

The language can be a bit complicated for the youngest listeners, but if kids have enjoyed some classic fairy tales, they should be ready for these international flights of fancy.

Bon voyage!

(I'll be back to blogging on May 13!)

Being a reporter I had to play Grand Theft Auto before writing about it, and since GTA IV wasn't available I borrowed a copy of Vice City and an Xbox from one of our younger, hipper reporters. It didn't go too well.

Within a minute of entering the virtual city I was beating a cop, then getting beaten by one, crashing my car and getting arrested. This wasn't my typical Saturday night.

A few minutes later I had killed six people, crashed a few more cars then started shooting innocent bystanders, at least I think they were innocent.

Oh, and in this game it is often easier to run over bystanders then to go around them. I lost count of how many I ran over. I hope they are OK.

The bottomline is it's a disturbing game. Do I want my 5-year-old old playing this? Absolutely not. Would I try to prevent my 16-year-old teenage son or daughter from playing this? I don't think I could, but we would play it together, and since we probably won't have a gaming console in the house, we'll head over to our neighbor's house.