Telegraph has an interesting article about the length of a mom's work day. The average mom, according to a recent poll, has a "work day" of 15 hours, 5.5 of it working at their job and the rest spent grocery shopping, cooking, doing household chores, shuttling kids to school and activities, and caring for their children. Seventy five percent of women reported wishing they had more time to themselves. Don't we all.

The idea here, of course, is that working moms are doing far more than their share and are in desperate need of a break. Honestly, this is something I worry about when I think about going back to work full-time. As a SAHM, I've taken on the bulk of the household responsibilities. Will we be able to balance daily tasks in a healthy way when the time comes for me to go back to the 40-hour work week? I hope so, but I think it will take time.

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Thanks to The Joys of Motherhood for this lovely photo - we are always suckers for sweet kisses between little ones.

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There are few things as frightening for a parent as watching their child drive off behind the wheel of a car alone for the first time. In my experience, the only thing that even comes close to that feeling is actually sitting next to your teen as she takes the wheel for the first time.

Hopefully by the time a kid is ready to solo, you've taught them well. They know the rules of the road and the importance of always wearing a seat belt. Unfortunately, a new study shows that many teens are forgetting that seat belt lesson when mom and dad aren't around to remind them, especially when they are in the passenger seat.

The study, conducted by Meharry Medical College in Nashville using data collected by national Youth Risk Behavior surveys, finds that just 59% of drivers aged 16 and older say they always wear a seat belt. That percentage sounds frighteningly low to me, but not as bad as this one: only 42% of teen passengers say they always buckle up.

The numbers regarding teen drivers are scary, indeed. 5,000 teens over the age of sixteen die each year in car accidents in the United States. Of those deaths, 40% are passengers in the car. Teaching your child to buckle up when driving is an important lesson, but clearly not the only one. If you have a kid of driving age, maybe you want to share these statistics with him or her. It sure can't hurt.

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We're accustomed to hearing about all the horrible things the internet is capable of: online predators, scam sites, viral downloads, cyberstalking, anonymous meanness. But what we don't hear very often is the incredible good that can happen when the people behind all those keyboards are inspired to act.

Stephanie Nielson is the fun kind of mother who does things like marking the start of a new school by preparing a company-worthy dinner complete with good china, fancy glassware, roses, and handmade tiara for her daughters. She's also the well-liked blogger behind Nie Nie Dialogues, where she records life with four young children and the husband she's clearly still smitten with.

On August 16th, Stephanie, along with her beloved husband Christian, and pilot instructor, Doug Kinneard, were in a plane crash. Kinneard died from his injuries, Christian has burns over 30% of his body, and Stephanie, better known as Nie Nie on the internet, remains in a chemically induced coma while being treated for the burns that cover 80% of her body.

While relatives take turns caring for the Nielson children, bloggers and internet sellers of all types have sprung into action to raise money to attempt to off-set what are sure to be staggering medical expenses. Generous and amazing crafters have donated wonderful items to benefit the Nielsons, while others have used their computer skills to organize and list everything in a wonderfully organized manner.

It's not too early to think about that Christmas list, or upcoming baby arrivals or birthdays. Knowing that the money spent will help a family in need makes any gift purchased from a Nie Nie auction twice as wonderful and that's just not a feeling one gets from an Amazon.com purchase.

It's really wonderful to see the goodness pouring out of the internet in response to such a tragic event.

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Bra shopping is a hassle -- it's so hard to find a bra that really fits, and honestly, since no one ever SEES your bra, why spend any money on it? Even though your bra is always under cover (it's underwear, you all, not outerwear, no matter what Madonna might be doing these days) it is important to choose a bra that really fits your body and flatters your breasts. The right bra can change your whole look -- make you look thinner and younger and shapelier. The right bra -- one that fits properly and supports your chest appropriately -- can also prevent sagging and stretching, particularly in larger breasted women.

Take the time to have a proper bra fitting; most department stores have bra fitters on staff, as do smaller lingerie boutiques. If you are particularly hard to fit, we suggest you go the boutique route, as the fitters in these smaller stores often have more training than the ones in larger chain stores. The exception to this rule is Nordstrom, which is THE place to go for a bra fitting. Take the time; you'll be glad you did.

Pretty sure you know what size bra you wear? HerRoom is your online source for fantastic bras at great prices. HerRoom also provides clear instructions on how to fit yourself -- follow them carefully to make sure your bras are the right size. Here are five options, each for a specific shape and size. Some are a bit of an investment, but the right bra will make everything else -- even the cheapest cotton tee -- look fantastic. A great bra is money well spent, every single time.

I use online chat services pretty regularly, both personally and professionally. I chat with my wife fairly frequently; it's less disruptive than a phone call and quicker too. I've also enjoyed the occasional chat with my six-year-old son. I chat with co-workers all the time, both individually and in groups.

I am a grown-up, however, with nearly three decades of experience in online communications (anyone remember Fidonet?), so I'm not worried about safety. When it comes to kids, however, it's another story. Kids haven't been around the block and they don't always realize that nearly every other fourteen-year-old on the internet is actually a forty-something guy.

If you're not overly familiar with the whole idea of chatting online, the SafetyClicks website has a nice introduction and some great advice on making sure your kids stay safe while chatting with friends. Most importantly, know who they're chatting with. I would even go so far as to say that kids shouldn't be participating in group chats until at least high school.

If your kids are starting to read and write, chatting with you once in a while can be a fun way to encourage that. But once they are old enough to use the computer on their own, parents need to make sure they stay safe. Check out the SafetyClicks guide for info on how to do that.

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Kids learn by example, which is why most of us try to set a good one. We use our manners, clean up after ourselves, exhibit patience and always try to do the right thing - especially when little eyes are watching us. But sometimes, we get stressed out and tired and just can't be bothered doing the right thing. And by 'us', I mean 'me', of course.

I realized yesterday that I have been doing such a good job of modeling good behavior that when I slack off a bit, my seven-year-old notices big time. The slacking off happened in K-Mart, which was the last of many stops Ellie and I had to make on our way to the bank. I was worried about the bank closing before I could get there, so we sped through the store looking folding chairs and a card table. We found what we needed and were headed for the checkout when I spotted something I'd missed on the way in: a card table and chair set, for a fraction of what I was about to pay for them separately.

I quickly took the individual pieces out of my cart and loaded the boxed set in. I hesitated. The department from which I had picked up the table and chairs was way in the back of the store. I was two feet from the checkout. Ordinarily, I would have schlepped the stuff back to where I got it, but this time I didn't feel like I had time. And this is no excuse, but the entire store was a jumbled mess anyway. Which is probably why I didn't notice the table and chairs set in the first place. I left the discarded purchases where they didn't belong, made my purchase, and left the store.

I heard about it all the way to the bank and all the way home. "I can't believe you just left that stuff there!" Ellie's shock at my total disregard for proper store etiquette made me think of all the times I do the right thing. I return my cart to the proper area in the parking lot. I allow other drivers to get in front of me when they ask. I pick up trash if I see some lying on the ground. I consider myself a pretty decent person, but I can't say for sure that I would always do these things if she wasn't watching me. Her presence in my life makes me much more aware of the things I do and therefore an all-around better person. How about you? Has being a parent made you a better person? Or were you always as wonderful as you are today?

Most people, adults or children in the know, do not like to think about their parents having sex, ever. Well, there is the fact that there's a very good chance the parents had sex in order to get said adult or child, but other than that we prefer to have our minds boggled rather than our imaginations ruined by thinking about our parents getting it on.

Not so with Matthew McConaughey. His mother, Kay McConaughey, is set to publish a sort of memoirs/tell all book about her life, and in it she gets pretty explicit about her relationship with Mateo's father, how the star was conceived and how her husband met his ultimate, if not untimely, demise. Says Kay, who married Matthew's dad three times and spent over sixteen years before conceiving, her hubby died during sex; she knew he was gone when he just wasn't responding.

More information than we will probably ever want to know. If there's one thing I want to think about LESS than my own parents having sex it's Matthew McConaughey's parents having sex and then one of them dying during it. The Sahara star did comment that if he has to go, he hopes it's a long way off, but that doing so while making whoopy would be the desired method of exit. And, I will say, for being 77, Kay McConaughey looks unbelievably amazing. Seriously. If we could all look like that when we're 77 people would never actually stop having sex.

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This product recall is a little different than others in that it isn't actually a product recall. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" bassinets do not meet the safety standards regarding spacing of the metal bars and pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants. The products would be recalled, but SFCA Inc., the company which purchased all of Simplicity, Inc.'s assets at public auction in April, 2008, refuses to recall them. SFCA claims they are not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity.

Clearly somebody needs to be responsible for the products because according to the CPSC, two infants have already strangled to death between the bassinet's metal bars - a 5-month old girl earlier this month and a 4-month-old girl in September of 2007. Since SFCA won't recall them, the CPSC is issuing a warning and urging all consumers to share this warning with day care centers, consignment stores, family and friends to ensure no more children are injured or killed sleeping in this bassinet.

The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets have metal bars spaced farther apart than the 2 3/8 inches maximum allowed by federal crib safety standards. The metal bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by Velcro. The fabric is folded down when the bassinet is converted into a bed-side co-sleeping position. If the Velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate. This warning does not cover bassinets produced in recent months that have fabric permanently attached over the lower bar.

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We've often had the conversation here at ParentDish about how many children is enough. The answer? Well, it depends on the family. Desire, money, space, time and energy requirements all make their case in the debate, and it ultimately comes down to how much kid a parent can handle. Several people have said to me, for example, how they really wanted three children until they had two. Some, like me, who came from a small family--I was an only child--want as big a family as possible. Others think one is the magical number.

For Brad Pitt, apparently that magic number hovers somewhere near what it would take to have your own baseball team. The actor, heartthrob and life partner (or whatever you want to call him) of Angelina Jolie, who already has six children, recently admitted he'd like two more. To take matters further, he is quoted (probably WAY out of context) as saying they'll arrive within the next year. That statement, true or not (probably the latter) will do two things:

1. It will give the media, tabloids and gossip hounds even more ammunition that the twins were conceived using fertility treatments, which has been denied by the pretty pair and that they'll use such methods again to get two more children in such a short span of time (unless they adopt, and you know how long that can take, even for a celebrity: just ask Madonna); and

2. It will, indeed, give them almost enough kids for a baseball team. I mean, if Ange and Brad joined in the fun then there'd be ten of them, so you know, you could have reserves and pinch hitters and whatnot.

Safety in numbers, right? And, really, once you have six kids, what's two more? I mean, other than the baseball team thing. Good luck to the happy couple, if indeed what Brad says is true in any way, shape or form whatsoever.

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