The twin birth rate rose by more than 2% a year, on average, from 1980 through 2004, leveling off briefly that year to less than 1% annually then rising nearly 2% again from 2008 to 2009.

In 2009, twin rates increased in all 50 states, with the most significant jumps in lower New England, New Jersey and Hawaii. In Connecticut, twins now account for nearly 5% of births.

Nationally, 3.3% of all births were twins in 2009, up from 2% in 1980.

The greatest increase in twin rates was for women 40 and older. They are more likely to use fertility treatments and to have two embryos implanted during in vitro fertilization, whereas younger women are more likely to get just one.

About 7% of all births for women 40 and older were twins, compared to 5% of women in their late 30s and 2% of women age 24 or younger.

Rates doubled for whites, rose by half for blacks and by about a third for Hispanics. Historically, black moms have twins most often, but white moms have almost caught up.

Are you a mom of twins? In what way has that influenced your purchasing decisions? Marketers, are any of you focusing on this growing market?

Do you agree that incessant chatter about kids is annoying or should Ms. Skurnick lighten up? And do you ever brattle about your own kids?

Some folks feel that being called grandma or grandpa is the equivaelnt of being labeled old — and old is not how many of today’s active grandparents feel.

This seems to be especially true in the celebrity world. According to a recent New York Times article, actress Goldie Hawn, a grandmother herself, referred to the term as having “so many connotations of old age and decrepitude.” Actress Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother, wanted her grandchildren to call her “Woof.” Paltrow says, “My mom’s hot and she didnt want to be called Grandma.”

A celebrity-worthy new term — GlamMa — now appears in UrbanDictionary.com, defined as a “woman with a sense of self and style.” Sources such as Grandparents.com offer other modern alternatives from which to choose.

Although I’ve got, in theory,  a long way to go, I have no idea how I’ll react when the time comes for me to assume a name to go along with the grandparenting role. I also can’t imagine what new term would have the same special meaning as the traditional one. Although GlamMa does have its appeal…

Has the “g” word been an issue with your parents? What do your children call them?

Some colleges are addressing this ongoing epidemic of incivility by introducing classes on the subject. One I found most interesting was the elective offered at George Mason University called “Professionalism and Civility.” According to the university’s Web site, this one-credit course teaches students how to manage their “professional image, conduct at work, telephone, written, oral, and electronic etiquette, table manners, and social networking with an emphasis on the cultural needs for honoring commitments and obligations.” (http://cehd.gmu.edu/courses/courseinfo/?id=1898).

Not a bad idea. Of course, as great as this elective sounds, I can’t help but wonder if the students who actually need this course would sign up for it.

Tip to marketers: There’s probably an entire industry that could be developed around teaching appropriate behavior for young people.

Yet, shouldn’t children be educated on the proper way to behave among their peers well before the college years — by their parents? Today, high school, middle school and even grade school incivility–better known at those stages as bullying–is almost a given. Are these the same children who never learned to share a toy on the playground or who hit and punched when they didn’t get their way? This leads to the questions: Moms, in your experience, how widespread is this kind of behavior among young children? Have your youngsters been the perpetrators or recipients of this rude and unkind behavior? What’s the solution?

It turns out, according to the just-released Chinese census, that while the strictly enforced policy has proved highly effective in reducing China’s exploding population and helping to pull it out of poverty, it has had a potentially negative effect on the country’s future: There are now too many old people and not enough young ones to assure the country’s continued economic growth.  China’s traditional preference for boys also means the country now has about 120 males for every 100 females, and that by 2020 there could be as many as 24 million single young men with little opportunity to marry or have their own children.

Why is that relevant in the context of this blog?  Certainly, the subject fits within the first half of what this blog is all about — the social and marketing trends that impact moms. And as a mother living in a country that puts no restrictions on the number of children we are allowed to bear, I feel for those who don’t have that choice. It also, perhaps, says something about government interference in family planning. Lastly — and appropriately enough — I can’t helped but be reminded of, yes, that old Chinese saying: Be careful what you wish for.

Now, it seems, we need help — in the form of a maternity concierge.

A new Bravo show, Pregnant in Heels, follows one such professional as she helps busy New York City moms plan for the coming of their first child.

The extreme personality of all reality show “stars” aside, is it really possible that some of these women can be so in the dark about what is involved in caring for a child — surprise, you do have to feed and clean up after them! — and need to hire a very expensive consultant to lead them?

Or is this the natural course of things, as we now live far from our families and spend so much of our time focused on work?

What do you think: Are baby planners the way of the future? Have you ever used one?  And what does our “need” for them say about our society?

Ohio State researchers studied 112 Midwestern families with 4-year-olds, then looked at the families again a year later. The study found that when dad took responsibility for certain tasks, spouses often undermined each other’s parenting skills and techniques. According to Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, co-author of the study, “it’s hard to break out of more traditional  gender roles…when you have two parents highly invested in care giving, there’s an opportunity to step on each other’s toes.”

Moms, what’s your take on this? Are you guilty of criticizing how the man of the house does his fathering? And how do you  solve your disagreements?

The economy has only added to the stress, both because of kids’ concerns about their parents’ financial scenarios but also due to their own college debt — more are having to take out loans –  and their job prospects upon graduation.

The findings are ironic in their timing, in a way, given the uproar recently over how Dragon Moms pressure their kids to succeeed. Even without such pressure, our kids feel stress. 

We’ve been fortunate with our college-age son who, bless him, has one of those “up” personalities and rarely seems bothered by much of anything. But next year, upon graduation, he will be joining the ranks of those looking for a full-time job. He’s a step ahead in many ways, due to a series of internships and his particular academic focus — but, who knows? If his job search hits a dead end, how can he not feel stressed?

What do you do, as parents, to help your kids through stressful situations?

As i-phones and i-pads have quickly become ubiquitous among urban families, it was just a matter of time before a study confirmed what most parents already knew – technology is shifting the way an entire generation of children learns.  The survey, released by AVG Technologies, found that while only 14% of kids ages 4 and 5 could tie their shoes, 21% could operate at least one smartphone app and 34% could open a Web browser.  And while 76% of the same children could play an online computer game, only 31% knew to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.

And there is no sign that our appetite for apps is cooling.  According to a recent article in the Boston Globe entitled “Apps Push Parents’ Buttons,” the app market will continue to boom.  “There are already more than 300,000 apps…. The number of downloads is expected to hit 76.9 billion worldwide in 2014,” wrote Beth Teitell.  “Exact figures on apps for children are hard to come by, but specialists expect the children’s market to grow with the rest of the field.”

So how much is too much of a good thing?  We love kids’ apps for their entertainment value and, to some degree, their educational virtues. But when kids become more adept at playing Angry Birds than mastering key developmental milestones, some of us are left wondering if this shift is more alarming than amusing.

And then, of course, I remembered: China has a one-child policy. 

My son is an only child. That was by choice — the operative word here. In China, there is no choice. To some degree, I understand the logic: In a country of  1.3 billion, population control can be an issue. Yet with all the progress China has made on the global front, it was jarring to realize that the policy still existed — that it wasn’t a remnant of some out-of-date history textbook.  The day I left, a local paper reported the case of a Beijing law professor who was fined the equivalent of  U.S. $36,000  and suspended from his teaching position in April 210 after it was discovered that his wife had given birth to a second child. According to the publication, as a second child that little girl is unable to obtain a “hukou” (household registration) and without a hukou,  she is not entitled to go to school, find a job or get married.

Mother and Son, visiting the Great Wall of China

The story went on to note that China’s national family planning  policy varies in places. Residents in rural and remote areas, for example,  may have a second child if the first child is a daughter.

I’m not even going to comment on that one.

Also, in Beijing, a second child is acceptable if both parents are single children themselves or if the first child is born disabled.

My point here, to the American parents who are reading this blog: Count your blessings. Literally.