Still, conservatives maintain a strong place in their heart for President Reagan; liberals a strong admiration for President Kennedy (as well as his political family).

How do we know this?  Using Circle of Moms Child Space data, of course!  We looked at the names parents give to their children.  Notably, Reagan (usually a girl’s name), is the most conservative among the top 250 names Circle of Moms’ mothers have given to their kids: 89% of mothers of children named Reagan identify themselves as conservative or Republican.

On the other side of the coin, Kennedy — also usually a girl’s name — stands as the #11 most liberal name, with 67% of “moms of Kennedy” identifying themselves as liberal or Democratic.

Jalen — which has no political ramifications we’re aware of — is the most liberal boy’s name, weighing in at 94% liberal.  Colton is the most conservative boy’s name, at 81% conservative.

Fear not, Sarah Palin fans (and haters): Sarah is the second most conservative female name, after Reagan.  Numbers three and four are also Biblical names: Rachel and Rebecca.

After Colton, Scott and Matt are the most conservative names for boys.

The most liberal names for girls are Jada, Maya, and Jasmine; for boys, the most liberal names after Jaden are Xavier and Julian.

Interestingly, common names tend to be favored among conservative moms, while less common names are more common among liberal moms.  All of the top ten most common girls’ names (Sarah, Hannah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Madison, Emma, Samantha, Ashley, Taylor, Olivia) are more common among conservatives than among liberals.  And nine of the top ten boys’ names (Matthew, Andrew, Jacob, Noah, Joshua, Ryan, Tyler, Ethan, Michael, and Christopher) are more common among conservatives, while only one (Jordan) is more common among liberals.

Moms who have given their kids uncommon names — names held by less than one in 10,000 Americans — tend to be more liberal.  Nearly half of all children have uncommon names (names at least as rare as Ray, Camron, Sky, Isis, and Jarrod).  And a substantial majority — 58% — of those kids are the children of liberal mothers.

Data for the 1000+ most common names can be accessed using the links below.

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names by Ideology

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names by Name Frequency

Liberal and Conservative Baby Names Sorted Alphabetically

Every day, many thousands of parents in the U.S. use Circle of Moms’ Child Space to share their children’s milestones with friends and family. And since Child Space has been widely adopted (more than 10% of the children born in the US in the past three years have a Child Space on Circle of Moms) we can pull some significant inferences from the data all this activity generates.

Northeast babies get chewing early; West Coasters stay on the liquid diet as long as they can

So when do children first eat solid foods?  Turns out there are some large regional variations:

Average Age (in weeks) at which Children First Eat Solid Food

We found these results pretty amazing: moms in the Northeast give their children solid food nearly two weeks — or 10% of the baby’s life — earlier than their peers on the West Coast.  While around 55% of moms in the South, Northeast, and Midwest have given their children solid food by age 18.5 weeks, just 39% of mothers on the Pacific Coast have done the same.

Southern babies knock us out with the way they talk

Next we looked at when a child first uttered a word.  Here there are also large regional variations, though interestingly they seem unrelated to the numbers for solid foods:

Average Age (in weeks) of Child's First Words, by Region

Southern children seem to be early talkers, for reasons unknown to us.  40% of them utter their first word by 7 months, compared to only 25% of Mountain state children.

We wish they all could be Southern babies… and potty train early!

This trend holds — sort of — for potty training:

Average Age (in months) of Children Being Potty Trained

Here we again see Southern children developing most quickly, becoming potty trained more than a month before kids in any other part of the country, while children in Mountain states are later bloomers.  In between, though, we see the order has shifted quite a bit.  Midwesterners talk early and potty train late, while West Coasters talk late and potty train early.  There’s a clever joke there somewhere, but we’re going to resist the temptation and stick to the data!

As you can see, there are some interesting trends we can find by looking at how people are using Child Space.  If you have thoughts on why these trends exist, have seen other interesting research on the topic, or have other ideas for future posts, please let us know in the comments!

As I took it in one day, I couldn’t help wonder about the demographics of it all.  Why do I see so many babies in Noe Valley, but so few school-age children and teenagers?

Fortunately, Circle of Moms is an incredibly rich web site and can aid in answering questions like these.  Over 10% of moms of toddlers in the U.S. are using the Child Space to share updates and milestones with friends and family.  The data they provide allow us allows us to make some interesting inferences about where all the big kids have gone.

Little-kid-ville and Big-kid-ville

It starts with demographics.  Child Spaces on Circle of Moms are a little bit more common for very young children (under 3) than they are for, say, 10-year-olds.  Once we controlled for that, we were able to look at whether there are relatively more little kids or big kids in any US city.  In “Averageville” about two in seven (27.8%) children are under age five.  “Little-kid-villes” are cities with lots of small children and fewer older children, so this percentage is larger; “Big-kid-villes” have fewer small children and more big kids (a percentage under 27.8%).

San Francisco may be Baby Heaven, but You’re Better off Finding a (teenage) Babysitter in Stockton

Let’s take a look at some of the actual numbers and how a few American cities rank:

San Francisco, San Diego, New York (Manhattan), Minneapolis, and LA are all Little-kid-villes, with lots of young children (under age 5) and relatively few older kids.  Detroit, Amarillo, and Stockton are all Big-kid-villes with more older kids.  San Francisco in particular is an outlier, with far more young children per older child than the next highest on the list (San Diego).

A City-Wide Baby Boom

So why is this true?  We can think of a couple of reasons.  First, according to the California Department of Finance, there were 5-10% more births per year in San Francisco the past three years (2007-09) than there were during most of the 1990s and 2000s (incidentally, this is not true of Los Angeles).  That means that even without anyone moving, San Francisco would have relatively more children under age 4 than elementary school kids.

Yuppie No More

Second, it seems that parents leave the most expensive cities as their kids get older.  They may want to live in San Francisco in their 20s, get married there, and have kids.  But as the kids get older, the cramped apartment in the hip neighborhood becomes less appealing, and they move to suburbs and smaller cities like Stockton, CA.

An in-depth analysis of this topic is well beyond the scope of this blog, but we did take a quick glance at a list of the US’s most expensive cities. Sure enough, every single one of the top ten is a “Little-kid-ville”.  Meanwhile, the strongest “Big-kid-villes” — Detroit; Stockton; Amarillo, TX; Mobile, AL; Reading, PA; Flint, MI; Ft Wayne, IN; Buffalo, NY; Bakersfield, CA — are hardly trendy, but serve as areas where families can settle down and buy an affordable home.  Several of these areas have also suffered substantial decreases in property values in the past few years, but we don’t have good longitudinal data which might help us understand whether those drops are cause or effect.

New York’s Many “Villes”

The trendy and expensive vs. non-trendy and inexpensive relationship holds within New York City as well.  The expensive and dense Manhattan (36.3% of kids are under age five) and Brooklyn (32.2%) are strong “Little-kid-villes” while more the affordable Bronx (28.2%) and the less dense Staten Island (29.2%) are “Average-villes.”  Clearly, this is a strong trend affecting cities and families across the US.

Mike Greenfield is Circle of Moms’ co-founder and CTO.

Even before the idea of the “mommy wars” took hold in the public imagination, spawning a small universe of books, studies, and commentators, mothers have weighed the personal and financial trade-offs of working outside the home in an environment charged with public approbation. When mothers come together to discuss this subject, the results often reflect the public acrimony. But in a recent thread in one of Circle of Moms’ largest communities for working moms, almost 400 mothers from all walks of life weighed in on the topic of guilt among working mothers—without slinging arrows. What accounts for the peace? Has the flailing economy nudged us into an era of more tolerance?

Community moderator Terry Greenberg Starr sparked the discussion by asking ‘Does anyone out there besides me NOT feel guilty about working?” setting up a supportive backdrop for the discussion. Perhaps not surprisingly, more than 96% of the respondents agreed that mothers who work should not feel guilty about it.  Sabrina, mother of three, explained, “I work because I don’t want my kids growing up thinking that a woman’s role is only at home or that a female needs a man to work and provide for her… I [do] take time off and participate in school functions when I can…there has to be a balance.”  And Jamie, mother of three, added, “I find it irritating that women are trained to feel guilty for providing for their families. There is no reason that women cannot have wonderful jobs and wonderful families.”

Moms for whom working is a financial necessity, not an option, emphasized how good they feel about providing a better life for their children.  And almost everyone agreed that working helps them maintain the identities they had before having children.

As Kerry, mother of three, put it, “I do feel guilty for having to miss certain basketball games and talent shows, but not for working in general…I know I not only need to work for the money, but for my own sanity as well.”

Still, quite a few expressed misgivings about the emotional impact of agonizing choices. Heather, mother of one in Ohio, said she feels “extremely guilty most of the time because I am missing out on so much, I don’t feel like a mom.” Amanda, mother of one, added: “I feel TOTALLY guilty…I’m missing so much and would much rather stay with them. You don’t get these days back.”

If you’re a working mother or father, how do you feel about the issues raised here? Do you think the unprecedented financial pressures that so many families now face have shifted the terms of the debate?

Additional Information:

- “Not guilty” thread

- “Working Moms” Community

- Circle of Moms

- Sloan Work and Family Research Network – Boston College

- Mommy Wars – Washington Post

The “Moms’ Eye View” series highlights timely parenting themes and issues that emerge from the Circle of Moms community. The topics and questions that fascinate moms the most are the fodder for this space; for each Moms’ Eye post, we select one particularly lively thread and attempt to capture the consensus (or lack of consensus) that percolates through the thread.

Immunizations are a consistently hot topic in our most popular and diverse community on Circle of Moms, and a consensus–that they are a matter of personal choice rather than public health–seems to be emerging in these conversations.

While most of the 200+ moms who responded to a recent question on the subject had opted to have their children immunized, they tended to prefer alternative schedules, such as waiting until their children were older, over the standard schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Gina, a mother of one, said , “I am not opposed to the immunizations. I know they have been created for a reason…However, I am opposed to giving so many shots at one time.”

Charlene, mother of one, agrees with Gina saying, “For me, the pros outweighed the cons, and if I hadn’t vaccinated and my daughter had gotten one of the preventable diseases, I would feel extremely guilty for that.”

Eight moms cited the phenomenon of “herd immunity” or community immunity as an important reason to immunize. As Alzena, mother of two, explained, it’s “a type of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population provides protection to unprotected individuals,” and Roxy, mother of one, added, “That seems to be something no one considers in the whole immunization debate; the overall community health.”

On the other hand, about 10% of respondents were completely against immunizations, some of them insisting on the efficacy of more natural methods to boost their children’s immune systems. Several of these moms cited a possible connection to autism, although this connection has recently been disproven.

As Monica, mother of four, explained, “I’m personally against it just because it’s unnatural and I believe in natural living and healing.”

Maj-Britt, mother of two, added, “If you decide not to vaccinate I would suggest also looking into some natural ways to boost your natural defenses to infections.”

In the end, most moms seemed to agree that it is your personal choice to vaccinate or not vaccinate your child. As Faye, mother of three, said, “Do your research and make a decision when you are fully informed and when you are secure and comfortable with your choice. It is YOUR choice.”

For more information:

-“Immunizations: For or Against” Thread

-“Welcome to Circle of Moms” Community

-Circle of Moms

-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Vaccines

-National Institute of Health/U.S. National Library of Medicine

-National Vaccine Information Center (Anti-Immunization)

-Recommended childhood vaccination schedule as of Jan. 1, 2010 according to American Academy of Pediatrics

-Connection between Autism and immunizations

-Herd Immunity (Community Immunity)

What is child abuse? There are many different ways of looking at it: are swats on the bottom considered abuse? How about spanking? Yelling? Name calling? And where do the moms of Circle of Moms – some 8 million strong – draw the line?

Almost a hundred responded to a recent thread posted in one of Circle of Moms’ largest and most diverse communities asking for a definition of child abuse. The vast majority agreed that spanking seems to lie in a grey area between abuse and punishment. Here’s what they said:

Krista, mother of one, says, “Some tactics and approaches are very obviously abusive to a child. But when looking at the gray area of things like spanking and yelling, I would say that it becomes abusive when it negatively affects the child’s health, or their sense of security, safety and comfort with his or her parents.”

Melissa, mother of one, agrees with Krista saying, “I feel that spanking is appropriate when used in the right manner, like if [he] is about do something to hurt [himself] or someone else. I feel that when a child becomes afraid of you that’s when it has turned abusive.”

Sara, mother of one in Louisiana, was spanked as a child by parents she considers loving and demonstrative. As she explains, “I think it is the manner in which a child is spanked that makes the child afraid or not afraid. I knew that if I disobeyed, fought with my sister, etc. I would get a spanking. The point is don’t spank out of anger. If you have a tendency to “lose it” then spanking shouldn’t be something that you do.”

And Kylie, mother of one in Australia, believes that the word abuse stretches over other parental actions as well, “abuse is any action verbal or physical that is used to harm or break down a child. You don’t have to leave a mark to be abusive. Words can be just as abusive as a belt.” Jackie, mother of one, adds “also remember there is another form of ‘abuse’ which is child neglect; the lack of appropriate care, which in my experience, can be just as harmful to a child.”

Interestingly, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends against spanking, which they’ve found to be no more effective than any other approach in managing undesired behavior, and moms generally agree. If spanking is done out of anger and without proper explanation, they say, it renders the message of the spanking pointless while creating an aura of abuse. And as Sandi, mother of one in England, points out, “if it’s pointless you may as well not do it in the first place.”

What do you think?

For more information:

- “So what IS child abuse” thread

- Welcome to Circle of Moms Community

- Circle of Moms

- The American Academy of Pediatrics

Last summer we noticed that moms were enthusiastically using a very skeletal, early version of this. So we watched for patterns, and in early September began adding features and functionality that seemed to follow from these patterns. By early November we were seeing a new Child Space update every 3 seconds. Clearly this is resonating.

To check it out, just go to the “Me & My Family” tab in your Circle of Moms profile. And here are the highlights:

Indispensable
Child Space is a fast, easy way to capture special moments and record those little, in-the-moment details that otherwise slip away: milestones, funny quotes, pictures, kid comics, height and weight info.

Social
Moms are not just recording memories for posterity, they’re sharing them with friends and family. You can create a circle of fans for each of your children by inviting friends and family members, both inside and outside Circle of Moms. Your child’s fans are notified whenever you post an update about them (“First tooth finally poked through today!”). And you can create a short, memorable URL for each child’s space, which friends and family can bookmark.

Private
Moms want to share info about their kids online, but they want to be in charge of who sees what. Child Space gives you full control: there are granular privacy settings for a child’s space on Circle of Moms, and you can use Facebook’s privacy controls to control whether Child Space updates appear on your Facebook wall.

Streamlined
Moms are busy. This is a genius way to manage your family’s online life.Child Space is easily integrated with your accounts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as your blog. And you can make updates right from Facebook

Coming soon: print features (create a baby book and other memorabilia), a newsletter publishing tool, more social microblogging features, and mobile access.

We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions for ways to keep growing and improving Child Space; please let us know what you think

That's a lot of moms!

We celebrated our first birthday today in the office with cake and champagne…and also with the official launch of Child Space. Read all about it at Tech Crunch…and then start microblogging your kids!

With this in mind, we’re wondering how you and your community members would feel about having more control over the kind of feedback you get when you post. We could build in a menu of options, and you could check off what you’d like to get back from other moms from a list that might include: support, stories of similar experiences, inspiration, ideas, recommendations (solutions, products, plans of action), resources (books, experts, websites, etc.), debate…or honest, no holds barred feedback.

Thoughts on this idea? If there’s support for it, we’ll implement it!

Jamie’s a strong contributor in many of her communities, quick to post both questions and responses. Her favorite hang-out is the Young Moms community, in spite of the fact that it gets her behind at work. With almost 300,000 members and covering topics like whether to get your tubes tied as a young woman (that’s one of Jamie’s), it’s no wonder.

Here’s a little time travel with Jamie:

PAST: Share one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you were a new mom.

That I was going to pee a little when I sneezed when pregnant, and that kids just have stuff coming out everywhere: ears noses, mouth. Yuck.

PRESENT: What’s going on with your family right now?

I’m a mom to three kids, a wife, and an assistant, so I spend my days making sure everyone has what they need and is where they need to be at the right times. We are potty training my youngest and my oldest is a pistol, lol, always testing her limits. Not a bad kid, just curious. My SS (step-son) is finishing up baseball which means more time at my house. My hubby is military and getting ready for a few exciting short trips.

FUTURE: Complete this sentence: When my kid(s) are grown, I hope they’ll always remember…

When my kids are grown, I hope they’ll always remember that I’ve done my best to make them happy and healthy, even if it meant no twinkies, lol.

And who should we tag next?

Marly Kendrick.

Thanks for playing, Jamie, and for all your contributions to the Circle of Moms community. Get ready, Marly, you’re next!