Many also offer paid parental leave, which may be available to either parent but is generally taken by the mother, so a number of countries, including Finland, now have separate "mommy and daddy quotas", allocating periods of leave to each parent that cannot be transferred.
Mr Bush also faces a couple of problems that are specific to his brand of conservatism.First, embracing mommy issues could lead inexorably to embracing mommy solutions.
He also plays the "mommy" role at home by doing most of the worrying, he says.Families like Ray and Rodney's are becoming boringly normal.
The Democrats are known as the "mommy" party, the one that voters trust on issues like education, health care and social security.
The rising cost of paper has not helped.In this section The ineluctable middlemen Printers sink A good Cook Delivering the goods Another click on the wall Upwardly mobile The mommy track ReprintsShrinking demand has put large printers such as Schlott Group in Germany out of business.
Other companies are building even bigger locker networks, especially in Europe.In this section The ineluctable middlemen Printers sink A good Cook Delivering the goods Another click on the wall Upwardly mobile The mommy track ReprintsSome shoppers are willing to pay to avoid home deliveries.
Meanwhile, though, employers tend to offer women a "mommy track" of less demanding, less rewarding, often part-time work, in the belief that they will be less committed and less able to put in the hours than men.
But Mr Cook also deserves praise for the way he has handled a tricky transition.In this section The ineluctable middlemen Printers sink A good Cook Delivering the goods Another click on the wall Upwardly mobile The mommy track ReprintsThe process has not been without hiccups.
"I don't know a single man who's read that," says Mr Rickett, whose company published it.Ms James's "mommy porn" is another reading-group favourite.
