Parents often say raising kids is exhausting but rewarding work. Now we know moms and dads with kids under age 6 spend more than five hours a day on secondary child care alone, according to a new survey.

Overall, parents spend, on average, 5.6 hours on secondary child care, which is when they have a child in their care while also doing something else, such as housework, the Labor Department’s American Time Use Survey found. These moms and dads also spend roughly two hours a day on primary childcare, which includes physical care and story time.

While the study summary doesn’t offer broad interpretations of these findings at least parents know why they are so tired by 9 p.m. And I am sure a wave of magazine articles are coming about the modern mom and dad.

(Thanks to the Wall Street Journal blog The Juggle for highlighting this survey.)

New Tunes: It is summer and if you want a break from early learning research reports and legislative debates check out the new album from Recess Monkey.

One of the hardest working and best kindie rock bands around, the Seattle-based trio released their eighth album, “The Final Funktier,” last week.

While I have only heard a couple of tracks, these three grade school teachers consistently put out albums that kids and their parents enjoy, full of upbeat songs with a Beatles influence. (If you want a proven album, check out “Tabby Road.”)

You can buy “Final Funktier”at the Recess Monkey Town website , Sonic Boom, CD Baby and Amazon.com.