Sometimes our kids know more than we do. Children know that if they keep asking their parents the same question, over and over, they might just get the answer they are looking for. More than 20,000 of us asked the vice presidential debate moderator to address questions of concern to the majority of American families--questions about fair pay, paid family and medical leave, childcare, healthcare, sick days, and more.

And, as you likely know those questions weren't directly asked last night.

Ouch.

While the questions asked about the economy and foreign policy are certainly critical, so are the questions of mothers and families which, by the way, have a great deal to do with the economy!

*Submit a question to the presidential debate & show the pundits it's time to take the issues of American families seriously:

http://momsrising.org/tombrokaw

The deadline for submitting questions to the Presidential debate is TODAY, so please forward this link around to everyone you know now.

Let's make our voices heard loud and clear. There's lots of talk by pundits and politicians about how the mom vote matters, let's help them walk the talk by sharing our debate questions with them that we'd like to see addressed. After all, over 80% of American women have children by the time they are forty-four years old, and women make up more than half the electorate.

Sure, the economy matters (of course!), but the economy is about more than just Wall Street bail outs. It's about how we're going to pay for escalating childcare, how we can pull together healthcare coverage for our kids, and what's going to happen when we make less for the same job as a man and still need to pay the same mortgage or rent.

Help broaden the discussion in our nation by submitting your question to the presidential debate TODAY so the questions of mothers and families are included in this next presidential debate. And forward this email now to friends and friend's friends so they can help broaden the discussion too.

Odds are even if you haven't talked with your friends about these issues yet, they agree with you: A recent poll found that 89% of Americans are in favor of paid sick days, and 75% favor paid family and medical leave. These issues are top of mind for the majority of people in our nation so please connect with friends today.

Here's that link again: http://momsrising.org/tombrokaw

With a quarter of families who have young children living in poverty, and an economic crunch which is worsening, these issues must be in the spotlight with all the rest.

Let's learn from our kids and keep asking for answers to these critical questions for mothers and families.

- Kristin, Joan, Katie, Roz, Nanette, Anita, Mary, Ashley, Donna, Julia, Laura, and the MomsRising Team

p.s. Need debate question ideas? Here are some sample questions you may want to cut & paste into the debate question form via: http://momsrising.org/tombrokaw

* Right now, the birth of a child is the number one cause of a "poverty spell" in America, and 1/4 of families with young children are living in poverty. Do you support a policy to provide paid family and medical leave to parents following birth or adoption of a new child?

* Nearly 1/2 of all full-time, private sector workers in the U.S. have no paid sick days. Do you support a policy to provide paid sick days for workers to use when they or their children get sick?

* In most American families, both parents work outside the home. Please tell us what your administration would do to help parents secure excellent, affordable childcare?

* Studies show that moms are paid 73 cents and single moms are paid about 60 cents to the dollar for doing the exact same job as men. Do you support the Fair Pay Restoration Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?

* A child is born every 41 seconds without healthcare. What kind of Health Care Policy could Americans expect in your administration?

p.p.s. Share this powerful trailer for the EngageHer documentary with your friends and community: http://www.engageher.org/ It tells the stories of women of color and why they do (or don't) vote. Every woman interviewed, from major public figures like Dolores Huerta to everyday moms like Felicia Curtis, mentioned family. Every story emphasized the importance of our issues. This film and even just the online trailer is a great way to remind people just how important it is to vote. So check it our and after you do forward this email to your friends!