All Blog Posts

08/24/07

Doctors agree that breastmilk is best for infants, but their own licensing board isn't following doctor's orders. Sophie Currier recently learned that when it comes to supporting breastfeeding, many of our leaders--whether they are in the medical establishment (as in Sophie's case), business sector...

MomsRising Together

Anita Sarah Jackson

08/14/07

If you want straight answers to straight questions, then Elizabeth Edwards is your gal. After hearing her speak at last week's BlogHer conference , I know if she was the one running for president, she would be getting my vote -- hands down. Not only is she exquisitely tuned in to the issues many of us think are the most important ones, she knows something else that seems to elude most office seekers -- if you want support from women, you need to make connections .

MomsRising Together

Joanne Bamberger

Environmental Health

08/08/07

MomsRising has been on the forefront of the effort to remove lead from kids' toys. Read the MomsRising petition to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Following the latest Mattel/Fisher Price recall this issue is really heating up. How ironic is it that lead paint is banned, but the toys themselves can be made of lead? Today's episode of the Diane Rehm Show covered this issue in admirable depth. This show is an absolute must-listen and is available free online from WAMU radio's site, or as a free podcast from iTunes.

MomsRising Together

Mojo Mom -- Amy Tiemann

08/07/07

When we became parents, I discovered and adopted a few very helpful perspectives: 1. Change is constant. There's always something new to learn or adjust to. True, I'll never again be a novice at changing a poopy diaper in a public place or figuring out the top ten uses for My Brest Friend. But as this baby grows, she changes, and my parenting techniques have to change with her. What worked yesterday to soothe, entertain or distract her might not work today. Remembering this keeps me on my toes instead of feeling constantly inadequate!

MomsRising Together

Anita Sarah Jackson

07/09/07

Think you're getting shut out of prime work assignments because you have to do school pick-up? Have a feeling the "boys" are getting more parenting-credit at the office for going to a soccer game than you are for pediatrician's appointments? If so, you may be able to hold your bosses legally accountable. There's been increased attention in recent months to the so-called "opt-out" phenomenon -- professional working women supposedly abandoning the workforce in droves for full-time mommydom.

MomsRising Together

Joanne Bamberger

06/18/07

It's bad enough that we live in a country where working mothers have to worry about losing their jobs if they take time off to tend to a sick or injured child. Now, children are worrying about whether they should confide feeling ill with their parents because some have seen their mothers get fired for staying home to care for them. Author Ellen Bravo writes on The Nation's website about the impact this phenomenon is having on the children of working mothers.

MomsRising Together

Joanne Bamberger

06/14/07

I will fly from California to Tennessee this weekend to eat Father's Day dinner with my Dad. But I don't expect the meal to be very satisfying. For one thing, we will be eating whatever we eat in a hospital room. My father has emphysema and stage 3 lung cancer. He was responding well to chemo, but then he developed pneumonia. He has been hospitalized for more than a month, with his health worsening rather than improving. In the hospital, he developed a major blockage in his intestine; now he is battling this digestive tract malady, on top of everything else.

MomsRising Together

Van Jones

06/13/07

This week I learned about BlogHers Act from two MomsRising volunteers . BLOGHERS ACT is a year-long initiative by BlogHer.org (an association of 11,000+ women bloggers) to harness the incredible power of women online. This group intends to take on two initiatives: 1. Making a difference on a single global cause; and 2. Identifying the top four issues that women online want the U.S. Presidential candidates to address in order to win our votes in the ‘08 Election. The Announcement: http://blogher.org/node/20441

MomsRising Together

Joan Blades

06/13/07

My younger daughter is graduating high school, and my older daughter just graduated from Penn State, so this fathers’ day is a good time to reflect on past successes… and failures. So here’s some advice for young men contemplating fatherhood today: Marry well . Find someone you can talk to about almost anything; you’re going to spend a lot of time talking after children arrive... And find someone who isn’t planning to stay at home for 20 years raising kids. Sure, there are great parents who pull off the breadmaker/homemaker stuff, and I know and admire them. But most involved dads have partners who have a job or a career; it gives us more time with the kids, and more say in decisions about the kds.

MomsRising Together

Robert Drago

06/13/07

With Father’s Day just around the corner, I’m excited to see the new FamiliesRising Web site get started. While co-producing THE MOTHERHOOD MANIFESTO film, my only disappointment was the number of men I met who didn’t see how these issues applied to them. As the father of a 13 year old, I know just how important it will be to entire American families to win the kinds of things that MomsRising has been working so hard for.

MomsRising Together

John de Graaf