Imagine if mothers everywhere united to fight for the things that would make life better for their children, for themselves and for their families. This would be a powerful movement. That is the idea behind MomsRising. The book, Motherhood Manifesto, literally spells out the agenda for MomsRising, with each letter in the word “mother” representing a key point.

The authors, Joan Blade, co-founder of MoveOn.org., and Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, consultant and researcher in environmental policy and political strategy, begin by laying out the conditions mothers are currently facing. Our culture has undergone dramatic changes, with most mothers now in the workforce out of economic necessity. Yet America has not changed its policies to accommodate the new demands on societies. They believe it is time for our government to create family friendly policies. They spell out the following concrete policies.

M—Maternity/Paternity leave, Paid family leave after a new child enters the family. The United States and Australia are the only ones of the 165 industrialized nations to not provide paid leave to the mother for the birth of a child. Forty-five countries provide paid leave to new fathers. Infant mortality and morbidity rates are lower in countries with paid parental leave. The United States is tied for thirty-eighth in infant mortality. Only 12 percent of companies in the United States provide paid maternity leave. Women should nor be placed in the position of choosing between financial solvency and time to recover from childbirth. Bonding time for parents with their new child creates strong families.

O—Open and flexible work. Flex time and location for employees. Most families today need two workers to support a family. Families with a stay at home parent are seven times more likely to live in poverty. The lacks of flexibility in the parents work schedule make it difficult, if not impossible to meet the needs of children. Flex time would allow parents to adjust their schedule to accommodate the children’s school and childcare needs. Parents should be able to take time off to attend a school event or care sick child with out having to lie about the reason for the absence. Even when flex time is available many parents fear using it will jeopardize their opportunities for career advancement. The authors profile several companies who have found implementing flexible work policies improves profitability.

T—TV We Choose and after school programs. MomsRising would like to see a clear rating system for television programming and public funding for quality educational programming. They also advocate the unbundling of cable TV, so they can select only the programming they wish available in their home. They would like to see more high tech solutions, such as v-chip and lock boxes to control children’s access to programming. But even more important are programs that get children away from the TV. 14,000,000 children are home alone without adult supervision after school, of these 14,000,000, more than 40,000 are kindergarteners. After school programs pay for themselves in the benefits they bring society. When at risk youths are in after school programs, the community saves $8.90-$12.90 for every dollar spent because the children are diverted from a life of crime. Even with non-at-risk children there is a savings of $2.99-$4.05 because of increased school performance and graduation rates.

H—Healthcare for all kids. The authors state that, “Keeping our children healthy and protecting them from injury or illness should never be left to chance; healthcare for children should not be a privilege in America but a right.” While Americans spend more on healthcare per person, $5,274, than any other nation, we are only 28th in life expectancy and 37th in mortality rate of children under five. We are not getting much for our money. Countries with the same mortality rate for children under five spend considerably less. Estonia spends $263 per person, Slovakia spends $265, Poland spends $303, and the UAE spends $802 per person. Private insurance companies in the United States spend twelve percent of its healthcare cost on administrative costs while government programs such as medicare spend four percent. Cutting the administrative cost of US healthcare to levels achieved by Canada’s national healthcare program would save $209 billion annually. This would be enough to fund universal coverage for the uninsured and underinsured in the United States. Insuring our children’s healthcare is a way of insuring our future.

E—Excellent Childcare. All working parents need available quality, affordable, childcare. In order for children to receive quality childcare they well trained childcare providers who are paid at least a living wage and healthcare benefits. Programs must be available to train and educate childcare providers. Surprisingly, the government job does an excellent job of providing quality childcare to the military. This care is affordable because families are charged on a sliding scale. An Army family making less than $28,000 a year, pay forty-three dollars a week for childcare. The Department of Defense provides a quality traing program and uniform certification procedures. This program could serve as a model for providing universal childcare to all children. Excellent childcare prepares a child for the future and allows a parent peace of mind while they earn a living.

R—Realistic and Fair Wages. A mother needs to be able to support her family. A strong America needs a middleclass. Full time employees should not have to rely on government programs to feed, house and provide medical care. CEO’s and investors should not be the only ones to profit from a companies success. The Motherhood Manifesto calls for a minimum wage that is a living wage and that workers receive equal pay for equal work.

The personal accounts of mothers and their obstacles they face in achieving their dreams for their families make this compelling reading. It is time for mothers to unite and become a political force that can’t be ignored. According to pollster Celinda Lake, “Moms are a critical part of the vote targeted by both political parties, and increasingly the swing vote that determines the outcome of an election.” MomsRising provides the web site, online community and grassroots organizations where moms can organize to support the issues important to them. There is no cost to join the organization, you sign up on line. Best yet, The Motherhood Manifesto is available for free on their site. You can print out the chapters one at a time.