Say no to the 'Mommy Wars'

That’s the message I heard today at a gathering of women’s groups that are calling for a media ceasefire when it comes to the war that’s portrayed between moms who opt to stay at home to raise families and moms who go out to the for-pay work world.

Too often moms get pitted against each other to defend their choices, said Linda Lisi Juergens, executive director of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers, based in Levittown. She was speaking at the lunch meeting held in the offices of the Women’s Media Center right in the Empire State Building.

Meanwhile, the real war, she said, is one that’s waged within, one that finds each mom struggling to determine what’s best for her kids, herself, her family’s economic well-being, this as the work choices moms have are so poor.

The mission today, said Juergens and others, is to shift the focus to the need for more flexibility, better childcare options; compensation equality; and family-friendly government policies. You can learn more at http://www.mothersoughttohaveequalrights.org/.