Flare-up in the "Mommy Wars"

The media has picked up on The Mommy Wars theme again lately. It always makes for "good" TV even if it doesn't make for good public policy or helpful discussion.

Good Morning America fanned the flames with their recent multi-part series, and today NOW pushed back with a critical letter, which reads, in part, "Here's a compelling topic for a future feature: How can our society better support mothers and caregivers so that they can choose to work either outside or inside the home—whether it's full-time or part-time—without additional guilt, financial strife or other barriers? How can workplaces, educational institutions, the public service sector and our government make caregiving a more respected and less stressful endeavor?"

Working with the media is a tricky thing. I want to discuss the issues in Mojo Mom without hyping the so-called Mommy Wars. Author Miriam Peskowitz and I are looking for opportunities to move this conversation forward. She is planning to be on next week's Mojo Mom Podcast, which will give us a chance for an extended discussion on our own terms. I'd like to see a larger societal discussion where moms set ground rules that say we're going discuss ways to work together, following the model that NOW puts forward. I feel like women been duped into fighting with each other which is distracting us from the real work that needs to be done.