Mother’s Day was never supposed to be about cards and flowers. One of its founders saw it as a day of community service, for moms to help other moms who were struggling.
Don’t get me wrong, cards and flowers are nice, but let’s start a new tradition of transformative actions to honor mothers and really make a difference for the children they’re raising.
Five actions you can take to honor mothers:
1. Advocate. Call or write your local, state and federal reps and urge them to support policies like affordable childcare, better parental leave and equal pay that will make a tangible, positive difference in mothers’ daily lives.
2. Vote. Vote for candidates whose actions, not just words, support moms. For example, how would the people who want your vote improve health equity for mothers? The United States has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. How would candidates reduce these rates, which are even higher for Black women?
3. Invest. Spend your money at businesses that have family-friendly policies like flexible work arrangements, on-site childcare and moms in leadership and ownership roles.
4. Change the workplace. How well does your workplace support moms? Does it offer flexible working hours, mom-friendly spaces like pumping stations and a place for moms to store breast milk? If not, raise your voice on behalf of moms.
5. Volunteer. There are many organizations helping moms and families that would love to have your time and talents. Finding one is just a google search away.
Mothers deserve our love and gratitude. And I’m all for kind words. But let’s really show our respect for moms this Mother’s Day by taking transformative actions. The results will be many more happy days for mothers, than just one day in May.
