MomsRising Celebrates the Year of the Dragon: Lunar New Year Blog Carnival
January 23 marks the Lunar New Year, a time for many Asian communities to gather in celebration. Some may don new clothes and exchange gifts or red envelopes, while others may light firecrackers, throw water and participate in lion dances and parades. Whatever the variation in Lunar New Year traditions across Asia’s many cultures, mouth-wateringly [...]
It’s Never too Late to Learn About Chinese New Year Traditions
As a first generation Chinese-American, my parents celebrated all the major Chinese holidays. Out of all of them I had always loved Chinese New Year the best. It lasted the longest (15 days), and we always ate delicious food. During my childhood I noticed the preparations my parents made to celebrate Chinese New Year, but [...]
Harold Perrineau and Other Hollywood Parents and Children Support Today’s “Help”
“My grandmother was a domestic worker,” said actor Harold Perrineau (Lost), co-host of the #BeTheHelp Children’s Art Party presented by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) in Los Angeles this Saturday. “Today, we love the nanny who works with our family. We’re thrilled to support efforts to bring fairness to this important workforce.” Perrineau then [...]
New Years Traditions to Keep
Over the holidays, I was obsessed over which traditions and family memories I wanted to share with my little boy – the food, decorations, and rituals. Now, I am starting the same thought process for the Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year as it we called when I was growing up, but in Chinese, [... ]
Ten Things I Love About Raising My Half-Japanese Children
Happy New Year everyone! I am a mother to a 3-year old girl and 1-year old boy. I am a Japanese-American and my husband is Caucasian. Together, we are working hard to help our half-Japanese children become bilingual and bicultural. Sometimes it is very challenging, but today I wanted to celebrate what I love about [...]
Mochi soup on New Year’s morning
In my Japanese American family, coming together to celebrate holidays or special events means food, lots of food. For holidays like Thanksgiving, most of the dishes reflect traditional American sensibilities, up to a point. We decided to lighten up our Thanksgiving carb menu this year by eliminating the mashed potatoes – but keeping the stuffing, [...]
Move Over Amy Chua: 2012 Is the Year of the Dragon Mom
Amy Chua ousted the timid Rabbit and made 2011 the Year of the Tiger. Her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a memoir about how she raised fabulously successful children through strict parenting, became a global phenomenon. Parents everywhere fiercely debated the pros and cons of Chua’s extreme methods, but love her or hate [...]
It’s the Year of the Barber
Last week, I was in Asia for work and over Skype, in a complete role reversal, found myself nagging my wife to make sure our 11-month-old got a haircut in preparation for Chinese New Year. Getting a haircut is the sole New Year’s ritual I have been diligent observing in my adult life, meaning the [...]
Hiring a nanny or domestic help? Here are some guidelines.
For the first two years of my daughter’s life, my partner and I worked part-time while we employed a nanny who cared for her as part of a nanny-share. The important work we do in our jobs has been made possible by someone whose work is equally important. In my experience, becoming an employer of [...]
Labor Protections are Long Overdue
My grandmother was a domestic worker, my mom hired nannies to help raise my brother, sister, and I, and as a working mom I employ childcare providers to take care of my own young daughters. I support AB 889, the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights Campaign, because I value this vital, but often disrespected, [...]
Show love for the domestic workers in your life! #BeTheHelp
#BeTheHelp Children’s Art Party will take place on Saturday January 21st from 11am to 1pm at the Tree House Social Club in Los Angeles. This party is being hosted by Harold and Brittany Perrineau and Gina Torres & Ana Lopez. #BeTheHelp is a social media campaign spearheaded by the National Domestic Workers Alliance in partnership [...]
Change & Opportunity
From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org Mothers have a genius for on-the-spot problem solving. Sizing up a looming crisis in a nanosecond, we flip through our mental list of optional responses, then implement, discard, and substitute possible solutions until the crisis is resolved and order restored. Every single day mothers meet [...]
Four Generations of Acosta Women
Can we count on your support for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights?” asked Carmen, my 11 year old sister. My mother was standing next to her, and both of them were standing in front of Senator Vargas, their local representative. At that moment I knew that what I was witnessing was the result of [...]
Call to Action on the RESTORE Act: Help the Gulf Coast Recover
During the summer of 2010, the nation watched in horror as gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. While many outside the Gulf region are hearing that we are back to normal, we continue to find tarballs on our beaches, mats of tar beneath the surface of local waters and fish with lesions, [...]
Creating Opportunity Starts with Children
As this election year continues to unfold, we’ll hear more and more about jobs, creating opportunity and the future of the nation. Children, too, must be part of that dialogue. Thursday afternoon, I participated in the MomsRising live Tweet Chat with the White House on Unemployment Insurance and the Administration’s priorities for families for 2012. [...]
Work and Family Researchers Network Inaugural Conference, June 14-16, 2012
Excitement continues to build about the new Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN), the international membership organization of interdisciplinary work and family researchers. We’ve had a terrific response to our inaugural conference, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Work and Family, June 14-16, 2012 in New York City. Over 700 participants from over 30 countries will be on [...]
You Don’t Have to Be Chinese to Celebrate the Year of the Dragon – Lunar New Year
The Year of the Dragon celebrations offer a great opportunity to grow our understanding of the world – while having fun with our kids. Before you good-intentionally blurt out “Happy Chinese New Year,” to colleagues and neighbors – stop! “Chinese New Year” represents a subset of the cultures that celebrate. It’s also a festivity in [...]
Clean Air – Another Project for the Mom Committee
Every day, moms across the country get together – as teams, task forces, coffee klatches, etc. – to discuss, plan and organize projects and activities for the benefit of their families, schools and communities. That’s exactly what MomsRising’s Sarah Francis and I did yesterday. The meeting place, however, was not the school cafeteria or the [...]
A year ago today, House Repub’s Tried to Repeal the Affordable Care Act. What If They Had Succeeded?
Statistics from The White House: If the Republican’s repealed the ACA Here are some of the statistics about what WOULD have happened if Congressional Republicans had succeeded in repealing the Affordable Care Act: 2.5 Million More Uninsured Young Adults. 2.5 million young adults have been able to stay on their parent’s health insurance thanks to [...]
6 Health Care Stories to Watch Out For
What will the big stories be for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2012? Access, affordability and quality win the day. The ACA year opens with a scintillating GOP primary and election year intrigue; and the Supreme Court hears arguments on the “individual responsibility” requirement and the constitutionality of the Act. Don’t forget what the [...]