The CSHM (Coalition of Stay-at-Home Moms), founded in 1947 by June Cleaver, focuses on maintaining a mother’s role in the home despite the threat of modern conveniences and the “Rosie the Riveter syndrome” following World War II. The coalition focuses on awareness and unity, urging mothers to support each other via friendship and division of motherly duties.
Sustaining the Mother's Role at Home[]
As modern conveniences June had anticipated came to fruition in many homes, mothers have had more time for extra activities: exercise, television, socializing, reading. In order to maintain their full-time role in the home, three rules were put in place by the CSHM and are clearly explained in the CSHM Handbook: 1) Never talk about CSHM, 2) Never discuss another CSHM member’s daily activities 3) Never belittle the role of a Stay-at-Home Mom publicly or privately.
Dish washers, clothes washers and dryers, Roomba vacuums, and pre-packaged meals have cut the time to complete daily chores by over 45% according to a Riveter study. In order to sustain their place in the home, some moms have vowed never to discuss free time with their spouses and to focus on what they did for others in their end-of-day conversations. Other mothers found new responsibilities in order to sustain their role as vital. Such additional responsibilities include acting as teacher’s aide, continuing to cook/bake from scratch, taking children to additional extra-curricular activities or play-dates, continuing to make costumes and clothes by hand, taking on crafty projects (i.e. candle or soap making, gardening, knitting), and/or taking on more traditionally male chores (i.e. mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters, handy work). Some members of the coalition say that birthing more children is the answer to sustaining the mother’s role, but this is not perpetuated by the coalition as a whole.