stammering

These days going to movies seems like it requires taking out a small loan. Not only are ticket prices hovering around $10 each but popcorn and soda are approaching prices that the oil companies would be proud of.

On top of this, you are expected to decipher the movie ratings which can seem rather foggy at times. Is a movie that’s rated PG suitable for your four-year-old? How about a PG-13 movie? Should a child really be 13 in order to see it?

When trying to figure out if a movie is suitable for your child the best place to start his understanding what the movie ratings mean.

The Motion Picture Association of America has five official ratings for movies. These are:

* G for general audiences
* PG for parental guidance suggested
* PG-13 for parental guidance strongly suggested for children under the ages of 13
* R for restricted to children under the ages 18 unless accompanied by adults
* NC-17 for no one 17 and under will be permitted into the theater.

You’re most likely to G rating on strictly children’s movies. These will be movies that have happy endings and are completely without violence or any sexually suggestive situations and language. These movies are absolutely safe to lets children of any age watch.

PG movies are more along the lines of a family film, something that both mom and dad and the kids will enjoy. PG films may have some low-level violence such as a fistfight, mildly sexually suggestive situations such as a kissing scene or is slightly stressful situations such as when the bad guy has the good guy in a tough spot. Most children over the age of eight are more than capable of handling situations they see on screen in PG films. Children under the age of eight may be either frightened by or unable to understand some of the situations that happened in a PG film, depending on the emotional age of the individual child.

PG-13 movies are meant for a slightly older audience than PG films. In PG-13 films you are likely to find higher levels of violence such as gunfights and blood, more sexually suggestive situations, though not overly sexual, such as long involved kissing or some fondling and more suspenseful and intense situations. PG-13 may also have explicit language such as curse words or descriptive sex words. Parents should think carefully and perhaps preview the movie before taking children under the age of 13 to the movie. That being said, most children over the age of 10 are capable of handling the situations and language seen in these movies.

R movies are meant for adults. Rated R movies may have extreme violence, sexually explicit situations, extremely intense situations or a lot of extreme language. R rated films may also show drug use or more serious criminal activity. Children under the age of 16 should not be permitted without adults. Technically, movie theaters are suppose to ID children and verify that they have an adult with them but most of the time this does not happen. Parents should probably not take children under the age of 10 to these movies. For children between the ages of 10 and 16, parents should give serious consideration as to whether or not the child is mature enough to handle situations found within the movie.

NC-17 is a relatively new rating. It was created to replace the generic X rating. It is unusual to find a movie in theaters with a rating of NC-17. Most filmmakers wish to avoid this rating as is considered by the public to be the same category as porn. While movies do receive the NC-17 rating due to extremely sexually explicit situations, the NC-17 rating is meant to help a movie viewer know the difference between a crafted movie with a developed plot and characters and a movie whose sole purpose is to show sexually explicit scenes.

Unofficially, there is a rating of X. This rating has been adopted by the pornography industry in order to indicate to a customer that the film they are buying contains extremely sexually explicit situations and has been made for the sole purpose of showing those sexual situations. As most porn movies are released straight to video or are shown on only a very limited release, they are not subject to the normal rating system.

With all movies, parents need to consider the emotional maturity of their children when deciding if a child is old enough to watch the movie. Now that you understand a little bit better about the movie rating system, you should feel little more comfortable about taking your children to the movies. That is of course, if you’ve taken out a large enough loan in order to cover the cost.

Sore nipples: A lot of mothers complain about tender nipples that make breast feeding painful and frustrating. There is good news though, as most mothers don’t suffer that long. The nipples will toughen up quickly and render breast feeding virtually painless.

Improperly positioned babies or babies that suck really hard can make the breasts extremely sore. Below, are some ways to ease your discomfort:
1. Make sure your baby is in the correct position, since a baby that isn’t positioned correctly is the number one cause of sore nipples.
2. Once you have finished feeding, expose your breasts to the air and try to protect them from clothing and other irritations.
3. After breast feeding, apply some ultra purified, medical grade lanolin, making sure to avoid petroleum jelly and other products with oil.
4. Make sure to wash your nipples with water and not with soap.
5. Many women find teabags ran under cold water to provide some relief when placed on the nipples.
6. Make sure you vary your position each time with feeding to ensure that a different area of the nipple is being compressed each time.

Clogged milk ducts Clogged milk ducts can be identified as small, red tender lumps on the tissue of the breast. Clogged ducts can cause the milk to back up and lead to infection. The best way to unclog these ducts is to ensure that you’ve emptied as completely as possible. You should offer the clogged breast first at feeding time, then let your baby empty it as much as possible.

If milk remains after the feeding, the remaining amount should be removed by hand or with a pump. You should also keep pressure off the duct by making sure your bra is not too tight.

Breast infection Also known as mastititis, breast infection is normally due to empty breasts completely out of milk, germs gaining entrance to the milk ducts through cracks or fissures in the nipple, and decreased immunity in the mother due to stress or inadequate nutrition.

The symptoms of breast infection include severe pain or soreness, hardness of the breast, redness of the breast, heat coming from the area, swelling, or even chills.

The treatment of breast infection includes bed rest, antibiotics, pain relievers, increased fluid intake, and applying heat. Many women will stop breast feeding during an infection, although it’s actually the wrong thing to do. By emptying the breasts, you’ll actually help to prevent clogged milk ducts.

If the pain is so bad you can’t feed, try using a pump while laying in a tub of warm water with your breasts floating comfortably in the water. You should also make sure that the pump isn’t electric if you plan to use it in the bath tub.

You should always make sure that breast infections are treated promptly and completely or you may risk the chance of abscess. An abscess is very painful, involving throbbing and swelling. You’ll also experience swelling, tenderness, and heat in the area of the abscess. If the infection progresses this far, your doctor may prescribe medicine and even surgery.

In my carefree kid days, homework was often left behind–sometimes in my unmade bed, on my desk, or on the floor, falling victim to the morning rush. And, yes, I usually left projects, reports, and test preps to the last minute–when I remembered them at all. Made my grades suffer and my mother gnash her teeth. In fact, it got so bad that one day, in addition to her usual refrain of, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” she declared, “Young lady, you’re a guest in my house, and I’ve had enough of your nonsense.” Now, when my mother set herself on a course of action, there was no turning back. She had me in her sights–no wiggle room. And so, as a seventh grader, my mother single-handedly remade me. By organizing my life, her house looked better–and so did my grades and attitude. Now I’m passing along the favor.

While some kids are remarkably organized, many are frequently in a state of disrepair, searching for misplaced papers and playing catch-up. What about your child? To start, check off the following statements that ring true, and then we’ll talk solutions.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. My child sometimes/often leaves projects and reports to the last minute.
2. My child sometimes/often studies for tests at the last minute.
3. My child’s coat/jacket usually lands on the floor.
4. My child sometimes/often neglects to record assignments, so we don’t know what needs doing.
5. My child seldom/never posts upcoming tests, projects, or reports where they are readily displayed and remembered.
6. My child does not have a storage place for school supplies.
7. My child’s notebook is a jumble of papers.
8. If my child’s locker looks like his/her bookbag or room, I don’t want to see it.
9. My child seldom sorts and correctly files the day’s papers.
10.My child sometimes/often tosses out returned worksheets and tests at the end of a unit of study–or even before!
11.My child sometimes misplaces completed homework and so loses points.
12.My child leaves schoolwork strewn about and then rushes around in the morning trying to gather it all up–sometimes unsuccessfully.

Now, add up your checkmarks. More than eight suggests that your child, like me in days of old, needs an organization makeover. With four to seven checks, some fix-ups are in order. Three or less, lucky you. Next up, some management tips for the rest of us. Start by shopping for school supplies together, and be sure to include an assignment book. Also buy a sturdy binder–nothing spiral-bound–together with a pencil case, a made-for-a-binder three-hold punch, and pocket folder for gathering worksheets. New assignments should be stored in the right pocket, then moved to the left pocket once completed. This way, no misplaced homework. Also be sure to purchase plenty of dividers–one for each major subject, plus one each for its accompanying notes, tests/quizzes, and returned homework. Usually just one divider will do for minor subjects, such as art and health.

At home, maintain a supply box, basket, shelf, or drawer for such supplies as notebook paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, index cards, poster board, printer ink cartridges, etc. You’ll also need a dictionary and thesaurus. Then, once school starts, make assignments are recorded every day. Not sure? Then request teachers’ signatures. And, to avoid forgetting, it’s also helpful to display a large calendar for recording long-term assignments, such as projects and reports, along with important dates and extracurricular activities. Meanwhile, teach your child all about filing and have him/her sort and correctly file papers, so nothing is ever misplaced or lost. Call it “housecleaning” and make it a weekend habit. At the same time, maintain an over-sized notebook or box for storing completed units of study for later reference and final exam preps. Finally, create a Drop Spot for gathering all school-related materials at bedtime, ready for grabbing come morning. Lunch can be waiting in the fridge.

And let’s not forget about your child’s locker, as it has the potential of eventually overflowing with papers, old lunches, and missing gloves. Insist on periodic tidying. Then, along with a bottle of water, consider a zippered bag filled with such items as a low-fat energy bar wrapped in aluminum foil to discourage mice, two sharpened pencils, a box of colored pencils, a small pencil sharpener, two pens, a small package of tissues, phone change, $5.00, emergency numbers, plus your work and/or cell number. It never hurts to be prepared!

So there you have it, a start-up kit of tips for sorting though the clutter and helping your child put and keep everything in its rightful place, findable at a moment’s notice. As a Wal-Mart ad once declared, “Life is so much easier when it’s organized.”

Motherhood is continuously full of surprises and the first time mother is often overwhelmed with how stressful it can be to be totally responsible for a newborn infant. Infants demand care constantly and, particularly when coupled with hormonal fluctuations that can occur after giving birth, the first few weeks with a new baby can be a strange mixture of joy and absolute, draining exhaustion. Imagine, then, that instead of bringing home one squalling infant, the new mother has to bring home two. The art of parenting twins has unique challenges that the mother of a single child can not imagine.

Having twins is not simply twice as hard as having a single baby. There are certain dynamics in the parenting of twins that can not be duplicated in a single child system. For example, the single child must sleep at some point, and the mother can find sleep and downtime by matching her schedule to the baby’s. However, with twins, it is conceivable that at least one child can be awake at any time. This makes it absolutely vital that twins be placed on identical schedules as early as possible. Of course, this can often be easier said than done, particularly in the early months.

It is important to remember that there is no shame in asking for help when parenting twins. This task is monumental and, to be up for it, you will have to have rest, downtime, and emotional support. The husband can help out on weekends and in the evenings or, for single mothers, friends and family can be enlisted for support. Church groups, mother’s day out programs, and other community based organizations may be able to help as well. It is important to find support in any way that you can.

Of course, there are real world advantages to having twins as well. One bonus, particularly as the children get a bit older, is that they have a ready made, built in playmate. Therefore, twins do not typically require as much entertainment from the parent. Also, many first time mothers of twins are surprised to find how many online shops and retail outlets provide free giveaways to parents of twins. It is possible to save thousands of dollars during the first year on supplies for parents of twins using these offers.