Use soap with water or a saline solution to clean your new piercing. Dip whatever solution you choose onto a cotton ball and dab it onto your piercing while rotating the piercing. If your piercing starts to bleed or dry out, use an oil-based soap.  You can often purchase solutions at the same place where you got your ears pierced. Avoid rubbing alcohol-based solutions, which can dry out your piercing. Oral piercings are especially prone to rejection and infection. If you've received a tongue, lip, or cheek piercing, rinse it out with an antiseptic mouthwash. Once your piercing has healed (which usually takes 3-4 weeks), take it out at night and brush the area with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Without turning your piercing, your body may heal over the metal and develop an infection. Infections can make your piercing more prone to rejection. Always clean your piercing out before you rotate it to avoid pushing dirt or germs into the piercing. If your jewelry isn't sterilized, changing piercings before you've healed can irritate your immune system. You also may not be able to get your piercing back in after removing it.  Signs that your piercing has healed vary depending on the body part. Ask the person piercing your body how to know when you can remove your piercing. Piercings heal at different rates. Ask the person who pierced you how long to wait before swapping out piercings.
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One-sentence summary -- Wash your piercing with a cleaning solution twice daily. Clean oral piercings with mouthwash. Rotate your piercing periodically. Avoid removing your piercing before it has healed.


Eliminate all the distractions you can, starting with the TV and/or screens. Turn the screens off when study time begins and make this a consistent rule. It’s loud and colourful, and there’s no way your child can study well in front of it. Help your child find a place to work in a room without a TV.   For younger kids who might still need lots of help from parents, try the kitchen or dining room table. Older children might prefer to study alone at a desk in their room, so resist their requests to put a TV in their bedroom. During study time, everyone in the house should put their phones on silent and limit their screen time. Modeling this behavior for younger children is especially important, as they’ll feel like they’re part of a team effort. If you have older and younger children in the same house, ask older children to put their phones on silent and not check them when in front of younger, studying siblings. Because so much homework is online now, you won’t be able to avoid the distraction of the computer. Either sit with your child or check in with them frequently to make sure they’re not on social media or browsing the Internet when they should be studying. You can also set up software to limit Internet distraction. For Macs, Self-Control is a free service that blocks a list of websites during study times. For Windows, go with Cold Turkey for a fee of $20 per month. There’s also StayFocused for Chrome browsers or LeechBlock for Firefox. Having a well-lit space will keep your child awake and focused and prevent them from straining their eyes. Make sure there are bright overhead lights or several lamps in your study space. A window is also a good idea, but keep on eye your child in case it becomes a distraction. If you’re watching TV while your child is studying, that’s only going to make them jealous and distracted. Teach them by example. Sit down next to your child and work on something while they study. Finish your work, write a grocery list, or pay bills in their study space while they’re working. This will keep them from feeling alone.  For example, if your child is studying at the kitchen table, sit down next to them and work on a task of your own. Seeing you focused on your tasks is also a great way to model good behavior for your child.
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One-sentence summary -- Pick a spot away from the television or any other kind of screens. Set up rules for everyone’s cell phones. Accept the computer as a necessary distraction. Provide plenty of light. Do your own work in the space with your child.


Cockatoos can cause a mess around their cage. They need a lot of chew toys to stay occupied, and these can cause a mess inside and outside. They also have a tendency to toss food around, which can end up on the floor. It isn’t uncommon to see pieces of wood, dust, shells, food debris, paper, or poop around a cage. You can use small handheld vacuum cleaners to clean up the debris thrown from the cage each day. Cockatoos produce large amounts of dust, and your home will get coated with it. The dust, also known as powder, is actually fine down feathers that break off and collect on the cockatoo, and eventually gets spread around your home. Because of this, you will need to use the vacuum or dust daily if you own a cockatoo.  If you have allergies or asthma, a cockatoo may not be the right species for you. Placing an air filter in the same room as the cockatoo can help. Cockatoos love to chew. When they are out of their cage, you should watch them to make sure they do not chew up items in your home. They may chew up shoes, clothes, and furniture. Providing them with chew toys can help, but probably won’t solve the problem. You may need to monitor your cockatoo closely when they are out of cage. Cockatoos are loud birds that don’t mind using their voices. While they can learn to talk, they don’t talk nearly as much as other species and may just screech and squawk. They are demanding and needy and will make a lot of noise if they are bored or not receiving a lot of attention.
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One-sentence summary --
Expect your cockatoo to be messy. Be prepared for dust. Watch out for excessive chewing. Know that cockatoos are noisy and demanding.