Recovery Aids for Couples

[Hibiscus]

The iPhone/smart phone discussion got me thinking a step further. I thought it might be handy to have a thread where we could gather tips in one place that may help couples dealing with potential issues with things like media and technology. For instance...

For those of you who are torn over what movies to see, there is a site I have found very helpful called Kids-In-Mind. Yes, it is more geared towards parents wanting details about movies, but I love the level of detail they use. It gives over-all ratings of 1-10 on S*x/N*d*ty, Violence/Gore, & Profanity. But then it takes it much farther by listing details of scenes so you can accurately judge whether a particular film will be triggering to either of you. And when I say detailed, they REALLY get detailed - I've seen G-rated animated films get a "2" in the s*x category because of characters being romantic, lol. They have an app for those with iPads/iPhones. We've found it tremendously helpful.

Another site we've found helpful is called Common Sense Media. It has a search feature that allows you to enter any TV show and it will bring up an overall description, several ratings, and reviews by both parents and kids. They give ratings of 1-5 on Violence, S*x, Language, Consumerism, and Drugs & Smoking. It also let's you search much more than TV shows - music, video games, websites, books, and apps are some of the other categories you can search and they have an app for iPad/iPhone.

I've found both of these sites a big benefit. Not only do they allow us both to be more informed and comfortable with our media choices, but they also bring up great topics for discussion that allow you to fine tune where you both stand on certain subjects. I used to be really guilty of throwing around the phrase "T & A" under the false assumption that we both knew exactly what that meant. Turns out he interpreted that as actual n*d*ty and I had a much broader view that encompassed clothing, attitudes, and behavior. Needless to say, that was a very necessary thing to clarify over time!