All Hallows Eve

Tonight, a night of candy and costumes for some, will be a night of closed doors for others. Some Utah sex offenders have been told not to answer their door to trick-or-treaters tonight.
Offenders on probation should be at home, at work, or at their halfway house so that parole officers will be able to check in on them. "We have adult probation and parole agents out doing home visits every night of the week; Halloween is certainly no exception," Department of Corrections spokeswoman Angie Welling said.
Welling said parents should be cautious that night anyway.
"Parents know their neighborhoods, and they know who their neighbors are. We would recommend, just like any other law enforcement agency, that they stay close to their kids or at least know what homes they are going to on Halloween night," she said.
Welling said the department has never had an incident in the past involving trick-or-treaters and sex offenders, but it still wants to be safe.
Other states are more strict, with rules that sex offenders must avoid all Halloween decorations on their house and put out a sign saying "No candy." (Taken from "Sex offenders face rules for Halloween" By Mary Richards @ KSL)

For more information on who might be living in your neighborhood visit: http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Matters of the Mind and Mental Health

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=10/24/2008

Two formerly separate worlds have converged in a new book titled Matters of the Mind: Latter-day Saint Helps for Mental Health. The book comprises chapters on mental disorders and we're discussing its rationale with two of the editors, both LDS clinical psychologists.

• What mental illnesses have you come up against in your life? How have you coped?
  
• Mental illnesses aren’t different for those who believe in the LDS religion versus those who do not; so do you think there should be books like this specifically for the LDS community?
  
• How do you view the utilization of professional treatment for mental health problems?

Are We There Yet?

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=8/21/2008

BYU professor Susan Rugh has a new book about the golden age of American family vacations - a time of open roads, new cars, cheap gas, and countless destinations. More Americans were seeing more of America. Unfortunately, not everyone was welcome on the road. Rugh also reveals a harsh underside of the vacation at this time, when African Americans were denied food, lodging, and even access to restrooms. The title of the book is Are We There Yet?

Mobile Phones and Forbidden Romance

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=8/14/2008

Romance in Morocco may look like a dream on film but for Moroccan teenagers, romance means straddling the fence that lies between cultural norms and Western influence. In the last decade or so, cell phones have dramatically affected gender and generational relations in the Middle East and North Africa, specifically in Morocco. BYU Researchers published the article Globalization, Mobile Phones and Forbidden Romance in Morocco, in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of North African Studies. They will join us to discuss this increasing rift between globalization and forbidden romance in Morocco.

Pornography and the Internet Generation

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=8/8/2008
Clinical psychologist and licensed therapist Jill Manning offers a tool that will arm youth against the enticement of pornography. Her new book, What's the Big Deal about Pornography? A Guide to the Internet Generation, posits that parents and children ought to be talking about the problem of pornography more, but in very focused ways. Jill Manning joins us for the interview, with Jason Carroll of the BYU School of Family Life.

Incarceration and Families

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=7/31/2008

Too often, we think of incarceration as only an imposition on the individual. But few inmates are islands unto themselves, lacking spouses, children, or other family members. Shirley Klein and Stephen Bahr help us explore all sides of this tale: the bigger family picture of incarceration and the story of the concentric rings that move outward from the offender to the lives of those nearest and dearest.

International Adoptions

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=4/18/2008

American citizens are seeking to adopt children in ever increasing numbers. Recently, the controversy in Eldorado, Texas has brought to light the question, who will nurture, foster, and rear our children? But far away from the media spotlight on the FLDS church, the so called "baby trade"-perhaps a cynical phrase perpetuated by the clever assonance of baby and trade-goes on day after day. On today's Thinking Aloud, we're talking to BYU Professor Jini Roby. Roby has been involved in key legislation in the area of adoptions, particularly international adoptions. The U.S. State Department reports that with the reduction in children available for adoption in the United States, more and more U.S. citizens are adopting children from other countries. We're discussing what's at stake, what's the impact and who's paying what price in the baby trade?

Parent-Child Quality Time: Does Birth Order Matter?

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=6/5/2008
What's the point in a science that doesn't solve problems? Economist Joseph Price has applied his science, with great adroitness by the way, to a question about birth order and the rearing of children. His findings are striking and may lead to some corrective measures, some problem solving in our own lives, our own homes, our own families. What one economist can tell you about parental care and nurturing beyond child number one. What's happening with the subsequent children? We're thinking aloud about birth order and parent-child quality time.

Caught in Limbo

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=1/4/2008

Going to college means independence, making tough choices, pretty much doing whatever you want - and above all, living far away from your parents. You're finally an adult. However, some parents beg to differ. On today's Thinking Aloud, we're talking to BYU researchers about a study showing what parents really think about their college kids.

Teaching Children Financial Responsibility

Classical 89 Thinking Aloud Interview: http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/past.asp?d=4/25/2008 These days it seems we're all watching stock prices and interest rates rise and fall, and getting a little anxious about retirement funds. This year alone, the price of gas hit an all time high, the U.S. Labor Department reported employers slashing nearly 80,000 jobs on fears of a recession, and many Americans fell into the mortgage crisis. For the first time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently acknowledged that the country could be heading toward a recession. No wonder financial managers say you can't be too young to learn financial responsibility. On today's Thinking Aloud, we're talking to financial advisor and BYU faculty member Scott Marsh on how, and when, to teach children about money management.