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The Globe and Mail ran an article this week about technological advances that let you snoop on your teen - having their text messages come to your cell phone; new technologies that will allow a GPS-enabled device to send out a message if a teenager goes “out of bounds” from a parent-defined geographic area; a key that controls how fast the car can drive.

(I’m imagining setting up a black list of kids’ houses into which my son is not supposed to enter.)

Many of the readers who commented on the piece asked what’s happened to good old trust and communication?

Now you have to understand that I am the mother who on Monday set up a Google news alert for “school bus accident” because my son was on a field trip. So I get the fear. And I’ve already used the technology.

But I also think that we need to temper our fear with the understanding that part of being a parent is not only to make sure our kids survive to adulthood with the least amount of trauma possible, but also to lead them towards being ready to become adults. And part of that is allowing them some privacy and space in which to become - whoever it is they are meant to become. I’m not sure turning their world into a network that tracks their every move is a great idea.

What do you think?

Related article: How to talk to your teen about social media.

In the winter, I find feet suffer from the “out of sight out of mind” syndrome - completely neglected until the weather warms up.

But, spring is (thankfully) not that far off. Will you be ready for sandals and strappies?

Here’s a quick quiz:

1. Your bare feet on the sidewalk: are sparks flying?

2. 100 miles of burning coals: can you walk across them with no pain?

If the answer to either of these questions is “yes”, sign yourself up for a Circus-based reality TV show, or start getting your foot game in order.

The first place to start is by getting rid of dead skin - I like Miss Oops Pedicure in a Bottle, which exfoliates dead skin chemically (using glycolic and salicylic acids), so it doesn’t have to be rinsed off.  The cream also includes shea butter for moisturizing and essences of lavender and peppermint to trick your feet into thinking they’ve just had a fancy pedicure.

The directions on the back are fairly self-explanatory: “Apply twice daily until you can no longer sand furniture with your feet, then use once daily for maintenance.

“Miss Oops, you had me at “sand furniture.”

www.missoops.com

We have our first live event on More.ca today - travel expert K. Jill Rigby will be taking your questions live in the forums! Don’t miss it! The details are right here.

Bad news for those who enjoy a glass of wine with dinner! Today’s Globe and Mail reports:

“In a study of nearly 1.2 million women [average age: 55], British researchers found that even low to moderate alcohol consumption can boost a woman’s risk of developing cancers of the breast, liver, rectum and, in smokers, the mouth and throat, by as much as 13 per cent combined.”

The study also found the type of alcohol consumed made no difference. So is it time to toss the corkscrew? The authors of the study said that it’s a nuanced question and one that women should discuss with their doctors.

Lots of us are spending a lot of time and energy these day to manage our family finances, suddenly-slashed work budgets, and minimize the impact of the financial downturn on ourselves and those around us. (I am getting tired of writing that and similar phrases, but I still made scrambled eggs instead of ordering Thai last night, so there you have it.)

So it’s probably not a surprise that it’s women at midlife that may save the hard-hit country of Iceland.

From the The Observer:

“Icelandic women, however, are more likely to be studying the financial news than the recipes - and more likely to be thinking about how to put right the mess their men have made of the banking system than about cooking them comfort food. The tiny nation, with a population of just over 300,000 people, has been overwhelmed by an economic disaster that is threatening its very survival. But for a generation of fortysomething women, the havoc is translating into an opportunity to step into the positions vacated by the men blamed for the crisis, and to play a leading role in creating a more balanced economy, which, they argue, should incorporate overtly feminine values.”

Read more here.

My favourite quote in the piece though comes at the end:

“‘Women would like to think it’s their turn now, but it won’t be - there will be a bit of fuss for a while but men will keep the real power at the top,’ said a local taxi driver in his sixties. ‘I’m not giving you my name, though, because my wife speaks English and she would kill me if she read that.’”

Or she might just laugh and continue to pay off your credit card balance.

(Hat tip to Laura at 11d for the pointer to this story.)

Linda and I were just talking about the Oscars and the best and worst of the red carpet. Here’s the $64,000 question ($64 in today’s economy): Why is it that with all the resources in the world and time to plan, not all women go with something stylish, classy, and that doesn’t produce scathing commentary from the fashion and celeb gossip world?

My theory: It’s kind of like junior high. Remember the pre-dance shopping with friends? Where your complete unwillingness to tell your friend that the Olivia Newton-John inspired wristbands were a really bad idea pooled with everyone’s excitement and hormones to eventually produce a sweatband and powder blue eyeshadow laden, pink-spandex covered vision?

I think I would pay “my people” to tell me what they really thought. But would I actually? Or would I too start to think that this is the year to have many, many panels hanging off my dress?

Of course Oscar fashion, like any fashion, is also a matter of taste. Here’s an interesting question about taste fresh from a small Toronto-area Oscar party: Is Sarah Jessica Parker pretty? At that event, the women generally thought yes: The men all thought no. Does this explain why Maxim voted her onto the top of their (mean) “least appealing women” list?

Share your Oscar thoughts below.

We’ve all done it: crashed out after a long day with a face full of makeup, grime and a waylaid french fry stuck to your cheek. (That only happened once, I swear.)

The next morning your skin looks like road kill and you’ve got eyes that are red and sore from AWOL mascara.

It’s the number one beauty rule - always remove your makeup before you go to sleep. Otherwise, you’re just asking for irritation, breakouts and bad skin karma.

Perhaps one day science will figure out why there are nights when the effort of using a washcloth and cleanser is completely, totally insurmountable. In the meantime, I’m stocking up on Yves Rocher Serum Vegetal Fatigue Eraser Cleansing Cloths ($20).

They’re genuinely some of my favourite wipes - super soft, so I don’t feel like I’ve just had a chemical peel after using them, and if I’m slow putting my moisturizer on afterwards, my skin isn’t tight or dry.

One minor quibble: the closure on the package gets a little unsticky after a few uses, so store them upside down to avoid the dreaded face cloth dry out.

 www.yvesrocher.ca

When Trenton General, 15, failed to improve his grades, his parents gave him a choice: Lose his cell phone for two weeks, or else wear his dismal grades on a sandwich board and stand on a public corner for two hours.

He chose the corner. And from all reports, his grades are improving.

When I first heard the story, I missed the part where he had a choice and I thought it was really an exercise in humiliation. No way I’d ever do that, was my first response.  But given that he had a choice, I’ve warmed up a bit to the idea. I do wonder what the whole picture is for this kid. (Other than that he can’t live without his cell phone.)

It seems to me that one thing teens often believe is that they are invisible to the world outside their peers. I wonder if anyone stopped while Trenton was on the street corner to share a story of a missed educational opportunity or success, or if the media attention the family received drove home the idea that grades matter.

I’m still a few years away from this phase with my son so I put it out there: Is this a good last-ditch idea? Are we going to have to start honking for grades?

A couple of links caught my eye today, both touching on environmental awareness.

Awareness, that is, that others may be judging us for our wastrel ways.

The first link, from the Globe and Mail: “Me v. The Greens“.   The quote that caught my eye? ” Valerie Green is far too nice to overtly judge me, but I know I’m not living up to her standards. And she is not the only one. Despite my best efforts, Kitsilano is crawling with people who are so committed to the Earth that they make me feel like a property developer in comparison.”

The second link is from Salon.com’s “Since You Asked” advice column  (a guilty pleasure): Cary Tennis answers a query from a two-job working wife whose husband gets upset if she uses the dryer.

Now, we all know that we need to get our acts together and act more responsibly to conserve the Earth’s resources.  But we can also become eco-worriers in the process - and not just about that plastic bag we tossed in the green (compost) bin because we didn’t want to have to smell its contents. It’s about keeping up with the Jones’ recycling programme.

It’s funny; I feel like I had time in the 80s and 90s to accept myself for who I am without the Coach bag or the Mercedes. But I’m kind of with Robyn: I do feel like I need to impress the neighbours with my garbage-to-recycling-ratio. And I have to admit that when one of my friends bought a farm in Prince Edward County so that she can move towards her dream of growing most of her own food, I felt - absolutely inadequate, and a little envious.

But I’m pretty sure that’s not what they mean by the green movement.

From the Time website comes the question of whether hugs are the new handshake, led by hugger-in-chief President Barack Obama. (Do you think he’ll hug Prime Minister Stephen Harper? That would be a picture worth seeing.) And students returning to York University earlier this month were greeted with an offer of free hugs.

I’m not sure I’m really okay with the rise of the workplace hug: maybe in extreme situations, like grief, or phenomenal success (okay, let’s line up for that one). Although come to think of it, there are some writers I would like to hug for their copy.  But it is a good reminder that maybe friends and family could use a hug now and then. Here’s some hugging inspiration:

• Free hugs video (A YouTube hit for a reason)
• The amazing lion hug video (summary: woman raises lion, visits lion in zoo, lion reacts like big loving cat)
• The panda hug (picture)

On a completely separate note, I’ve found Christie Blatchford’s piece for the Globe and Mail about the boys who were pushed in front of a subway in Toronto to be compelling reading. The whole story chokes me up, both as someone who took the subway to school throughout high school and as the parent of a son. But Blatchford’s account as a coming-of-age story is really worth the read.