Calling All Patrons of Parents!

And I thought toilet-training was difficult. What the first three or four years of a child's life demands, physically, from a parent, is not so different from the mental, emotional and spiritual challenges that come with parenting teenagers.

I have two teenagers now--one at each end of the teenager spectrum, and one of each gender. It's been different each time, and always challenging.

Right now TheDad and I are dealing with some of the particular issues that face parents with cyber-connected teenagers. The Internet is a whole new, strange, scary world--to us, who see the dangers. To kids, it's a huge playground, seemingly without consequences. And the question of "online privacy" is a huge battleground. Why do teens not understand that when you put something online, it is no longer private?

So, for all of us parents of teens and tweens who are struggling with how to teach our children to manage social media in a way that will not harm themselves or their friends, I call upon the patrons of parents--and saints who were parents.
Saints Joachim and Ann, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Monica, pray for us.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin, pray for us.
Saint Gianna, pray for us.
And Saint Jerome, patron of the Internet, pray for us.