The Importance of Mentors

Mentor: an experienced and trusted adviser

Mentors play an important role in the life and the development of young girls and women. A mentor described above is a older trusted adult that can provide sound advice, guidance and encouragement. Mentors often have the uncanny ability to help us become more than we thought we could be; they  encourage us to stretch ourselves outside our comfort zones, to open our minds to new ways of thinking, and help us realize that the world is much broader and more diverse than our little corners of it.

Well isn't that role reserved for the parents?

Yes....but as parents who are willing to provide guidance to our kids and always have their best interest at heart, sometimes our children find it hard to talk to us about some things. They find some topics embarrassing, they feel they may get in trouble discussing some topics, or they're convinced that their parents are old fogies that just wouldn't understand. That's where mentors come in.

Today mentors are especially important for young girls trying to navigate through life littered with images that are contrary to real life issues. As girls try to find their way through adolescents, they face the challenges of moving through physical, psychological, sexual, and emotional development with a healthy sense of self worth intact. A mentor at this stage in a girl's life can have a
wide-ranging impact on her successfully navigating those years to adulthood.

A mentor-mentee relationship provides a protected space for the adult woman and the girl/young woman to connect through shared experiences. The mentor has the opportunity and privilege of offering feedback, teaching, affirming, empowering, motivating, guidance and support. Other benefits of mentoring include improved confidence, leadership, and communication for both parties.

As you can see, mentors play and important roll in shaping a young girls life. Make sure that you trust them, that the mentor you/or your daughter chooses reinforces your morals and values. Make sure that they don't diminish your role as a parent but enhances it by reinforcing family values and encouraging the teen to honor the relationship with her parents. That if your daughter choose to emulate anyone other than you, you would be proud.

Be A Mentor, Find A Mentee