The Importance of Mentoring Kids

Mental Health

• Some children suffer from mental health problems like depression, stress and anxiety due to factors, including abuse and neglect. These problems create barriers, such as low self-esteem and behavioral challenges, to participation, according to a team of researchers led by Tom Anderson, who has a master's in the field, reporting in the "Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry" in 2008. Such children are more likely to be involved in anti-social behavior, like substance abuse and violence. Through recreational mentoring partnerships, mentors may help children with mental health problems experience long-term change, adds Anderson.

Social Skills

• Good social skills, such as problem solving and communication, are vital for developing children. Social skills enable children to express themselves freely, communicate assertively with other people, form healthy relationships with peers and explore their environment. Nevertheless, children who may have experienced maltreatment may not be as socially competent as normally developing peers, reports Science Daily in an August 2010 article. Mentors can help these children build skills in problem solving, forming healthy relationships and avoiding peer pressure.

Academic Performance

• From time to time, kids need someone to encourage, motivate and guide them. As a mentor, you can proceed with this through exposing them to a host of resources that help children understand the importance of education. Such children are likely to attain higher academic performance scores and behave morally, Rebecca VanderMeulen reports in Education.com. Mentored children are less likely to engage in behavior that would negatively affect education, adds VanderMeulen. Such behaviors include skipping school and substance abuse.

Role Modeling

• Other than good academic performance, children need to learn aspects of life such as how to become responsible parents. As a mentor, you can act as a positive role model and guide the young minds appropriately. Children are more likely to turn to negative role models, like some celebrities and aspects of pop culture, when they do not have close persons that they highly regard. This may have detrimental effects in a kid̵7;s life if he does not find positive role models to counter the bad examples portrayed in the media, according to Susan Bosak, who has a master's and is an author, speaker and founder of the Legacy Project, a "learning and social innovation project," writing on the organization's website.