Mentoring and Self-Esteem
The first step to gaining self-esteem is to develop a sense of self and with so many messages from the media, peers, and family on how to be, it presents a real struggle for young people to understand who they are as a person.
It is a common misconception amongst young people to mistake outside appearance for personal identity, especially in the age of social media. A mentor can help their mentee gain perspective on their identity by asking what the mentee wants to do and to impart guiding advice and their own topical childhood stories when needed. A mentor can highlight the fact that the true key to developing a sense of self is to look within and understand yourself rather than looking to external messages from the media, peers and even sometimes family.
When self-esteem is found, confidence follows. That confidence will lead to putting more effort into meaningful relationships and working towards the future.
When a child finds out what they truly like, they will have more direction on what their priorities are. With that knowledge of what they want to prioritize in their life, they can begin setting goals to achieve their dreams. It is also worth pointing out that once a child realizes their full potential, they can avoid peers who try to pressure them into risky behaviors such as doing drugs and drinking alcohol.
It has been proven that kids who have a mentor are less likely to skip school, are more confident of their performance in school and less inclined to drink and do drugs.
Building a child’s social-emotional state through mentoring not only helps the child navigate their school life more easily, but the communication skills also gained through the realization of their own self-worth can translate to how the child communicates in general and lead them to make their dreams a reality.
