The early years of childhood are some of the most memorable in a person’s life. Still, as children start branching into adulthood, they’ll likely face many challenges as they learn to navigate the physical and emotional feelings they experience.
For young adolescent girls, these challenges can be difficult to handlle without the right level of support or feeling like they have someone they can safely communicate with. This is where mentorship can be so valuable.
Common Challenges Teen Girls Face Growing Up
Everyone faces difficulties growing up, but modern teenage girls often face unique obstacles that other generations may not have had to struggle with in the same way. Below are some of the common challenges young girls face today:
Body Image and Self-Esteem
The highly publicized nature of online magazines, movies, and TV shows has quickly established perceived “beauty standards” for young girls.
While actresses portrayed on the big screen have teams of production and make-up crews dedicated to making them look flawless, the reality of imperfection isn’t always apparent to young, impressionable minds. This often leads to low self-confidence and anxiety in young girls if they feel like they can’t measure up to these standards.
Peer Pressure to Fit In
A sense of belonging as a teenager is essential for social development. But this can often lead to young girls abandoning their values or interests to please others and fit in.
This can be a constant struggle for teen girls as they move through their middle school and high school years and are surrounded by groups of friends and social cliques.
Constant Exposure to Social Media
Today’s generation is exposed to so much more information than previous ones. Teens growing up today are never disconnected from friends or family, thanks to the accessibility of social media. But while this can be a great thing for young people growing up, it can also be a slippery slope.
Social media can also encourage emotional stress and insecurities in young teenage girls. The anonymity of social media makes it easier for others to post comments or upload media that can be deeply hurtful and hard to get past. When constantly exposed to this form of cyberbullying, it can leave deep emotional scars that are hard to heal.
Effective Strategies for Mentoring Teen Girls
Becoming a mentor for young girls can be a supportive way to help them effectively cope with the unique challenges they face in life. Below are some of the ways this can be achieved:
Build a Strong Foundation of Trust
Mentorships are not designed to be one person speaking and the other one listening. They are a collaborative connection that can only be effective if trust is established. If young adults don’t trust the individuals they’re confiding in, they’ll often be closed off, and progress won’t be made.
To develop trust, there needs to be a mutual level of respect that’s established between both people. For your mentee to confide in you, you need to make sure a safe space is established, with no judgment and no harsh tones. This will keep the relationship productive and encourage mentees to openly share their thoughts or feelings about different topics.
Focus on Goal Settings
It’s important to establish yourself as a “listening post.” While mentees need to know they can confide in their mentors and communicate their feelings regularly, there should also be time to help them set achievable goals and work toward achieving them.
These goals don’t have to be overly complicated, nor should they have unrealistic timelines. They can be goals related to their hobbies or relationships or to help them take gradual steps toward overcoming a specific obstacle.
Help to Encourage Growth and Resilience
Life will always have ups and downs, but for teens, it can seem like things will never get easier. Of course, it’s all about perspective, and it’s important to help your mentee recognize that the difficult times we face growing up only make us stronger and help us grow.
You can help your mentee navigate difficult times by asking her what lessons she has learned when faced with past obstacles. You can also ask what she would do differently if the situation happened again. This helps to activate a growth mindset and encourages her to become more resilient as she gets older.
Encourage Learning from Failures
Many teenage girls can experience severe anxiety if they aren’t doing things perfectly. This ties into how they view themselves compared to their friends or family members. Whether it’s experiencing pressures to perform well in school or when participating in sports, these feelings of inadequacy can make a young girl feel worthless and alone.
It’s so important for mentors to help their mentees recognize that no one is perfect and mistakes in life are all about helping us learn. Instead of viewing a setback as a brick wall with no way through, help them take a step back and realize that very few mistakes in life are meant to define us and there are always alternative ways to approach a problem.
Maintain Healthy Boundaries
Becoming a mentor doesn’t necessarily mean you can or should give advice on every scenario in your mentee’s life. Although you want to be a supportive person in her life, there may be times when it’s best to involve another party in the relationship.
In situations where a mentee is experiencing severe emotional distress, it may be appropriate to suggest involving a professional.
While your own life experiences may provide encouragement, young girls experiencing deep emotional pain may need to go through some form of trauma therapy or anxiety therapy treatments with a trained psychotherapist. It’s important to know your limitations and maintain important boundaries when needed.
Help Your Mentee Thrive in Life
Mentorships can be a powerful safety net and motivator for young girls growing up. By following these helpful strategies, you can help your mentee navigate many of the challenges they experience in life while encouraging them to establish resilience and learn from their mistakes.
About the Author: Visionary healthcare entrepreneur by passion and Licensed Psychologist by training, Dr. Hannah Yang loves creating new possibilities in the world of mental health and wellness. Dr. Yang established Balanced Awakening in 2015 as a niche psychotherapy practice for women. As Balanced Awakening flourishes in Chicago, and soon Miami, she also loves to tap into her passion for design and Feng Shui to create fabulous environments for herself, her team, and clients.
Photo by Yan Krukau: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-in-black-blazer-smiling-while-holding-her-notebooks-8199174/
The opinions and views expressed in any guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in the article or linked to therein. Guest Authors may have affiliations to products mentioned or linked to in their author bios.
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