Parenting Tips: Finding Trusted Adults Who Can


Mentors can be an essential resource for parents and a way for teens to feel connected and have a sense of belonging, says Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio Volunteer Abby Fisher. 

“Mentors are a great thing for everybody, and mentors are all around,” she explains. “It’s teachers, it’s coaches, it’s people in your community that you look up to that can help shape your attitudes, how you feel about certain things and model for you what’s possible. We say you have to see it to be it.”

Mentors can be role models and cheerleaders for teens, listening and offering advice based upon their own experience. But to gain the best experience with a mentor, Fisher advises that parents take the lead. 

She suggests “Aligning on what the expectations are, aligning on possible outcomes and where we want to see the greatest impact – those are great questions. Talk over the shared goals and how you want to work together.”

She specifically calls upon parents to set ground rules that keep teens safe. They should always know where the mentor is taking their child, what experiences he or she may have while with their mentor, and who else may be in the room with their teen at all times.  

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio partners with parents by recruiting, screening, training and providing ongoing coaching to volunteer mentors. Local BBBS volunteers average more than 2,700 hours of one-on-one mentoring each week.

“It really does take a village,” says Fisher. “And we know from first-hand experience that a mentor can reassure young people that they can achieve anything they want.”

BBBS is one of several local organizations parents can use as a resource to find mentors: 

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