How to Raise a Troubled Young Girl

3) Build trust and confidence

When I interviewed for a position coordinating an after-school program for young girls, one of the first questions I was asked by members of the group was, “Will you abandon us?” Being a “role-model for a day” fails to make a significant impact in anyone’s life, let alone hold the attention-span of a teenager.  Adolescents thrive when they have a support system of familiar faces that are reliable and invested.  Understand that it can be difficult for some to open up, so this process may take some time.   Like any relationship it will take commitment and dedication, and the results will be worth your while.  Also, trust the process.  Sometimes it may seem like what you’re saying is going in one ear and out of the other, but many teenagers are obsessed with just “appearing” to not be fazed by anything, when truly deep down they are absorbing every single word you say.