Six Most Important Things Teenagers Want in Adults:

Dedication:
They want to see you weekly in your group. If you are not there it gives them permission not to be there and not to invest and invite!

Concern:
Let them know you are genially involved in their lives.

Open-Mind:
Do not automatically condemn them. Listen. Students don’t care how much you know or what you have to say until they know how much you care and that you are willing to listen to them. Don’t over react

Understanding:
They don’t want you to go whining to Mom and Dad on every little thing. They need someone they can talk to and will understand them.

It is important though you do remember their is a difference between a “friend” and a “mentor” you need to be a mentor!!!

Passion:
They want to know you are authentic. If you are faking it students notice!!!

Respect:
In today’s culture, it is hard to decide when a kid becomes an adult. They can smoke at the age of 18 yet can drive at age 16. They cannot drink until they are age 21 and their insurance will not come down until they are age 25.

We must create a “rite of passage” for students.