At risk children are in danger of having problems later in life such as dropping out of school or becoming involved in crime. The United States Census Bureau identifies six risk factors that characterize at-risk children. These include poverty, welfare dependence, one-parent families, absent parents, parents who did not graduate high school and unwed mothers. If you want to help a child at risk, you must build a trusting relationship.
Step 1
Get involved by coaching, tutoring or assisting a teacher at a local school. Children need positive adult role models.
Step 2
Mentor the child through an after-school program such as Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Step 3
Spend time with the child doing recreational activities. Build a relationship and mutual trust. Commit to at least one year with the child to build a strong relationship, recommends a fact sheet on mentoring developed by Mentor Michigan.
Step 4
Respect the economic, cultural and religious background of the child.
Step 5
Conduct yourself in an ethical, positive manner. Remember that children are very observant of adult behavior.
Step 6
Be a good listener. Be sympathetic, and do not attempt to tell the child how she should feel.
Step 7
Encourage the child to have reachable goals, recommends Maurice Elias, a blogger at Edutopia, a resource for teachers.
Step 8
Prepare the student for obstacles to reaching that goal.
Step 9
Communicate clearly to the child the consequences of his actions and the behaviors that he needs to change to reach his goals.
Step 10
Help the child with her schoolwork. Point out that getting through school will help the child reach her goals.
Step 11
Provide constant support and encouragement.
