Mentoring for Teens and Young Adults in Entertainment Industry Families

Mentoring for teens and young adults in entertainment industry families gives a son or daughter one consistent, discreet adult who keeps their week steady when a parent’s work is anything but steady: months on location, overnight shoots, tours, award seasons and sudden travel. A Blackburn mentor helps the young person with school, routines, motivation and goals, keeps a predictable weekly time no matter where the family is, and keeps everything private. Sessions are by video anywhere in the United States and in person in Los Angeles.

What is different about growing up in an industry family

Entertainment work is project based. Federal labor data describes performing work as assignments that usually range from one day to a few months, with schedules that can include early mornings, evenings, weekends and holidays (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Actors). Producers, directors, crew, writers, musicians and executives live with versions of the same rhythm. For the kids in those homes, that can mean:

• A parent who is away for long stretches, then home and very present, then gone again.
• Schedules that change on short notice, so homework help, rides and family dinners are hard to count on.
• Travel and split time between cities, sometimes with school done remotely for a stretch.
• Visibility. A famous last name, people who want something from the family, and the knowledge that anything said could travel.
• Pressure and comparison, whether to follow a parent into the business or to prove they are separate from it.
• Access without structure: money, opportunities and freedom arriving before the habits that make them useful.

None of this is a problem in itself, and many kids thrive in it. What tends to help is something the industry rarely offers: the same person, at the same time, every week.

What a mentor works on

• A week that holds up when a parent is away. School, sleep, exercise and commitments planned with the teen, not around them.
• School follow-through. Planners, teacher communication and work ahead before family travel. If the family uses independent study during travel, the mentor helps the student stay on top of it (see the California Department of Education independent study guide).
• Motivation and direction. Interests and goals that belong to the young person, whether or not they involve the family business.
• Money and responsibility habits. Budgets, a first job, a first lease. Mentors do not give financial advice.
• Launching. For young adults: a plan for work or school, independent routines and real follow-through. See mentoring for young adults.
• Steadiness through change. A move, a divorce, a parent’s public moment. The mentor is a neutral, private place to think it through.

Discretion is part of the service

• Sessions are private between the young person and the mentor.
• Mentors do not post about clients, talk to media or discuss a family with anyone outside the agreed circle.
• Sessions can be entirely by video, so there is no office to be seen walking into.
• With written consent, parents can receive updates on engagement, such as whether sessions are happening and goals are moving. Personal content stays with the young person.
• If a safety concern comes up, the mentor points to the right professional or emergency help. In a crisis, call or text 988.

When a parent is on location

Distance is where a mentor is most useful. A parent on a shoot across the world can still know their teen has a standing session on Tuesday evening, a plan for the week and someone checking in by text between sessions. Mentors offer early morning, evening and weekend times, and sessions are scheduled in the young person’s own time zone. When the family travels together, the mentor travels by video too. See how video mentoring works.

If your teen also works on set, our free young performer work hours calculator shows California’s limits on time at work, school and rest for their age.

Who arranges it

Usually a parent, sometimes a parent’s business manager or assistant on the family’s behalf. Either way, a parent or the young adult takes the free 20 minute intro call, the young person decides with us whether it is a fit, and nothing about the family is shared with the person who made the introduction unless the family agrees in writing. Professionals can read how business managers and agents can suggest mentoring.

What mentoring is not

Mentors are not therapists, tutors, security or career representatives. If a teen needs clinical care, the mentor encourages that step and can work alongside it with the family’s permission. Blackburn Clinical Services, our sister practice, offers therapy and psychiatry for adolescents.

If your teen creates content online, see mentoring for teen content creators.

Related

• Mentoring for entertainment industry families
• Mentoring for young performers
• When a parent works on location
• Mentoring for high school students
• Mentoring for college students
• Independent school families
• Mentoring and coaching in Los Angeles

Common questions

Our family travels for work. Can mentoring keep going?

Yes. Sessions are by video anywhere in the United States, scheduled in the young person’s local time, with text check-ins between sessions. In Los Angeles, sessions can also be in person.

How private is it?

Sessions are private. Mentors do not post about clients or talk to media, and nothing is shared outside the agreed circle. Parents can receive updates on engagement with written consent.

Can our business manager or assistant set it up?

They can make the introduction and handle logistics if you want that. A parent or the young adult takes the intro call, and nothing is shared with the person who introduced us unless the family agrees in writing.

Our teen does not want to go into the industry. Is that a problem?

Not at all. The mentor helps the young person build goals that are their own, whatever direction they take.

What ages do you work with?

High school students, college students, young adults and young professionals.

Is a mentor the same as a therapist?

No. Mentoring focuses on routines, school, goals and follow-through. If clinical care is needed, the mentor encourages it and can work alongside it with permission.

Get started

Want a steady, discreet mentor for your teen or young adult? Call (888) 305-5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free 20 minute intro call.