Well, it is because we care. it may seem like these people are going behind a parent's back, and to a point, I can understand how some folks would think that. Yet, it isn’t because we want to undermine the values of a parent but we see the spark of genius in a kid or young adult. it is good to tap into the knowledge of the elder people. Their values are more tried and true than the experimental theories that are handed out in school.

So we see a person who is struggling to find a solution a good parent will mentor a young person and point to clues as to where they might want to look. The difference is often that if the kid doesn’t take the mentor's advice we don't take it personally. They just want to learn the hard way and that is good too because they learn what is needed to be learned either way.

So why don't many mentors solicit? That is because often the young person wouldn’t take it if they were asked to. They don't want to be seen as incapable or the parent of a young child may take offense and let their ego get in between the success of their kid.