Have you had a recent discussion with your children about their strengths? While it is helpful to affirm their efforts and their positive actions, especially during this challenging time, it is even more important to have regular conversations about their strengths! Strengths speak to who we naturally are, not just what we do. Your strengths are things you do all the time without having to think about it. Your children have many natural gifts and talents, and they can quickly turn into strengths when we explore and affirm what they are. Here are some examples for recognizing strengths in your children:
– Does your daughter talk constantly? Is she always uses her words to express herself and getting others involved in the conversation? She has the strength of communication! She can be a natural leader, story teller, communicator and even presenter in her future!
– Does your son love challenging games and puzzles? Or does he love predicting how stories and movies will end? He has a talent for strategy and likes solving problems. Keep giving him things he can think through and solve.
– Does your daughter like things to be neat and tidy? Does she line up her toys and keep her books & stuffed animals in order? She has the strength of organization! Encourage her in her planning and list making skills, she will always be valued for her talent.
– Is your son staying connected with his friends during isolation? Is he showing compassion and concern for everything that’s happening in the world? He has the strength of caring and relating. His ability to be empathetic and sense what people are feeling is a beautiful gift.
Some other strengths to recognize in your children may be talents for achieving, confidence, competing, dependability, discovery, learning, future thinking, creativity, resilience, and many more. We challenge you to have these positive conversations this weekend with your children and we hope it makes them light up!
We are excited to be launching our new professional online learning course called ProStrengths for parent leaders and staff to dive deep into understanding their own strengths and the strengths of those on their team! Inquire with parentingpartners@familyleadership.org if you’d like to bring ProStrengths to your District!
