How Strengths-Based Parenting Can Help Your Kid Thrive

By Kaitlin Ahern

Your kid loves to be the center of attention. She's the type to run onto the playground, yell "Watch me!", and make monkey noises while hanging upside down on the monkey bars.

If that sounds familiar, one of your child's strengths may be her presence; and to nurture that strength, you may want to consider different ways she can lead by example, whether by showing other kids how to stop bullying or how to perform a dance routine.

This is just one example of strengths-based parenting, which encourages parents to quit dwelling on their children's weaknesses and instead, help them develop their natural talents. "Innate talents—those behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that come naturally to you—don't change much over time," says Mary Reckmeyer, Ph.D., executive director of Gallup's Donald O. Clifton Child Development Center. "Parents should embrace their own and their child's natural talents, inclinations, and interests instead of putting most of their energy into 'fixing' what's wrong or pushing their child to be someone else's idea of perfect."

That's the idea behind Dr. Reckmeyer's new book, Strengths Based Parenting: Developing Your Children's Innate Talents (Gallup Press 2016), in which she combines decades of strengths psychology research—including assessments of nearly 1 million young people—with her experience as a teacher to present stories, examples, and practical advice that parents can use to uncover and foster their children's top talents.

We chatted with Dr. Reckmeyer to learn more.

How can parents identify their child's strengths?

Parents can use the Clifton Youth Strengths Explorer assessment (recommended for ages 10-14) or the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment (recommended for ages 15+) to identify natural talents. For younger kids, we use a method called "StrengthsSpotting" that relies on repeated observations of young children in a variety of settings and interactions.

Parents can also watch for clues to talent, especially in younger children. For example, when your child displays these clues time after time, she's probably working in an area of talent:

• Yearnings: Activities or environments your child is repeatedly drawn to
• Rapid learning: Skills or activities your child picks up quickly and easily
• Satisfaction: Activities your child is enthusiastic about and that fulfill her
• Timelessness: Activities your child becomes so engrossed in that she seems to lose track of time whenever she's doing them

When you apply skills, knowledge, and practice to natural talents, you can develop them into strengths. Recognizing your children's talents early and nurturing their abilities can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment for parents and kids.