Try a Strengths-Based Parenting Style

I am a father who leads with Ideation, Command, Analytical, Competition and Individualization. These themes bring a high level of intensity, expectation and energy to the challenge of raising children. My wife leads with Belief, Strategic, Developer, Empathy and Relator. Her lens on parenting is colored by caring, nurturing and meeting our children where they are day by day. Our combined themes create an effective parenting style where our children are seen as individuals, appreciated for their strengths. Don Clifton's notion that we should focus on what is right with people is how my wife and I have parented our children since birth, and this approach profoundly changed our daughter's life and child outcomes.

We are wholehearted parents who want nothing but the best for our children. In the early years of our daughter Elliana's life, we learned that she was born with a cognitive challenge. While we both saw Ellie as a happy and healthy little girl, others focused on her challenge -- what many considered her weakness. Our relationship themes engaged, and we felt the emotions that follow the language doctors used. The mystery and difficulty of helping her could have consumed us -- if we allowed it to. However, instead of becoming blinded by her challenge, we intentionally focused on her strengths to help our child develop.

In Strengths-Based Parenting, author Dr. Mary Reckmeyer discusses the importance of Strengths Spotting and positive parenting skills. As she says, you want to look for times of yearnings, rapid learning, satisfaction, and timelessness. These are the moments when your child is beginning to soar. What we spotted while spending time with Ellie was a talent to learn rapidly once she connected with another individual, be it peer or teacher. We also noticed that Ellie has a unique perception of others, likely her Individualization in development.

Strengths-based parenting has empowered us to think about Ellie's life in a unique and beneficial way. Society pressures parents to accept the social normality of children's development. Nearly every checkup includes comparison to standardized testing and evaluations. We felt pressured by these percentiles to evaluate further and diagnose Ellie with a host of disabilities. While we did not ignore the possibilities of what could be contributing to Ellie's cognitive delay, we knew that investing in her strengths was the most important thing we could do to help her thrive.

In August Ellie started her first day of second grade in the city where we now live. Throughout her first day of school, I felt the emotional side of my Individualization emerge. I felt (and continue to feel) so proud of who Ellie is. Our little girl is strong, confident, and eager to interact with her teacher and make new friends. After we took her to her assigned location, she told my wife, Alecia, and me that we could go. She was ready. And so was I.

At that moment, I became keenly aware of the choice we made following Ellie's birth to be strengths-based parents who focused on her talents and all that makes her who she is. I am convinced that had we spent the last eight years of her life consumed with what isn't natural for her and where perhaps she falls behind other children her age when you study the "percentiles," Ellie would be a completely different little girl.

Parents, while everybody needs a coach, every child needs a parent who is strengths-focused. Dr. Mary Reckmeyer says it best: "Accept, appreciate and build on their talents, interest, and passion."

Further, she writes, "Don't ignore your child's weakness, but manage them so they don't become roadblocks," and, "Carve out time to listen, watch and appreciate each of your kids in some way every day … it makes a world of difference."

These simple words seem to roll off her tongue -- clearly advice from a strengths-based parent herself with good parenting skills. Yet, don't take their simplicity for granted. These are life-changing, powerful words. In the next interaction you have with your child or a child in your life, remember these words and be on the lookout for strengths. Figure out which of your Top 5 will help you listen, watch and appreciate what is best about the children in your life -- it will, indeed, make a world of difference.