Do you know how to identify your parenting strengths?

“It’s not always necessary to be strong, but to feel strong.”

― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Almost everyone will agree that playing to your strengths while working on improving your areas of development is the key to success. Previously, we have covered the concept of strength-based parenting and how parents can help their children identify their strengths. The same is true for parenting as well. That is why, today, we will cover tips for parents to identify their strengths. 

Tips to identify your parenting strengths

A book, Incredible Parent: Discover Your Parenting Strengths and Raise Your Kids with Confidence, by Brandon and Analyn Miller, lists different ways through which parents can identify their parenting strengths. Brandon is a Certified Strengths Coach at the Gallup Organization. They both are business owners who also have seven children together. 

Here are some cues for parents to tap into their parenting strengths. They are accompanied by evaluation questions that will help you get clarity on your parenting strengths. Following are the pointers: 

Enthusiasm: We all are entitled to our opinions and preferences. There are things and activities that we are drawn to more than the others. We look forward to these events and activities. Some parents look forward to reading a storybook to their child, whereas some might look forward to playing tennis with their child in the evening. 

Things to do: 

• Reflect upon the last one month and think of all the activities and things you looked forward to doing with your child.
• If time were not an issue, how would you spend most of your time with children?

Ease: Some things come naturally to us and for some, we do need to invest more energy and effort. What is easy for one parent might be very difficult for another. We tend to flow through such activities and tasks effortlessly. For some parents, it might be incredibly difficult to get their child to do the homework, and for some it may not be a concern at all. 

Things to do: 

• Remember the last time parenting felt effortless for you.
• List instances where you felt that parenting is easy for you.

Excellence: All parents have their areas of expertise or excellence where they tend to shine and sparkle. These strengths or abilities are likely to be pointed out by other parents and teachers now and then through a compliment or two. 

Things to ask: 

• What was a parenting compliment you received? 
• When was the last time someone complimented you on your parenting approach? What was that compliment about?
• What would you consider as some of your standout abilities as a parent?

Energy: Some tasks give us energy and some take energy from us. This varies from person to person, and applies to parenting too. Our strengths are supposed to give us energy and make us feel strong instead of exhausted. 

Things to ask: 

• What are some parenting tasks that make you feel especially energetic at the end of the day?
• What are some of the parenting activities that bring you satisfaction as a parent?
• Which recently completed parenting tasks left you more energetic than before?  

Enjoyment:  Strengths keep us going in tough situations. When we enjoy our tasks and responsibilities, we find the grit to keep it going through turbulent times.

Things to ask: 

• What is it that you love about parenting that keeps you going?
• What are some parenting activities that bring you joy even in difficult times? 

Knowing your strengths will help you take maximum advantage of them and overcome any situations and bring you more joy. It will also help you let go of unrealistic expectations that most parents have from themselves. Overall, understanding your strengths is likely to make positive parenting changes in your parenting journey. We would urge you to get started today!

Are you excited to find out your parenting strengths? Let us know your parenting strengths in the comments below. Here are some effective parenting tips for parents from all walks of life.

Reference:

Miller, A., Miller, B. (2021). Incredible Parent: Discover Your Parenting Strengths and Raise Your Kids with Confidence. United States: Harvest House Publishers.

Also read, 

• What to do if your child prefers your partner more?
• Fine things to consider before setting house rules for children
• A 7-point guide for parents about children’s reward systems