THURSDAY: Your Child's Strengths

I am hearing more and more about a philosophy switch from focusing on problem areas and trying to improve them to a focus on strengths. The idea behind it is that a person's weakness is not likely to ever become a strength, but we pour effort into making it mediocre or average when we could be building on the person's innate strengths instead.

In Your Child's Strengths, Fox talks about her experiences as the director of a New Jersey boarding school. She says the story of developing strengths in young people is "about igniting each child's individual potential and preparing him/her for successful, fulfilled lives in school and beyond."

This was a challenging and inspiring book. It includes exercises for children that can be started between the ages of 9 and 13. Even though my son is not that old yet, I still found suggestions and encouragement in this book that I can use now.