The Most Important Takeaway From Strengths Based Parenting
If there was one thing you could take away from the Strengths Based Parenting philosophy it would be this. Doing your best and being at your best is not the same. This is not word play either.
Doing your best and being at your best are similar for sure. However, what makes them different is what makes the strengths based parenting philosophy so important to understand. One of the easiest ways to understand this difference is through understanding the Animal School fable.
This fable makes a simple but profound point. Teaching rabbits to fly and eagles to swim is not a productive use of time. Rabbits can do their best to fly but will never be at their best flying. Eagles can do their best to swim, but will never be at their best swimming. The only way rabbits and eagles can be at their best is doing what they’re best at doing. For rabbits that’s running and for eagles that’s flying.
Unquestionably, this is a simplification of the point. Unlike the animals at the Animal School, children aren’t born knowing what they’re best at and parents don’t know this either. This crucial fact is why understanding how to apply the philosophies of strengths based parenting is of the utmost importance.
A parent could do everything humanly possible to push their child to be a basketball player, musician, or engineer. In addition, that child could be doing their best to make the parent happy by giving their best effort. However, if the child is an “eagle” and playing basketball, or being a musician or engineer is “swimming” then the child may never find their purpose to “fly.”
As a result, parents should behave less like judges and more like detectives. This is what Strengths Based Parenting is all about.