What If We Started With What’s Strong? | Strengths-Based Parenting with Jill Soucy

What if, instead of starting with what our kids are doing wrong, we started with what’s already strong?In this episode, I talk with Gallup-certified strengths coach Jill Soucy about strengths-based parenting — a way of understanding ourselves and our kids that shifts the focus from fixing weaknesses to noticing, naming, and developing the strengths that are already there.We talk about how our own strengths shape the lens through which we see our children, why the very same trait can look like a problem in one environment and a superpower in another, and how curiosity can help us understand what’s actually underneath our kids’ behavior.In this episode, we talk about:Why knowing your own strengths can change the way you understand your kidsHow deficit-based thinking — especially in school and special education — can shape the stories kids learn about themselvesLooking at neurodivergence and differences through a strengths-based lensWhy your child may be doing something for a completely different reason than you assumeHow to help kids “name it, claim it, and aim it” so they develop language for what makes them uniquely themGo DeeperWant to discover your own strengths — or your child’s?→ VIA Character Strengths Survey — a free character strengths assessment for adults and youthTake the VIA Character Strengths Survey→ CliftonStrengths + Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer — Gallup’s strengths assessments for adults and kidsExplore Gallup’s Strengths-Based Parenting resources→ Strengths Based Parenting by Mary Reckmeyer — the book Heather mentions in the episode, which includes resources for discovering both parent and child strengthsConnect with Jill SoucyJill is a Gallup-certified strengths coach and founding partner of Innate Force Coaching & Consulting, where she works with individuals, families, teams, schools, and organizations to help people understand and use their natural strengths.Website: innateforce.comEmail: [email protected] exploring with Self-SchooledUnderstand your kid. Trust yourself. Find your own path.Explore the Self-Schooled Parent Toolkit and more at self-schooled.com.