I am a huge advocate of the StrengthsFinder and the idea of strength-based leadership - but had never read a book on strengths-based parenting. It was a great read! Especially because the authors have such diverse experience and are at varying stages in the parenting journey, I enjoyed the practical examples, honesty and the look at how this plays out versus "regular" parenting. The parenting playbook at the end is a great feature - with lots of practical ideas and discussion prompts to actually start implementing this in your family!

Play to Their Strengths by Brandon and Analyn Miller is such a refreshing parenting book. So much of parenting consists of correcting and it feels like all you do is point out their weaknesses. This book directs you to step back and take a look at your relationship with your children in a different way. Like other relationships, you need to look for commonalities and take time to keep observing your child and how their strengths develop over time. As parents, we can encourage our children in their strengths and help them further develop them. I absolutely love this book and highly recommend it. I received a digital copy of this book from the author with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Play to Their Strengths, by Brandon and Analyn Miller, is a book I wish I had read when my children were young. There is some great insight here and strategies for investing in your children. The theme of the book is so straightforward and intuitive that you wonder how you could miss it, but the stresses and pressures that our schools and culture places on our kids often forces us to focus our children in directions that are not best for them. In our desire to see our kids achieve and succeed, it is easy to get swept along and miss some foundational principles that will help our children flourish.

Play to Their Strengths encourages us to find the things that "make our kids' eyes shine" and light up when they talk about them or do them. It asks us to not just look to "bring up the C or D on their report card", but to look to their "A's" and make them into an A++. Using examples from their own children and others, the Millers also ask us to recognize things that we may think are deficits, but can turn into super-strengths with God's help, such as a child who is strong-willed and debates us, and who challenges us at every turn, can become a strong leader who many will follow and accomplish great things, once their talents are infused with the guiding of the Holy Spirit. There are guided questions with every chapter to help guide parents and help them in their journey, and presumably other aids on their website. Lots of actionable stuff that you can use with your kids and see results right away. I picked up this book to review and for a light read on parenting, and found myself taking lots of notes and recalibrating my approach to my own kids' strengths and future instead. Recommended.

I thought this book was well thought out and I really enjoyed the great advice, wisdom, and practical stories about how they implemented playing to their kids strengths in their own family. I liked how “looking for areas where our kids eyes shine” was repeated as I know I will think of that line often in my own parenting journey. I would recommend this book to parents, especially homeschoolers like myself because we have a unique opportunity to live day in day out, observing and teaching our children.

As I read this book, I realized the timeliness of the subject in view of the current headlines. Parenting our children in a way that discovers and develops THEIR strengths rather than encouraging them to meet OUR goals is a concept that should have been highly promoted years ago. This book presents concepts that make sense when we want our children to recognize the strengths they possess so they will have the potential to develop the passion they need to achieve their goals in life. For each of us, there is that strength that “makes [our] eyes shine” and that is truly the measure of success.

For some of us it’s too late to accomplish this with our children. However, there is still the possibility of influencing our children’s children. If that is you, consider this book as a gift not only for expectant and new parents but also for parents and caregivers of youth. It’s well worth the effort to spread this message around.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book provided by the publisher and Net Galley. However, the thoughts expressed are totally my own