Your Childs Strengths: Discover
Them, Develop Them, Use Them by
Jenifer Fox M.Ed.
Excellent Book For Learning To Identify Talents In Children
An essential book for parents and teachers that explores how children’s
individual strengths create success
With this groundbreaking work, educator Jenifer Fox is poised to change
the conversation about education in this country. For too long, parents and
teachers have focused on identifying and “fixing” kids’ weaknesses to
improve academic performance. Passionately written and informed by
Fox’s twenty-five years of experience, Your Child’s Strengths turns that
flawed paradigm on its head. Fox’s strengths-based philosophy provides
the tools to prepare kids for the future in a world that demands greater
adaptability and creative thinking than ever before.

Your Child’s Strengths will give parents and teachers the tools to discover
strengths in three main areas: Activity Strengths, the tasks that make you
feel engaged and energized; Relationship Strengths, the things you do for
and with others that make you feel valued and competent; and Learning
Strengths, the unique ways we approachand understand new information.
All three strengths work in tandem.
Pairing inspiring firsthand accounts of success with practical workbook
tools and an outline of the award- winning Affinities Program Fox has
implemented at her own school, this much- needed book is a user- friendly
guide for parents, teachers, and administrators that will improve individual
performance and an indispensable road map for young people and society
to a future that plays to strengths.
Personal Review: Your Childs Strengths: Discover Them,
Develop Them, Use Them by Jenifer Fox M.Ed.
Jenifer Fox's stories are SO interesting and enlightening...pick up the book
and randomly read and you'll find fascinating, easy to understand real-life
parables.
As Fox says, "Simply put, strengths are tasks you do that make you feel
energized, empowered and strong. Strengths do not neccessarily turn into
talents thru practice. They exist well beyond what you like to do or have a
preference for...when strengths are tied to interests or affininties, children
can develop skills because they are inclined to practice longer....
"Strengths allow "flow" --the act of being so absorbed in an activity that you
lose your sense of time and place. Talent and skill have the opportunity to
develop to their greatest potential when a person is in a state of flow...you
need to understand what your (true) strengths are and develop them."
It has a workbook w/ questions to guide you to "epiphanies" of
understanding. Even such things as household tasks you hate vs. those
you actually enjoy.
Applied: i.e., I thought I hated housework, but I don't really. I just hate
cleaning bathrooms, organizing paper. But for some reason I enjoy
laundry! And making beds! (so much payoff for such little effort)...but I hate
bill paying, doing the taxes (dreaded paperwork). Yet I LOVE
emailing/writing doing book reviews on Amazon. Meanwhile, my husband
loves cooking...and my distractable daughter who is terrible at "chores"
happily makes beautiful, elaborate salads for dinner.

Why have I not been valuing that and trading that task for bed-
making/laundry? It IS a fair trade that can make us both feel
happy/empowered.
The book will help you recognize/discover, not just your child's strengths,
but your own, your spouse's at home and in the workplace.
For me, it explained why after so many different jobs in 20 years, I finally
found my "flow" at the last one where the vast majority of the day I spent
playing to my strengths (writing, editing, graphic/text formatting, reading
interesting stuff, interviewing interesting people, listening to interesting
talking heads' observations/ideas/beliefs, emailing, researching online) and
very little time doing the things I'm so very bad at (organizing paperwork,
public speaking, politicking, being "succinct" :)
Fox's book explains why things go so much smoother when our family is
dividing labor according to our strengths not by "shoulds". When our work
tasks match our strengths, we happily work long hours without looking at
the clock, we're in a "flow-state." (I'm in flow as I enthusiastically write this
book review).
For me, an amazing discovery from her book: grocery shopping is a
"strength" for me. My son, who has autism and is the reason I picked up
the book in the first place, is on a difficult diet (no dairy/wheat). I must read
all food labels. I can hardly go to grocery store w/out spending 2 hrs there!
I always thought this was a big weakness.(WHY does it take me so long to
shop??! I beat myself up.) Now I realize it
is actually a strength. It is so liberating to value something I once thought
was a weakness. I actually love reading labels and rejecting all foods with
partially hydrogenated oils/high fructose corn syrup that are bad for his
little brain ...I feel like careful food-shopping is a gift I'm giving my whole
family by providing healthy foods...it is no longer a "waste" of my time that I
can't shop as fast as my husband or friends. Not only is it ok. It is a
strength!
I'm buying this book --originally I got it from the library--to share with
friends at a weeklong ski reunion we have planned. I want to spread it's
great suggestions and because it suggests doing exercises w/ a buddy to
discover both your strengths. I hope the "strengths movement", as Fox
calls it, catches on. As I heard Magic Johnson say in an interview on his
new book, "We shouldn't waste a lot of time perfecting our weaknesses...
we should find other people (hire or negotiate w/ other family members,
friends, coworkers) to get those tasks done and offer up our own strengths
to help them."
When we play to our strengths--our children's strengths, our spouse's
strengths--we're all happier, more successful, empowered, energized.
A lot of people are job-hunting right now, the book offers great advice for
the laid off, for stay at home moms reentering workforce, for parents

leaving the workforce to stay at home. You all now have opportunity to
change your career to a better match. No more wasting time applying for
jobs that don't play to your strengths.
Fox is a principal at a girls boarding school but she notes that these
concepts are working w/ businesses too. She shares the roots of her
understanding w/ her personal story of how she almost failed H.S. b/c she
couldn't "get" algebra...yet went on to an extremely successful career
based on the encouragement of ONE teacher who recognized her
creativity/insight (strengths!) in FIRST grade and inspired her to build on
that....in face of her great failures in math. That one teacher's recognition
sustained her and spurred her on to great success...we all have that
teacher to thank for this book.
Last anecdote: Fox explains how a "weakness" of hers (inability to look
people in the eye at the same time she is listening) almost underminded a
strength (being a great listener!) until she EXPLAINED to
parents/coworkers/family members who thought she wasn't listening that
looking away was the only way she could concentrate on LISTENING. This
revelation was late in coming, but came to her when she realized her own
father WAS listening to her, even as he looked away from her, as she told
him a long story. She was feeling dissed that HE wasn't looking into HER
eyes until later she realized she does the same thing. And he WAS
listening to every word. Fascinating stories by an astute student of human
nature.
Read this book. It will help you spread JOY, EMPOWERMENT, ENERGY
to people you care about...and you'll find yourself being more patient in
dealing with other's (and your own) weaknesses ... appreciating the
strengths you have in your life that help you to get around your
weakenesses.
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Your Childs Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them by Jenifer Fox M.Ed.
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