How to Find your Child's Strengths and Weaknesses

Considering what are your child’s strengths is something that many parents neglect to do. However, by noticing child and adolescent needs and strengths, you can help to set your teen up for success in the future. You’ll find areas that they need to improve, and you can also highlight their strengths to help them develop these even further for their future career and life. Keep reading as we share the best ways to find out the strengths and weaknesses of your teen and look at common child strengths and weaknesses examples.

Why is it important to know what are your child’s strengths?

Many parents have never taken the time to work with their teenagers to identify their strengths and weaknesses. There are many reasons why we encourage you to spend more time and thought on this, and it can help your teen to develop as they head into their adult life. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses increases your self-belief and allows you to take on any future challenges without crumbling under pressure. Your child will know where their strengths lie and where they should be heading in the future as far as their career path. On the other hand, it also allows them to work on their weaknesses and become a well-rounded individual. They’ll be able to think clearly about the things they can do well and stop beating themselves up about anything they struggle with.

Another key reason to consider child and adolescent needs and strengths is to identify their learning style. No two kids or teens learn in the same manner, and by knowing how you study and learn best, you will be able to help set them up for success in the future. The emotional strengths of a child can also impact the type of environment they work and learn best in, and this is an important lesson to learn early on in life. Being realistic about what are your teen’s strengths can set you all up for success in the future and avoid disappointment from putting too much pressure on something that may be unrealistic for your child’s strengths.

Child strengths and weaknesses examples

Personal strengths

When thinking about children’s strengths and weaknesses, they aren’t too different from adult’s strengths. They can be broken down into different categories, such as personal strengths. Examples of personal child strengths include independence, learning from the past, a sense of humor, and being opinionated. Of course, these can always go too far, such as having a rude sense of humor or being too opinionated or bossy.

Communication skills

Communication skills are something that is critical to consider when looking at child strengths and weaknesses examples, as these can also impact every area of their life. Being a good storyteller and listener can be so advantageous for teens, but if they struggle in these areas, it’s important to know you can coach them to improve and boost their confidence. Communication also includes physical communication and using non-verbal cues. It also encompasses how they handle feedback and how they interact with other people in order to get tasks or projects completed. Communication and confidence are often closely linked, but you can work with your teenager to improve their communication if this isn’t one of their strengths.

Emotional strengths of a child

The emotional strengths of a child are an area we often neglect to think about, as these characteristics are usually associated with adults. However, learning your strengths and weaknesses emotionally at a young age can help to improve your relationships later on in life and set you up for success in this area. Examples of these include handling their internal feelings and picking up on the emotional state of other people.

Social strengths

Regardless of your child’s age, it’s also crucial to consider their social strengths. Even when they are in their early years, developing social skills can have a huge impact on their ability to interact with other people later on in life. Examples of social skills include the ability to interact with other people, having empathy for others, and working well in a group. Leadership skills also fall under this category and are important to establish from a young age.

Other types of child strengths

While these are the main categories you’ll no doubt be concerned about, there are many different categories to consider when it comes to finding child and adolescent needs and strengths:

• Cognitive strengths – Organizational skills, study skills, memory, and attention to detail fall under this category.
• Cultural strengths – Learning other languages and tolerance of other people are good examples of cultural strengths. By taking your teen abroad or introducing them to other cultures, you can help develop this area.
• Literary strengths – Enjoying reading and doing word puzzles are a good sign of literary strengths. They also may showcase a wide vocabulary range and correct spelling.
• Logical strengths – Logical strengths refer to scientific and numerical ability. If they are very capable in math and science classes, there’s a good chance their logical skills are excellent.
• Visual-spatial strengths – Jigsaw puzzles, map reading skills, and sensitivity to the world around them are examples of visual-spatial skills.
• Physical strengths – Being able to ride a bike is a great example of physical strengths at a young age. This category can encompass any type of team or individual sport but will also include basic skills like balance.
• Dexterity strengths – Handwriting and working with your hands are examples of dexterity strengths your teen may showcase when thinking about what are your child’s strengths.
• Nature strengths – Enjoying being around animals and plants are nature strengths, but this area could also include understanding the weather and the world around us.
• Musical strengths – Musical instruments are a great way to introduce your teen to music and show that they understand rhythm and different types of music.
• High tech strengths – Children are introduced to computers and phones at a young age nowadays, so many of them develop high tech strengths way before their teenage years.
• Other categories: These include creative strengths, spiritual strengths, and other miscellaneous strengths such as cooking, money management, and anything unique to your child.

How to find out your child’s strengths and weaknesses

While you no doubt have a good indication already of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, it may be worth asking them to complete an assessment to fully understand how they are feeling about themselves. This will give you more insight into how they think about themselves and the areas in which they are struggling with. A simple 1-5 scale can be used to answer a variety of statements, which should encompass all of the sections listed above. This will help you understand where your teen struggles and how they feel about social situations you might not be present for. As well as this, we encourage you to speak to your child’s teacher and any other adults they spend a lot of time with in order to get a better idea of how your child is when you aren’t with them.

Working with child and adolescent needs, strengths, and weaknesses

Your child’s strengths and weaknesses can always be improved, and the sooner you acknowledge their strengths by reviewing the child strengths and weaknesses examples above, the quicker you’ll be able to pinpoint the areas that need improvement. There’s no shame in having things to improve on in life, so remind your teenager of this. However, make sure they continue to work on their strengths, as these are likely to motivate them throughout their life and make them successful in the future. Continuing to spend equal time on talents and passions they like and struggle with can make them a more well-rounded person before heading into adulthood.

Understanding the emotional strengths of a child and the areas in which they struggle is something that parents of children of any age should be considering. It’s never too late to start working on any category of strengths, and by identifying what they are good at and where they could improve, you can support them in this development. It may be as simple as practicing a certain skill a little more, or you may need to encourage them to work with a tutor outside of school. However you can support them, in time, you’ll undoubtedly see a change in their abilities, and they’ll feel more confident in areas they may have been struggling with before.