Family Meetings.....Little Investment with Huge Rewards

Although it may seem cheesy, or hard to schedule into an already packed week, Family Meetings can be a fabulous time to make decisions and connect as a family. The following information is adapted from the Positive Discipline blog and is well worth the read.

Family meetings are one of the most important tools parents can use to teach children so many valuable social and life skills such as:

* Listening skills
* Brainstorming skills
* Problem-solving skills
* Mutual respect
* The value of cooling off before solving a problem. (Problems are put on the family meeting agenda so a cooling off period takes place before focusing on solutions to the challenge.)
* Concern for others
* Cooperation
* Accountability in a safe environment. (People don’t worry about admitting mistakes when they know they will be supported to find solutions instead of experiencing blame, shame, or pain.)
* How to choose solutions that are respectful to everyone concerned
* A sense of belonging and significance
* Social interest
* That mistakes are wonderful opportunities to learn
* Having fun together as a family

Family Meetings provide an opportunity for parents to:

* Avoid power struggles by respectfully sharing control
* Avoid micromanaging children, so children learn self-discipline
* Listen in ways that invite children to listen
* Respectfully share responsibility
* Create good memories through a family tradition
* Model all of the skills they want their children to learn


Where else can you get so much for such a small investment in time?

It is most effective to have family meetings once a week and to stick to the allotted time of 20 to 30 minutes—even if everything on the agenda has not been covered. This will help your children learn "delayed gratification." Also, it gives them time to absorb what was discussed during the meeting, to try the agreed upon solution, and to practice working things out for themselves in between meetings.

Hopefully, you have been inspired to experiment with a family meeting in your own home and could perhaps begin a wonderful family tradition that may carry on for generations.