Regular family meetings are a great way to strengthen family relationships, bring your family closer and keep communication open.
If you adopt just one thing from my family guide, I suggest you adopt the weekly family meeting.
A weekly family meeting gives busy family members an opportunity to get together, reconnect, and discuss family-related issues. If your family decided to create a Family Constitution, the family meeting is also a good time for recognizing achievements and addressing concerns.
It’s always a good idea to schedule the family meeting for the same night each week, and to treat it like you treat a business meeting – with respect. Stick to it, and avoid canceling or rescheduling unless you absolutely have to. Expect the same level of respect from other family members as you show.
The family meeting need not be formal. It should be an event the family is looking forward to, so it needs to be short, fun and casual. Start with dinner – make it a fun dinner such as “make your own pizza.” Follow with the meeting, and finish with a family board game.
Remember that everyone should be heard during the meeting. Even the youngest children should have an opportunity to speak their minds and bring up any concern or idea they might have. However, as discussed before, while everyone gets the right to speak up, only Mom and Dad have the right to make the final decision. A family should respect its kids and listen to them, but a family should not be a democracy.
A typical family meeting at our house includes a brief discussion about family business, such as issues and proposals, followed by weekly planning of family dinners and events. We then review the weekly checklist and assign rewards and consequences as appropriate, and finish with “family fun” – either playing games at home or going out for dinner or to a movie.
Photo by woordenaar
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