Family meetings are a highly successful method of enhancing family cooperation and intimacy. When you were a child, what did it mean if your parents said, “It’s time for a family meeting?” Maybe someone is in trouble, right? Instead, you want to hold a family meeting as a way create intimacy and connection with family.
Here are some ideas about what a family conference might look like in a positive parenting style.
Have a weekly family meeting at a time that everyone in the family can attend.
Keep this time sacred – don’t keep changing it at everyone’s convenience. Mark time on your calendar and make it as important as a business meeting.
Hang up the phone so you won’t be interrupted.
This can help your child understand how important the meeting is to you, too.
Decisions should be made by family consensus rather than majority vote.
If no agreement can be reached after discussion, the decision is shelved until the next meeting.
New leaders and secretaries are elected at each family meeting.
The leader presides over meetings and convenes members. Leadership should rotate through each meeting. Other members should be encouraged to support the leader. The secretary can record what was discussed and the decisions reached.
Begin the meeting by greeting each family member.
Teach children to say thank you after receiving a compliment, using words like “I love you because…” or “I thank you because…”
Keep an “agenda” list on the refrigerator and discuss it during family meetings.
As issues arise during the week, write them down so they can be discussed at family meetings.
Continue to solve the problem.
Anyone want to ask a question? Tell your child that if she complains, it can be helpful to come up with solutions. A person who is not part of the solution is part of the problem.
Coordinate everyone’s calendar for the next week and plan some activities together as a family.
To make family meetings more productive, sit at a clean table and chairs rather than in the family living room.
Do not hold this meeting during meal times.
Always let the leader choose a fun way to end the meeting.
Suggest choosing a bedtime snack for everyone, postponing dessert until after the meeting, playing games, etc.
These guidelines come from the Positive Parenting course workbook. You can buy lifelong positive parenting Membership Only $199. This includes discounts on recorded courses (audio and video), books, workbooks and dial-in disciplines, as well as other upcoming courses.
