Looking for things to teach at your next family meeting? Here is a list of 101 family meeting topics to get the discussion going.
Sunday evenings are one of my favorite moments of the week because they are all about family time! We have an early dinner together and then we dedicate half an hour to one of the best habits
Follow these 4 simple tips to conduct an effective family meeting, and learn why family meetings are so important. Free printable agenda included!
Having a monthly family meeting is a great way to connect as a family. It now only help you get on the same page as a family, but to set and keep goals.
Here are a couple printables that are sure to enrich your family and children! Hop over to Creating Better Habits and read my article about how to incorporate them into your family :) I also have some great tips and suggestions about hosting your first Family Council HERE and your first Personal Interview HERE These printables go hand in hand with the teachings of Linda and Richard Eyre- parenting experts who have blessed my family beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. It is their books that got me started on my love (instead of frustration) of Early Childhood Development and all things parenting related. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE DOWNLOAD If you like these, check out my Family Planner printables as well. These go great hand in hand. I keep my Family Council and Interview pages behind the Sunday section so that I remember to do it that day. p.s. if you can't get my free printables to download (for whatever reason) email me (email is under the contact tab above) and I'll send you the PDF's directly.
Hold family meetings even the kids will love! Find out exactly how to get started and how to prepare an effective agenda. (Free Printable Included!)
Family meetings are opportunities for parents and children to discuss important issues, strengthen communication, and nurture positive relationships.
Does it seem like every day is a challenge with your family's schedule? Learning how to hold family meetings just might help you control the chaos.
A family meeting is a great way to build the family relationship and get more accomplished. If you want to build the bonds of your family use these tips.
Sit down with the family and begin to discuss your family mission statement. These printables will get you on track with everything you need to begin.
The weekly meeting is like a meeting of the minds. You get to come together & create game plans, strategize and review.
Family values are the glue that hold families together. Writing down these values make people feel more powerful, in control, proud and strong. This practice also helps kids feel more connected and loved by their family. Use this free family values list and worksheet to discover and define your family values!
Ideas to Hold a Family Council I've mentioned before how it felt to grow up in a family that held "Family Councils." I don't think most of the time we actually called them that, because
I posted recently about the how critical our family meeting is to the smooth (er) operation of our family and home. Just in case I convinced anyone to start this powerful habit, I thought I'd share a little more of the nuts and bolts of how we run our family meetings. First, a simplified version of our weekly agenda: For people less prone to using an agenda than me (possibly every one?), let me try to make an argument for it. The idea behind any list I make is to get the information out of my head and in to a safe and reliable place where I can access it later. An agenda ensures that every thing is addressed without needing to spend half of my mental energy trying to remember what comes next. But an agenda should be a tool, not a mandate. Our agenda almost always has things crossed out or added until the next time I revise and print it. Discussion Topics For a long time, this was the last item on our agenda, but ultimately we decided that addressing any outstanding issues first made it much easier to focus on the other items. This is the time of the meeting when we talk about the things that came up during the week. Sometimes it's an argument that we agreed to table until the meeting, a hurtful comment one of us needed to share, an idea for a family project or vacation or anything else we didn't want to forget about but didn't have time to discuss throughout the week. Goal Check in Every year we sit down as a family and set goals. This is when we sit down and check in on how they are going. For example this is when I update which books I finished that week or how many miles I ran. It provides weekly accountability. Sometimes it also means reevaluating those goals. If week after week we fail to make progress on our goals, we take that as a sign that we need to change something. Does that person need more resources or time? Has that interest changed? We also add relevant goal related tasks to our to do list. I love having this early in the meeting because those are the first things on my to do list each week. Discuss Last week When we open our calendars, we usually take a minute to look over the last week just in case there was anything else we needed to discuss that didn't come up during our discussions. Calendar & Schedule update This is the majority of our meeting. We compare work schedules, double check childcare arrangements, transportation, etc. To make sure we don't miss anything we have a sub list that we review every week. § Work Schedule In our family work schedules change from week to week, so this is when we talk about when we are working and make any necessary changes. § Activities This is when we discuss classes, appointments, parties, etc. It's also when we add any related items to our task lists. § Athletic/Workouts Because one of our family goals is to be more active, we started planning our runs, workouts, and family bike rides at the beginning of the week. § Special Events Vacations, visitors or other things going on. § Chores/this week’s tasks Any major cleaning or maintenance tasks that need to get done this week get added to the schedule § Group responsibilities We participate in a variety of community and hobby organizations. This is when we review each, from book club to church, to volunteering. §Kids Activities I'm always amazed at how such small people have such busy schedules! Menu Planning & Grocery List When we had more time and less to discuss, we used to make our menu for the week as a family. Now we take turns, but we still take a minute to discuss it and make any last minute changes. Chores Each week we try to focus on getting one area of the house clean, this is when we assign chores for that area or anything else that needs done. To Do lists Unfortunately, we rarely fully complete our to do lists. In order to support each other, we share what we didn't get done and offer help when we can. Budget We do our budget yearly, so this is just a check in to make sure everything is going as expected. We also discuss any major bills or expenses coming up. Projects We have a list of projects, both personal, professional, and as a family. We keep a full list in our family binder, but the few active projects are discussed at the end of the meeting and we make sure we know the next steps for each. Examples of projects are "Remodeling Master Bedroom" "Prepare Taxes" "Find a Preschool" etc. Treats Especially if involving children, I think it's great to end with a treat. We used to have brownies, but since we made our recent dietary changes, Brownies are out! I'm still on the lookout for a a great end of meeting treat! For a look at the things we use in our family meeting, check out this post: Family Meeting hardware
The benefits of family meetings include better communication, improved problem-solving skills, and the opportunity to be proactive and mindful about challenges (rather than reactive) for everyone involved. Kids’ sense of independence grows when they make decisions that impact the family. Here are 4 necessary steps to get started and create a meeting that supports and strengthens your family bond.
Looking for things to teach at your next family meeting? Here is a list of 101 family meeting topics to get the discussion going.
Here are some details about our weekly family meetings... from the agenda to the ground rules! Make sure to snag the sample agenda too!
Planning and having your first family meeting with small children is an exciting time! You want it to go well, so use 15 steps to plan your first meeting!
If you are wondering how to have a family meeting, this article will give you lots of tips, ideas, and agendas to help you create a tradition
We started family meetings a year ago and have been so impressed with the outcomes. Here are how we run a family meeting and the changes we have seen in our family
Experts suggest that having Family Meetings for just 20 to 30 minutes each week can help families stay connected, work as a team, and have a family calendar under control. Moreover, it is one of the best ways to teach children vital life skills and reinforce family values. In short, that’s something each awesome family […]
These 10 tips will help your family improve communication, build connection, and encourage greater cooperation from your kids.
