Family Meetings

In the past we have been holding family meetings on a fairly regular basis, but the structure has been a bit unorganized. We would usually just look at the calendar for the upcoming week and then plan our meals. I decided to download the Family Meeting Album to help me get a fresh start and I realized that we were missing some valuable steps.

Last weekend as suggested in the Family Meeting Album, we started our family meeting with compliments. I complimented both the kids and then asked if anyone else had any compliments. My daughter said "Yes" and it went something like this.

Emma: "I would like to compliment Gibson for not calling me names this week."

Gibson: "What are your talking about Emma? I just called you a name 10 minutes ago."

Emma: "I meant before that."

Gibson: "Whatever Emma."

I'm not sure if that exchange counts as a compliment, but maybe that is as close as you can get in the teenager world.

I also decided to post a family meeting agenda so we could add items during the week. One morning the kids were having an argument about using the iPod Touch. I asked Gibson to put it on the family meeting agenda. He wasn't too thrilled about that idea, but he put it on the agenda anyway.

Throughout this week I have noticed items showing up on the Family Meeting Agenda. I have also noticed that things have been a little more peaceful around the house. Dr. Jane Nelsen has mentioned that sometimes simply putting an item on the agenda is enough to diffuse the problem. That seems to be the case in our family.

I am looking forward to our family meeting this weekend. It will be fun to see what kind of solutions the kids will come up with. I will let you know how it works out.