No family is perfect, but every family needs the occasional check-in with each other to keep things running smoothly. In this article, we’ll share the reasons to hold a family meeting and why you may want to consider implementing this into your weekly routine.
Reasons To Hold Family Meetings
1. Build Children’s Self-Esteem
Kids pick up on more than they think and often know when they are being left out. When you hold a family meeting where everyone’s thoughts and opinions are equally valued, you help your children see that you care about them and their voices.
Holding family meetings can be one of the best self-esteem boosters for young children and teens, and they’re an essential part of growing as a family unit.
2. Increases Closeness and Bonding
Speaking of family units, family meetings also increase your family bond. This is especially important for blended families with kids on both sides.
When big life changes happen, it’s easy to feel like a stepparent is in the way of your childhood routine. And it’s just as easy to harbor resentment and not know how to talk about it.
Regular conversations about important issues help little minds cope with change and also show that the adults in their life care about them.
3. Provide a Platform for Conflict Resolution
As an extension of creating closeness, family meetings also provide a platform for conflict resolution. Sometimes, family members don’t want to rock the boat or bring up complex subjects. But one of the best things you can do is create a safe environment to do just that.
This can be done in many ways, including passing a talking stick, going around in a circle, drawing cards with topics on them, or any other way that makes sense for your family.
You’ll want to consider kids’ ages as you think about resolving conflict, but having this designated time aside ensures no arguments or disagreements go without being talked about.
4. Share Important Information
Is your family planning a big move? Are one of you taking a new job? Do you have something important to share about a health condition?
Whatever your family is going through, you must be on the same page about new events and positions. Schedules can change, new environments can be scary, and all of that can throw off the feeling of safety that children crave.
Ensure you’re keeping the whole family in the loop so they don’t feel out of control during these moments.
5. Set Goals Together
Communicating goals you want to achieve as a family is huge! This is even more important for blended families because you’re bringing two households together with different routines and traditions.
Having a family meeting regularly where you discuss the goals you have for communication, talk about any issues that come up, and share anything new you want to implement (e.g., pizza and movies together on Friday nights) is one of the best ways to establish meaningful relationships and set aside time for learning about each other.
Make Your Family A Success: Hold Family Meetings
Every family meeting will have different needs and things it’s meant to accomplish. That’s a good thing! As you decide on your family meeting style, keep it light; don’t make it seem like a chore, especially for teens. Also, plan something fun for during or after the meeting.
Grab some cookies. Pop in a movie. Make some popcorn. Whatever you do, make it a meaningful time to celebrate what’s going well and address what you could all do better to grow in love.
Soon, your family meetings will feel like second nature and give you the tools you need to succeed together.
