Laura Rose shows us how to take a family from a state of chaos to communicating on the latest episode of Change Starts at Home.
Laura's daughters, Sydney and Alex, join her to help unpack a process that can be truly valuable in promoting communication, respect and cooperation among all the family members: the weekly family meeting.
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The family meeting is an opportunity to solve problems, plan activities and simply have fun together as a family. If you're just starting out, you'll need a list of agenda items. Each family member can add to the agenda, with things like household chores, meal planning or other issues or activities to be discussed. The agenda can differ from week to week depending on what's going on in the household and the members' lives.
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Once the agenda is set,  at the meeting each member starts with something they liked that the other members did that week.
If it's your first meeting, it's good to spend some time brainstorming about rights and responsibilities for household members to find agreement on those. For instance, each member would have a right to privacy, to their own personal belongings, and the right to be spoken to with respect. Responsibiities might include helping to take care of pets, keeping the house clean, etc.
Laura notes that 99% of all arguments can be resolved by revisiting rights and responsibilitites that have already been agreed upon.
After you cover the week's agenda items, financial issues can be discussed. This would include everything from household budget matters to distributing allowances, discussing school fundraisers or bookfairs, etc.
Laura suggests that you always do something fun to finish up your family meeting, like baking treats together, playing games, watching a movie, going for a hike or whatever else you all enjoy.
A regular habit of holding a family meeting gives everyone a chance to express themselves, solve problems together, and speak their mind. Try it and see what a difference it makes!
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