Family council meeting

 

This week my family participated in a much needed family council meeting! It was a great opportunity for us to talk some things out, resolve concerns about how things would be different this Christmas, and to practice showing respect to one another. It was also a great opportunity for me to give some attention to the kids. 

Our family home evening lesson this week was sharing Christmas stories from the Friend and New Era, and all the stories we read brought great discussion topics for a family council to mind! So we were primed and ready to go when it came to topics!

There was a little push back from the older kids, who seemed to balk at the structure of it a bit, but as I stayed patient and held my ground, they responded well, and I could see how important introducing this structure and formality really is.  One of the most important parts of holding the family council was to be sure that each member was able to share their feelings and ideas in turn- without interruption. We went around the table from youngest to oldest, allowing each to share their thoughts without any criticism. If we needed to go around a again to take people's opinions, or to come to consensus, we did! The kids felt heard and they got to practice respectful behavior.

Another important part not to skip is the expressions of love and appreciation. If time is short, I sometimes have them just share appreciation and love to the person on their left, and go around the table, but I would never skip this part! It is so important to the spirit of the discussions that follow, and an important reminder of our focus as a family, which is to love and support each other.

 

The whole experience gave me good insight into some of the kids issues and concerns. It showed me that my kids are ready for higher expectations and more structure. It offered them peace of mind to understand that this special time of year is going to still be special even though there will be changes. And it gave us a feeling of unity that we haven’t experienced for a while.

Here is a sample agenda that you could use to do a family council meeting of your own.

 

Here is the agenda for our family council this week:

Date:

Place:

Opening: Each family member will take turns expressing love and appreciation to each other family member.

Opening Prayer:

Items to discuss:

1.   

2.   

3.  

Closing Prayer:

Refreshments!