Monday, March 22, 2010

Family Meeting

I remember as a kid, on Sunday nights, my mom would holler across the neighborhood, “Kids, time for a family meeting!” Oh, it was so embarrassing! Our friends would say, “What are you guys doing?”, I’d mumble, “It’s this thing they make us do.” And then I’d scurry home, grab a beanbag chair, and sit…begrudgingly ready for our family meeting.

Yep, you guessed it. I am now that mom. Or should I say, that dork of a mom. Last night JT and I held our third family meeting. The boys are too young to know that most other families don’t do this. And they are too young to be “too-cool”.  In fact, after only three weeks, on Sunday, they remind us about "tonight's" meeting.

What did we do at our family meeting? (Thanks for asking) We talk about the week ahead...discussing what things we have to do, and what activities that they would like to do. This week they requested a trip to the Natural History Museum. We look at the calendar and talk about upcoming events like Spring Break and Birthday Parties. They already know that during family meetings in the summer we will start assigning weekly “contributions” (otherwise known as Chores). And, at the end they have “Show and Tell Time” where they get the spotlight to share what ever they would like. Last night, AB showed us a magnificent side jump, and OB displayed his leap-over-the-foot-stool maneuver.

I even made and an agenda. I mean, it’s a meeting, and when I was working outside the home, when I held meetings, I had an agenda…so it seemed to only make sense.  Some folks might say I have too much time on my hands. And, perhaps that is true.

I know it’s dorky. It certainly isn’t a typically meeting, since half of the participants are 4 and 5 year old. But, I think they are learning a lot and building some important life skills (communication, organization, negotiation, teamwork…) I also think it will serve our family well in the future.

I know we are not the only ones…Do you have family meetings?
What are your meetings like?




4 comments:

Just One Week said...

We have family mtgs and we don't have kids yet! All the to-do's of life (bills, taxes, scheduling...) are exhausting to do and to think about. We don't want a daily nagging session, so instead we try to have weekly meetings to cover all the stressful stuff at once. And I'd like to continue this with kids. I think it is important that kids learn about scheduling and the mtg is a great way to do that!

Stopping by from SITS

Shell said...

We don't have these yet- my oldest is 5. But, that's a great way to connect as a family. I'm okay with being the dorky mom yelling about it out to my kids!

Stopping in to welcome you to SITS!

Small Burst said...

I used to love family meetings!

Sandra said...

Oh thank you for this post. I was thinking about starting something like this lately but was not sure about the how and when etc.( The children are 6&4 jears old) this could be a good start! And agendas do save time at the end I have discovered ;)
I blogged a tutorial that could interest all boys-mums...

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