In any family, regular meeting sessions are needed. With group discussions, family members can express feelings, make changes, formula plans and give supports. Even for pre-school children, they need to sit with others during the meeting. Small children will remember about regular meeting sessions and they can repeat this activity in their own family. In fact, teens are those who tend to balk at having regular meeting sessions. However, obstacles and objections will diminish slowly, as the whole family understands about benefits. This should be a good opportunity for children to practice talking and listening skills. Eventually, they will learn to resolve conflicts and negotiate. This should be a good platform for making family members become depended on one another. Any difficult issue can be broached in peaceful manner. Obviously, family meetings can also become a source of problem, when they are not managed properly. This could happen when children don’t understand about the purpose of regular meetings.
Before a meeting session, it is a good idea for any family member to make a list of potential problem that they have. Children should have the courage to express their opinions. No matter how ridiculous the problem may sound, parents shouldn’t ridicule children for that. They need to talk calmly and try to make children understand about the situation. When having regular meetings, it is important to ensure that things are predictable. As an example, regular meeting sessions should take place in the same place and time. It could be a weekly or bi-weekly session, as long as this activity happens regularly. A good time to have regular session is during the weekend or in the evening, when there are fewer activities. It is a good idea to state rules that should apply in the meeting sessions. Make sure that everyone will participate and each has a turn. Make sure that everyone can be positive and no one interrupts. During the meeting, make sure that teasing and any form of meanness are disallowed.
When starting a meeting session, we should do it with a positive tone. This should be an activity that’s considered as special. When talking to family members, we should consider the attention span of each individual. As an example, very young children have limited comprehension. However, you still need to talk to them and give them very basic information, relevant to the meeting. Children with attention deficit disorder may not be able to stay focused for long. During a meeting session, it is a good idea to have a moderator. Parents are the natural selections for moderators, but it is a good idea to ask children to become moderators as well. By becoming moderators, children can become more organized and they can learn to negotiate properly. As children become older, they will be able to manage meeting sessions more properly. During meeting sessions, it is a good idea to shut off any distraction. Mobile devices, television and computer can be very distracting, so you need to turn them off.