A Family Council is a meeting with your family to discuss things that have been going well and things that need addressing. There are several different forms of a family council from husband and wife councils to Mother son council to everyone in the family council. Most families already do these informally but intentionally having a family council can be a game changer. Seriously.

HOW TO HOLD A FAMILY COUNCIL

1. As you go throughout the week keep a list of all the the things you want to talk about, and write down things as they come to your mind.

2. Set a time and date that everyone involved in this meeting can commit to. In your first meeting you can talk about how often you want to hold these meetings and what time you want to have them.

3. Once the day of the meeting has arrived you can print off the list of topics that you want to go over. Try to keep your list short for the first meeting, to not overwhelm people.

4. Only bring up one hot button issue per meeting. It can be exhausting talking about sensitive topics.

5. Always end the meeting on a positive note. Come up with creative ideas! Give out small papers and write down one positive thing about someone else in the meeting and place it in a bowl. At the end of the meeting you can read through these notes.

There is so much information on this topic! Google family council or family meeting and you will find a bunch of discussion topics you can have with your family. Work to make these meetings regular. The more you have them the easier it gets.

WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE COUNCILS

It helps solve problems before they get bigger.

The great thing about having discussions about conflicts or disagreements in a family council is this can be a planned time when you are both calm and rational to talk about any difficulties you may be having. I have learned that family councils are the BEST time for my husband and I to solve our disagreements.

Holding family councils is a great way to asking for your children’s input on how they feel you are doing as a family and what way’s you could improve. This is where you can give your children an opportunity to voice their own opinions and learn how to problem solve and communicate effectively with others. Giving people choices and letting them have a say in the rules that are being enforced can have a major impact on how willing people will be to keep those rules. It makes things feel more like a team.

One on one councils could be used to discuss with your child what is going on in their life.

I have found that formally making time to meet with my husband and talk about things has drastically improved our marriage. So sit down and take some time to plan out a family council with you and your family. Councils are important, and life changing.