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Jane Nelsen on Family Meetings

Family meetings are an innovative way to gather purposefully to problem solve. Jane Nelsen, author of positive discipline gives parents support for establishing a family meeting routine! In my home we use family meetings. In my classroom we use them also. Meetings with groups of children can help establish boundaries and eliminate problem behaviors without punishment. Here is Dr. Nelson's agenda for the first meeting:
"Week One: The Agenda
Introduce the five components of family meetings. Let your family know you will be spending as many weeks as it takes to learn each component.
  1. The Agenda
  2. Compliments
  3. Brainstorming for Solutions
  4. A family fun activity such as a game, cooking, or popcorn and a movie.
  5. Calendar for family fun event
The first week you can spend more time on the Agenda. Let your kids know this is where they can write problems. (Younger children can ask parents to write on the agenda for them.) Ask if anyone can think of any problems they would like help with. If they can't think of anything you could say, "What about ____________ (whatever problem you have noticed during the day between or with the kids). You could then say, "I would like to add burping." Let them know that the agenda will be put on the fridge and anyone can add anything they want during the week. You won't try to solve any of the problems until after the kids learn about brainstorming. Let your kids know that next week, they'll learn about compliments so they might want to be thinking of what they appreciate about everyone in the family so they'll be ready.
Then put the agenda on the fridge and end the meeting.
During the week, when you notice the kids having a problem you might say, "That sounds like a good one to add to the agenda." Don't insist. Just notice if they do or not. If you see kids fighting you might say, "Would one of you like to put this on the agenda?" They may or they may not. You are just making a suggestion that increases awareness of the agenda. When you have a problem, such as kids not picking up their toys, you could say, "This is a problem. Would you like to put it on the agenda, or should I?" If they don't, you can."
(http://www.positivediscipline.com/newsletters/family-meetings.html)

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