What Do You Talk About in Family Meetings?

I recently shared my thoughts on the importance of family meetings. They're not just about managing routines and household admin; they're a chance for everyone to understand each other better. In these meetings, we often talk about what went well last month and consider how we can improve as a family.

Of course, there are times when tempers flare, and discussions turn into arguments. When that happens, we take a ten-minute break for everyone to cool down. It's part of understanding that democracy in a family setting can be challenging. Both sides can have valid points, and reaching an agreement can be difficult.

During our meetings, we also talk about our family values. This idea came from a suggestion by our school, which emphasized the importance of having principles a family lives by and doesn't compromise on. Most families already have it unconsciously, its not formalised. Sometimes when children go through teenage years and break the family values deliberately or not, that's when the family values become more obvious.

What are our family values? Individually, we practice stoicism to some degree so seems obvious to take the stoicism principles to be part of our family values. Temperance, Courage, Wisdom and Justice. We added Communication to our values because we believe that without good communication, the other principles are useless.

Good communication is crucial because many arguments and misunderstandings stem from poor communication and we see this at a global level. Whether it's saying one thing and meaning another or simply not hearing each other correctly, these miscommunications can lead to frustration.

What to do when things get hectic? It's easy to want to skip meetings when plans are up in the air or arguments arise.

Its ok to not talk about some things if some people are not ready yet. Meet once a month, just to talk about one thing is enough. Its about establishing a rhythm. This is your bass/base.

Our agenda (in music term I guess this is the chord?) is fluid and changes most months. We discuss family goals, personal goals, budget, food, a short 5 minute teaching about investment. The vocals are what we actually talk about in these topics.

Give family meeting a try, at least three sessions. It has been incredibly useful to keep our family harmonious and on the same page.