Tag Archives: Family Meetings

Family Meeting or Group Therapy Session?

We always used family meetings to work out “stuff”—from planning a trip or vacation, to redistributing chores, to even talking through “issues” that were going on in the family. Sometimes, our family meetings were efficient and effect ways of staying in touch and getting things accomplished, other times they ended up more like group therapy sessions. I do not see anything wrong with family meetings ending up as group therapy sessions—as long as they are loving and functional meetings regardless. Where things go wrong is when one person gets “ganged up” on or when meetings are called for one purpose … Continue reading →

In Appreciation of Family Meetings

We don’t have family meetings very often any more. With the youngest member of our family being currently fourteen, it seems we have fewer and fewer group meetings since communication and interactions tend to be more on a one-to-one basis. But, when I look back over nearly two decades of family life and myriad changes, transitions and upheavals, I have to admit that the family meeting was a mainstay in helping us all to work things through. I started family meetings when the kids were quite small—preschool age, I’m certain. We only had a few rules—no name-calling, everyone gets to … Continue reading →

Single Parenting – Keeping the Family Together

Becoming a single parent family means changes, some easy and some more challenging. Now that there is just one parent in the household, you want to do everything possible to keep the family close and tight. You want to make sure your children feel comfortable talking to you about anything, that you know what is going on in their lives. Because a single parent home often comes with greater time management challenges, a little more work is required to keep the family together but you can. I remember when I went through my divorce. There were times when I thought … Continue reading →