How to Hold a Family Counseling Meeting
Family counseling or family counsel meetings should be held to help instill a sense of structure and organization for children. Family counseling meetings can help you and your family resolve issues of the family in a controlled and organized way. They can also be used to help make major family decisions and strengthen the bond between members of your family. No matter what your reasoning is for holding a family meeting, there are certain specifications that you should meet to maintain order and keep the situation as light as possible.
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Instructions
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Maintain order in the meeting by having the adults speak first. This will set the stage for what the meeting is going to be about. State clearly what you are going to be talking about and in what order things will be spoken about. Make sure the group knows that only one person is permitted to speak at a time to prevent confusion and agitation.
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Prohibit arguing in the meeting by snuffing it out before it begins. If you see a disagreement begin to develop, do what you can to resolve it right away.
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Discuss all the materials that you wanted to discuss. If you are there to discuss certain misbehavior by one of the children, do this concisely. Do not beat around the bush, as this can aggravate the children, making them more difficult to speak to about it.
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Allow the children a chance to talk. If you are raising allegations against them, give the children a chance to explain themselves or provide reasoning for their actions. Make sure the meeting does not turn into a lecture by promoting the children's ability to speak and be heard.
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Close the meeting on a positive note. Perhaps end it with ordering pizza or going out for a snack. This will help the children associate the family meetings with positive things rather than boring or disciplinary things. If discipline is necessary, still try to do what you can to make the end of the meeting positive. Be lenient if you can or allow the child a chance to apologize in exchange for a lighter sentence. However, to ensure the apology is heartfelt, do not tell the child beforehand that there will be a lighter sentence.
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References
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