One family may meet after dinner one night a week while another family may choose a Sunday morning. Once the time is selected, make the meeting an important, regular event. Don t let outside activities interfere with the meeting. Choose a place. Every member should be comfortable and able to see all the others.
Most families meet at the kitchen or dinner table.
Allow enough time at each meeting so members won t feel hurried. The time may vary from family to family and from one meeting to the next depending on what is being discussed. When young children are involved, it is important to remember their attention span is shorter than that of adults. There is no set agenda or list of items to deal with that every family follows. The agenda might include items like upcoming family events or planning activities, problems that need to be discussed and solved, ideas about something the family plans to purchase, or even idea-sharing about next week s menu.