With today's busy world where parents are always going one way and the kids are always involved with something else, it's not surprising there isn't much time for family togetherness.



Another possible problem is that your kitchen isn't set up for family meetings. What kind of kitchen furniture do you have? Many people use breakfast bars or small bistro tables. But, these are not spacious enough for family meetings. You need good old-fashioned wood kitchen tables.

Something about wood kitchen tables lets everyone know that business is to be conducted here, but also that there is no pretense to the situation. Wood kitchen tables have an air of no-nonsense, and feel like a place where accomplishments are being made.

These aspects make wood kitchen tables the perfect place to hold a family meeting.

When you decide it's time for a family meeting, you need to give the whole family time to get to it. If you are going to talk about what is going on in everyone's life, you don't want them to come to the table frazzled because you pulled them out of the middle of something they were doing. Select a specific time for the meeting, and let everyone know well in advance so it can be added to their calendar.

Next, make the family meeting environment an inviting one. It's time to have those wood kitchen tables do more than just be objects to sit around. Instead, set the wood kitchen tables with snacks and drinks so everyone feels like there's a little something to enjoy when they get to the table.

Don't be late. When you tell the kids what time they are supposed to be meeting around the wood kitchen tables, you need to set the example. Be the first one there and be ready to talk as soon as the first of the children arrive. Patience is short for most children, so as soon as the first child takes a seat at the wood kitchen tables, make sure to engage him or her in conversation so they don't get bored and want to scoot away from the table.

Once the whole family has been assembled around the wood kitchen tables, it's time to get down to business. A parent should moderate the meeting and move around the table asking everyone what is going on in their life.

You should also set ground rules for the conversation; such as there are no critical comments and that everyone should be supportive of one another.

If you have children that don't answer the 'what's happening in your life" question well, you can try more pointed questions such as 'what's a great thing that happened this week?', 'what do you want to accomplish in the week to come?' or 'was there anything that got on your nerves this week?'

As the parent, you should listen to your child's feelings and discuss anything that you think needs further scrutiny.

Once the meeting is done, set a time for the next one, clean up the wood kitchen tables and appreciate those moments of family togetherness.