Change: Can't Live with It. Life is Full of It.
Ideas for Creating a Change Friendly Family
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Family Fun Meetings
They say the only constant in the world is change. Change is difficult for even the most flexible. Parenting is perhaps the one job where change is an inevitable conclusion for which none can be prepared. The emotions watching a child go from infant to toddler to child to teen can be overwhelming. Just when you think you got it all figured out and the routines set in place to handle the age they are, they grow and everything changes! Being prepared ahead of time for the physical changes can help ease (or at least give you a bit of extra time to process) the emotions of happiness, sorrow, joy, and longing that happen as we watch the children grow. Use these ideas to help ease into the changes and allow for new systems of change, becoming more mindful of the moments along the way as we witness the ever evolving, ever amazing changes in our children and families. ------------ Family Fun Meetings Have you ever tried to talk to your kids about behavior issues or schedule changes while they were watching TV or rough housing in the family room? How did it go? Make family meetings a time of fun with a pizza night, game night, or buy surprise gifts for each other for no reason at all. (Phones and screens off!) Then when you have everyone together, talk about the issues you want to discuss and ask for everyone’s input before dolling out new rules or changes. Family Fun Meetings help infuse a supportive family dynamic while giving you a captive audience for the topics you wish to discuss at the time they need to be heard! Some ideas for Family Fun Topics: - Talk about creating new organizational systems (like the kids are old enough to make their own lunches or is it time for an allowance raise because of good behavior) or even tougher issues like work schedule changes of the parents. - Celebrate milestones with the kids like graduations, awards, or private milestones like walking, talking, first dates or last days home before college . - Create family awards like high schools “Most Likely to..” Let the children nominate who gets the award and what the awards are! (Most funny? Most loving? Most helpful this month?) When children are informed and involved in making decisions they feel as though they are part of the family group. They feel ownership of the relationships and the house, and are more willing to pull their own weight. When children are respected (age appropriately) they are more willing to give respect back. Democracy goes a long way in making children know their voices are heard and validated within the family setting and a family fun meeting is a great place to make that happen! For more ideas on how to create new routines, systems, and create a way of life that goes with the flow of changes instead of being blindsided by them, check back for more ideas to come in future editions of: Change: Can’t Live With it. Life is Full of It. - Ideas for Creating a Change Friendly Family! - Jeannine Proulx |
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Jeannine Proulx is a Life Coach, Author, Reiki Master, Singer/Songwriter, Founder of MindfulnessMothers.com, and supporter of Mindfulness Mothers everywhere!
She loves being Aunt Jeannine to her nieces and nephews as well as Miss Jeannine to the children she teaches, cares for and entertains with The Melodies, Heart Centered Stories, and more. Jeannine spends a great deal of her time making crafts and toy shopping for the kids in her life and plays a mean game of peek-a-boo! You can find her online at www.jeannineproulx.com and www.melodies4kids.com |