Looking for things to teach at your next family meeting? Here is a list of 101 family meeting topics that you can put on the agenda. (Free Printable Included!)
One of our biggest jobs as parents is to teach our kids.
But finding the time to teach them all the things we want them to learn? That can be difficult.
Of course, our kids are learning from us during daily life. But wouldn’t it be nice to have dedicated time each week to talk about the important things in a little more detail?
That’s where weekly family meetings come in.
Family meetings are a powerful way to get the whole family on the same page – with schedules, budgets, goals, values, and more. And they can be an excellent way for your family to grow closer together.
You might already be thinking of things you’d like to discuss with your kids. Or you might be racking your brain trying to think of what you’d even talk about.
Don’t worry. Either way, I’ve got you covered.
Scroll down to find a huge list of family meeting topics to pick from. You can customize from there!
But before you do, I want your meetings to be as effective and fun as possible. So here are some tips to get you started.
4 Tips For Holding A Family Meeting With Kids
The most important thing to remember for your family meetings is to keep them brief! You want to take advantage of this time, so keep wiggly bodies and short attention spans in mind. Here are a few other ways to run effective meetings:
- Establish ground rules. A family meeting should be a safe space where everyone can learn, share and feel included. With your kids, come up with a short list of rules (no interrupting, etc.).
- Prepare an agenda. Whether you plan on leading the meeting or share that responsibility with one of your kids, decide beforehand what will be discussed. This also helps keep the family meeting brief and on topic.
- Include your kids. Involving your kids will keep them engaged and invested in your meetings. They can take turns leading the meeting, teaching a lesson, or participating in other ways.
- End with a fun activity. Give your kids something to look forward to at the end of each meeting, such as a treat, game, or other simple activity.
For detailed information on exactly how to prepare a simple agenda and run effective meetings head to this post: How To Hold Successful Family Meetings (In Just 3 Steps!)
A meeting with kids might sound impossible at first. But with the right tools (or snacks), you can hold family meetings with even your youngest kids. And who knows, your whole family might even grow to love them!
THE ULTIMATE LIST OF FAMILY MEETING TOPICS
Here are 101 topics to choose from when planning your next family meeting. For a printable list (along with simple agenda templates), be sure to grab the free Family Meetings Kit so you can have all the tools you need right at your fingertips!
To make it easy to find exactly what topics will help your family most, they are broken into sections:
- Helping Kids Learn Positive Behaviors And Good Manners
- Discussing Family Values And Morals
- Teaching Kids Important Life Skills
- Helping Kids Understand How To Stay Safe
- Teaching Kids About Personal Growth
- Coming Up With Family Plans
Helping Kids Learn Positive Behaviors And Good Manners
- How to act at the table
- When to use loud and quiet voices
- How to greet people
- How to be respectful when someone else is talking
- How to be assertive (eye contact, etc.)
- What behaviors are appropriate? (address whining, rough behavior, etc.)
- What’s the difference between tattling and asking for help?
- How to start a conversation with someone
- How to stand up for someone at school
- How to use mindfulness activities to calm down
- How to have a good, not bad attitude (optimism, doing things we don’t want to do, etc.)
- What is lying?
- How to handle fights with siblings
- How to apologize
- How to accept an apology
Discussing Family Values And Morals
- What to do if you hear bad things at school
- How to stand up to peer pressure
- What to do if people are being mean to someone
- How to be a good friend
- How to include people
- What is integrity? (Honesty when no one is looking)
- What is true confidence?
- What to do if you see bad pictures online
- How can you still be friendly to people you don’t want to be friends with?
- Why are marriage and family important?
- How to pray
- What is forgiveness and why is it important?
- How to treat boys or girls
- How to treat people who think differently than you
- How to treat people who look different than you
- Why you shouldn’t keep secrets
- How can we show our bodies respect?
- What is good language?
- How to encourage someone
- How to find the good in hard situations
Teaching Kids Important Life Skills
- Introduce new routines
- How to clean your room
- How to clean up the toys
- What is healthy food and why do we need it?
- How to do any other chores your family’s been struggling with lately
- What does it mean to be healthy?
- How to clean a bathroom
- How to have good hygiene
- How affirmations can create a positive mindset
- What are good daily habits?
- How to budget money
- How to try something new or scary
- Why is money important? How can we be smart with it?
- How to make reading a habit
- Why are grooming, good dress, and hygiene important?
- How to come up with tricks for remembering things
- Have a cooking lesson!
- How to set the table
Helping Kids Understand How To Stay Safe
- What to do if people are being mean to you
- How to choose good movies, music, books, and other media
- What adults are safe
- How to cross the street
- How to be safe around water
- How to be safe on a bike
- How to stand up for yourself
- What to do if you get lost
- How to respond to strangers
- How to disagree respectfully
- What to do if adults make you feel uncomfortable
- What to do if peers make you feel uncomfortable
- How to stay safe on media
- What is appropriate affection and touching
- Go over a family emergency plan
- Learn basic first aid
Teaching Kids About Personal Growth
- How to write in your journal and why you should
- What makes you special?
- Why are people the same? What makes them different? And why is that good?
- Set personal goals
- What are things that help us relax or calm down?
- How to practice positive thinking
- What should you look for in a friend?
- Why is it important to be creative? What is your favorite way?
- What is gratitude? How can we get better at it?
- What are small, daily ways to serve and be kind?
- Why is service important and how can we serve?
- Why is it important to try hard in school? And how can you do that?
- Discuss inspirational people who overcame difficulties
- Ask kids about problems they’re experiencing at school, then discuss how you can help
Coming Up With Family Plans
- Set family goals
- Make a plan for family time
- Plan a trip
- Set savings goals to buy something for the family
- What makes a happy family? What are we doing well? How can we improve?
- What makes good communication in the family?
- Introduce new family rules
- Talk about family rules that need work
- Brainstorm favorite dinners
- Family activity ideas
- Plan one-on-one dates with parents
- Home project plans
- Holiday plans
- Plan a service activity
- Plan this week’s family activity
- Brainstorm ways to help someone in the family with a particular goal or struggle
- Plan a holiday activity
- Let someone teach the family how to do one of their favorite hobbies
If any of these topics require an activity (like practicing a chore or cooking), make sure to hold the lesson portion of the meeting last.
Using These Topics At Your Next Family Meeting
To make it easier to plan your meeting agenda and get your kids involved, make sure to grab the Family Meetings Kit!
And for even more tips on running your next family meeting, be sure to head to this post:
- How To Hold Successful Family Meetings (In Just 3 Steps!)
What family meeting topics would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!
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