Family life is extremely busy these days, and it pays dividends to have a regular time in which all family members sit together and have a family meeting.

This might sound rather onerous and put a lot of parents off, though it doesn’t have to be!

Family meetings can be introduced into the family routine positively; for instance, you could start by discussing plans for Christmas or holidays.

Meetings can be fun; they allow all family voices to be heard and help to foresee any problems which may arise during busy and high-risk family times. Family meetings can also be used to explore and resolve an issue when family life isn’t going as smoothly as you would like.

When thinking about having a family meeting, here are some suggestions:

- Family meetings should include everyone.

- They should have a time limit (no longer than 15 minutes, especially for younger children).

- An agenda (of sorts) should be agreed upon.

- Interruptions should be minimised, with phones, tablets and TVs switched off.

- Everyone should be given the opportunity to have their say.

- After the meeting do something nice together, such as going to the park, watching a film or doing some baking.

Assign different jobs such as timekeeper or note writer. Have a ‘talking stick’ (which the children can design in advance) which is held by the person who is speaking.

If during a meeting a family member is disruptive, give them the opportunity to contribute positively. If the behaviour continues, stop the meeting, deal with the behaviour away from the meeting, and reschedule the meeting, otherwise continue the meeting without them.

See www.parentandbabycoach.co.uk