If you were on the show last night, we are SO SORRY! Technology is great until it isn’t. We will re-do this episode of MomTV and keep our fingers crossed that the technology will stay in tact! If you are looking for the replay, it is not on the MomTV site, stay tuned for next week.

If you are familiar with the program and would like to add this component to your Family Meetings, the information below will help. Otherwise, stay tuned and we will try again on, Monday, April 5 at 9 PM ET!

“That looks like a problem for you – why don’t you put that on the ‘Problems To Solve’ Board”

Won’t it be lovely when you can finally throw in your whistle and referee cap and get back to the job of real parenting?

Won’t it be refreshing to hear your kids as they begin to identify a problem in one sentence and then instead of throwing the blame around, they simply move their creative brains to solving it?

Won’t it be fabulous when you realize that your kids have moved from problem finders to problem solvers and that most times, what used to send them into a full blown temper tantrum, isn’t even on their radar any longer?

And how much more fun is parenting, when suddenly, with the help of weekly appreciations, equal distribution of the family chores and a venue for solving problems, that there just aren’t that many problems to solve any longer?

This is the power of Problem Solving, which is really what Family Meetings are all about. It’s not really the solving of the problem that’s important. It’s that there is now a venue where

• All problems are brought to the table, discussed in a respectful way, with a focus on solving the problem in a way that works for the entire family.
• Practice. Practice at identifying problems – no name, no blame, in one sentence and then moving to what’s important – a practical and respectful solution.
• Because agreements are being made at every turn, the family begins to feel like a cohesive unit that will take the time to invite every family member to participate in the structure of the family until.

Enjoy this final piece of the Family Meeting puzzle. Remember that it will take time. We are a blame culture so there is some serious retraining that will have to happen – for everyone in the family.

Vicki