Family home evening and family council are designed to help you bring more focus in your family life. At times it may feel like you are just going through the motions to meet each week as a family with family home evening or that your family council meetings are not as effective as you would like them to be. It is important to make the most of the time that you have together as a family. If you feel that your family home evenings are not effective ask yourself these five questions, and you will likely find yourself back on track.
First ask yourself what you want these meetings to accomplish? Are your family home evenings primarily focused on teaching gospel principles to your family or are they more focused on creating fun family togetherness time? Do you want one to be the greater focus or do you want a combination of the two? Once you have a sense of purpose it is easier to plan more effective family nights.
What is the biggest obstacle to having a successful family night for your family? Is it in the planning, the execution or actual just having a family home evening at all? Once you recognize the biggest problem you can work to address it. If the planning is difficult for you, turn to resource manuals that provide the lessons, handouts and games for you to complete. If the execution is the problem, be sure that you are meeting the needs of your children—don’t expect little children to sit still for a long time. Additionally be prepared to answer teenagers question. Listening to the interests and needs of your family will make it much easier.
What is the best part of the night for your family? Or what is the best family home evening lesson you’ve had from the last six months? Looking at the positive experiences and figuring out what went well can help you plan better meetings in the future. For example our family home evening lessons go better when we spend the first fifteen minutes focused on singing songs, both spiritual and fun.
Are there particular family members who seem to consistently cause problems when it comes to family home evening? Teenagers or your spouse may protest family home evening or may only be participating because they are forced. Their attitudes may make the meetings less effective. Through prayer and discussion you should find a solution that fits your family in the right way.
Finally ask yourself if you are seeing the benefits of family home evening? Hopefully the answer will be yes. It may be evident in the fact that your young children are more reverent at church or are more willing to pray at night. It may be that the children go to bed easier on family night. Any positives can give you the strength you need to continue trying.
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Effective Family Home Evenings
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Tips to Help You Use for General Conference Talks for Family Home Evening