Our Annual Family Meeting: The Tradition That Changed Everything

Sharing it all. Our kids' chores. Allowances. Screentime rules. Bedtimes. And more! Plus templates for hosting your own Family Meeting before school starts.

You know that feeling at the end of summer when reality starts creeping in? School supply lists are haunting your inbox, everyone's sleep schedule is completely destroyed, and you're pretty sure your kids have forgotten how to function without a device in their hands. Three years ago, that's exactly where I was when I decided we needed our first Annual Family Meeting. I made a Canva invitation, stocked up on bribery snacks, and figured if I was going to get everyone in a room to tackle the chaos, I might as well make it official.

So here I am, a few years after our first official "Family Meeting," and I'm here to tell you: this might be the most important tradition we've stumbled into.

The evolution of our family meetings

Three years ago, our first family meeting was basically me desperately trying to get everyone on the same page about chores and bedtimes. I made cute invitations to text to everyone and brought snacks because I was still operating under the assumption that I needed to make everything fun for them to participate.

Now? They ask ME when our next meeting is. They come prepared with their own agenda items. This year's August meeting felt different. More collaborative. Less me-talking-at-them and more us-figuring-it-out-together.

The beautiful thing about having a 14-year-old and 10-year-old twins is that they can now contribute real solutions to real problems. They see the bigger picture now — how one person's schedule affects everyone else's, how small changes can make big differences, how taking care of our home means taking care of each other. These aren't just chores anymore. They're taking ownership of our family's wellbeing.

Everything we covered

• Personal goals this school year

• Chores and allowances

• Screen time and bedtimes

• School and extra-curricular logistics

• Dinner planning

Here’s how we do it all…