Idea Box

We hold our family council every week during Family Night. Sometimes it’s long and the kids get to bed late but I accept that for now.

Our Idea Box comes from factories in Japan, where anyone is allowed to submit ideas. From the lowliest worker to the CEO.

But it’s important that only IDEAS go into the box. Not problems or complaints. This way the disatisfied person uses THEIR time to come up with a solution and brings it to the family.

During council time, the person in charge (rotates every week) first reads the ideas we were trying the previous week. We check in about how they are going. Should they go back in the envelope for another week of trying? Have they been incorporated into the fabric of our lives? Or should they be thrown out?

Then the person reads new ideas from the box. They are in charge of keeping the discussion on topic and moving forward. They call for votes or they call for dissenting opinions. If the family members want to change or compromise the original idea, the moderator writes on the note and files it in the envelope.

We agree to try almost anything for a week. We seek for unanimity, but definitely for parental unanimity if all kids are not on board. We look for compromises and solutions that will work for everyone. (If someone’s not on board with the solution, that person’s life needs to be examined and work together to relieve their burdens.)

It helps to do Shoutouts before Idea Box, to get everyone in a positive mood.

Family Home Evening Schedule

Opening Prayer
Shoutouts
Opening Song
Idea Box
Lesson
Question Practice
Activity
Closing Prayer