The REAL Family Meeting

How often does your family sit down to regularly scheduled meetings? Do you discuss chores, outings, arguments, and respective points of view? If your family is anything like mine, you couldn't even arrange a meeting without groans and conflicts. Our hosts, Jeanne Holmes and Susan Beekman, understand the problems associated with families in the real world, and have chosen to present a "real" family meeting, not a staged and scripted one. The first part of The REAL Family Meeting presents just that: an actual Holmes family meeting, complete with wiggly, impatient and (sometimes) sulky kids. The second part analyses the meeting, exploring topics such as ground rules, potential pitfalls, and handling teens. The candid portrait of a genuine family was refreshing; however, it would have been helpful to have a model meeting as well for contrast. Too, I'm not sure how generally applicable the specific problems of the Holmes family are, and the ideas presented as solutions could have been condensed into pithier points. Recommended, with reservations, for libraries with larger parenting collections. Aud: P. (E. Druda)