Have a Family Powwow for Better Health (click board image to view/print free instructions)
About the Family Powwow and Board
At work, I help empower clients to achieve their collective goals using a methodology called Agile. We use clear-cut rules/documentation and hold daily, interactive team meetings to track our progress.
Families, like businesses, can be slow to change. Family wellness should also focus on basic fundamentals for success. So, how can you become more Agile at home to help keep your family healthy?
Establish simple family rules, prioritize healthy activities, meet daily, track your progress, and remove obstacles. Here are some tips;
Establish rules like buying and preparing foods high in fiber/protein, low in saturated fat/cholesterol, and low in carbohydrates (sugar). Use low-calorie condiments, salt-free spices, and zero-calorie sweeteners to enhance your meals and drinks. Exercise three days a week.
Track your progress. Create a grocery list with items that follow the rules. Create a schedule using a white foam board. Draw columns for Monday through Sunday. Draw a horizontal line at the bottom called "done." Lastly, draw a column at the end of the board for issues. The family builds the board together. Use one yellow “sticky” to label each meal and activity.
Healthy activities get top priority. Post stickies within each daily column in priority order. Plan to begin watching TV only after eating a healthy meal, exercising, homework, etc.
Have a daily family powwow. At the dinner table, each family member should answer three questions: What did I do today, what are my plans for tomorrow, are there any new issues to resolve? Parents, keep the family focused. After everyone answers the questions, move healthy meals, snacks, exercise, homework, chores, etc. to "done" only if completed as a family. Everyone takes turns moving the stickies. Mom and dad set the priorities and remove daily barriers to success for kids. Resolve unhealthy activities together. An activity like “healthly snack” is moved to “done” only as a family. If dad says, "I ate a bag of potato chips after work (not a healthy snack)." Put "dad ate potato chips" on a sticky and post under issues. Resolve new issues together. Maybe potato chips were the only snack in the house? Move the issue to “done” by adjusting your grocery list to include more healthful snacks.
Establishing diet/exercise rules, healthy grocery list, schedule, and daily powwow puts your family on the right wellness path.
Why begin a daily Powwow for your family?
The board is an invitation to a conversation. No tool is more powerful than a family working together (collaborating) to motivate each other and solve common problems. It is designed to be low-tech, simple, and very inexpensive (so any family can afford this tool for better health). You create the board together. It is a fun family activity.
Steps and Tips for Building Your Board
Click on the Powwow Board image and download or print the detailed steps for building your own Family Powwow Board.