Kid of the Day

I don't know if your kids ever do this, but mine find ways to argue about things! I mean they INVENT things to squabble over, things that have not one little ounce of worth outside of their current tantrum. Things like he stepped on my little pinkie toe with his pinkie toe or he breathed in my space - "I tell you that was MY air he breathed in!" (OK, maybe it is not THAT bad but sometimes it feels like it!) Anyway, one system that we came up with to curb a little of that sibling rioting is Kid of the Day (KOTD)!

I have 4 kids so the oldest 3 kids get two days a week and the 2 yo gets Wednesdays (until she is old enough to scream mutiny!) The KOTD has a lot of privileges, they get to pick the TV show they watch that day (they are only allowed 30 minutes of TV and 30 minutes of computer - but that is for a post entitled The MEAN MOM!) and they are able to pick the Odyssey's that they listen to before bed. They also get to tag along with me or Dad if we are running errands or have somewhere to go. This cuts down on a lot of those '"it's my turn/she picked last time" kinds of disagreements. However, KOTD also has responsibilities, they are my go to man for the day. The child that I call when something little needs to be done or helped with.

It has also helped me to implement kitchen time. KOTD is automatically my helper in the kitchen for the day. I had been trying to figure out a way to get them in the kitchen with me one at a time to be able to teach them braising, burning, sauteing, folding, timing and other culinary arts so that when they are older they know their way around the kitchen. Using the KOTD system I always know who my helper will be and they all get a fair amount of time learning in the kitchen.

Anyway, that is my wordy explanation of KOTD. My kids love it when it is their day and they get to rule the universe choices! That works for us!