Favorite Freebie: Daughter of the Week

Many of you who know me,

already know my tricks of the trade 

when it comes to home management.

 






One of those tricks is
Daughter of the Week.

it's easy
it's free
it works

This is the greatest invention since sliced bread.
You will solve most all of the worlds problems,
simply by

Daughter of the Week...
okay, Kid of the Week

(if you actually have sons...I don't, hence the "daughter" reference).
Feel free to coin whatever term you want and make it your own.

Initially we started Daughter of the Day,
however, Mommy couldn't keep track of what the rotation was.
This lead us to revise our plan to Daughter of the Week.
We decided as a group who to start with
(I think we chose the daughter who needed a boost in confidence that day and a few extra rewards)
then we rotated from there.
Easy. 1,2,3...if you didn't lose your privilege...
that was the order.

We began this fine tradition a million years ago,
when my darling daughters would argue
over who gets the bowl with the biggest ice cream scoop in it,
who gets to sit in which car seat on the way to the store,
who gets to pick the video before bedtime (yes, I said video, not DVD).
I did say a million years ago...

The girls would argue over every minute detail
at every juncture of the day (
at least it seemed that way to me).
With three daughters so very close in age I needed a remedy and fast.

My solution...
Daughter of the Week.

Here are the rules we try to follow...

1. This honor is a privilege earned not given.
Yes, being ugly to any member of your family
can get you demoted which is when your sister
get's DOW instead of you.
Oh, the nerve.

I think we've only relinquished it once due to loss of privilege...
that was all it took.

2. When in doubt,
DOW gets to make all final kid decisions
(video pick of the day,
first pick of the dessert being served,
which seat she wants to recline in the car...
and the clincher...
which chore she wants to do out of any three given...
see rule #3).

3. First Chore Chooser:
Hubs runs a tight ship around here
(pardon the pun, as he is a Naval Officer).
We like the house tidy,
while instilling a strong work ethic around here.
We believe in daily chores
(bed made each morning,
tidy up room before the end of the day, etc).
But one thing DOW gets to take full
advantage of are the daily kitchen duties.
We usually divide all household chores
into divisions of three,
for obvious reasons.

For example: dishwasher division:
top rack,
bottom rack
and finally silverware tray.

You will see DOW meander over and leisurely
pick which section of the dishwasher she will put away.
She knows she holds the power of first choice.
Of course she bases her decision on
which section has the least amount of dishes to actually put away.
This all done while my other two daughters
wait on bated breath to pick in succession
(as now we have a second Daughter of the week getting second pick,
and third Daughter of the week with the final pick).
And let me tell you, they know the order and keep track!

We do this same concept
with the duties surrounding dinner:

1. set table

2. clear table (after dinner),
stack dishes and wipe counters

3. load dishwasher
and wash pots/pans.

Can you guess which DOW chooses for the week?
You got it...set.
It is the coveted task,
the grand daddy and the ultimate "easy" chore.
This is another privilege of DOW.

Again, a win win.

Another perk of being DOW,
is getting in the coveted Mommy-Daddy
sandwich for our nightly TV time in bed.
This is something we call
BIG BED

This happens nightly, like clockwork.

our family down time before lights out
 This usually lasts at least one
 half-hour show

DOW gets to pick the show.
 
Oh, the joys of being DOW.

This way of creating house harmony works for us.
DOW has many privileges integrated into its conception.
Discover how this can work in your home, too.
It's a great way to stop unnecessary arguments
and who doesn't love to be Daughter of the Week...
Brookes Style.

Who's your daughter of the week?