WFMW -- Kid of the Day

I am participating in We are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday today!

Around here we have Kid of the Day. With four kids sometimes decisions are hard to make -- McDonald's or Wendy's? Which bag of chips do you want to open? Whose turn is it to sit in the front seat? You know, the list goes on and on so we have developed "Kid of the Day". We've used it for years. On a markerboard in the kitchen we have all the kids' names listed. (Next to their names are their bedtimes. . .that can periodically change and we also use these these names for our disciplinary system in the house too as well as important phone numbers.) The kids whose name is circled at the bottom is kid of the day.

Here are some tricks to the game: Kid of the Day does get to make all tie-breaking decisions (which movie to watch -- T&M want this one, M&F want this one), they get to bring the mail in, they get first seating choice at the dinner table, etc. But also, they "get" to be the one to run upstairs to make sure all the lights are off in the morning. They have to set the table. We only have three bar stools. . .so if you're kid of the day you have to sit at the table. When we got a new chair in the living room last year that was up for debate. . .so only kid of the day could sit it in. Hey! You do what you have to do to keep the peace! The grandparents are all "on" to this game and they employ it when the kids are at their houses too. . .who is kid of the day today, tomorrow, etc.

Because we have used this system for so long, my kids 100% accept it. They have been known to race to the board to see who is kid of the day if a question/debate/job comes up. My youngest is the "police officer" of the board. . .if I forget to change it in the morning, watch out!!! He's ON it :)

Seating in the van became an issue last year. Who sits where??? As it turns out, every kid is kid of the day one Monday a month so on Mondays kid of the day chooses all the assigned seating for the week. Everyone knows they will be kid of the day one week out of the month so again, it teaches them patience and (for my logic-minded ones) strategy. So. . .give it a try if you're so inclined. . .it works for us! For more great ideas this week, hop on over here.