Whose Turn Is It?

"Did anyone feed the dog?"
 "The table should be set for dinner."  
"Who has time to hang the cloth napkins to dry?"

Managing the day-to-day household responsibilities can be a chore.   How to divvy it all up?

When I was a classroom teacher, we assigned jobs by the day: Line Leader, Paper Passer, Attendance... Whenever a need arose, the designated kiddo popped up to help.

Though older kids are less likely to "pop up!" at home, assigning responsibilities by the day has proven effective in our family.  My son has Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  My daughter is responsible Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Hubby takes Sunday.

The dog is scratching her bowl.  Whose day is it?
Time for dinner, but the table hasn't been set.  Whose day is it? 
A load of cloth napkins is ready to be hung to dry.  Whose day is it? 

This system is also helpful because it teaches a variety of skills.  When the designated family member is unavailable, I might get a volunteer chirping, "It's not my day, but...I'll feed the dog."

Don't call them chores.  Call them responsibilities.  

Responsibility.  A comic thriller by Nigel Cox.