Last night after dinner we had the usual "Who's going to clean up" question. [We used to have a rotating schedule but we've temporarily deviated from it]
7 year old Elizabeth suggested she be in charge.
"Great!" said her 11 yr old brother, "that means YOU have to be at the sink."
"Not so, " said her father, "the person in charge gets to delegate. That means she gets to decide who does what."
At first we were met with looks of fear. Elizabeth having that kind of power over us?!
She looked at her oldest sister and said, "You go away. You have college (homework)." Then she asked her 15 yr old brother if he had homework to do. When he said yes she freed him as well. Then she told her 11 yr old brother to do the dishes and her 9 yr old brother to help with the table and sweep the floor."
She seemed very excited so my husband pointed out, "Remember. You get to delegate. But you are the one ultimately responsible for making sure everything is completed correctly and need to stick around until everyone is done."
Well, it worked out great. Everyone did their chores without complaining....wondering aloud when they get to be in charge. And Elizabeth was seen smiling, making one final sweep with a dishcloth before she was the last one out of the room. I might have implement this system. Nice to have someone else do the topside review :)
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