Helper of the Day

In 2009, our Bishop challenged us to increase our prayer efforts, both individually and as a family. We took that challenge and wrapped our family theme for the year on that challenge. Our theme was "A Family that prays together, stays together". Our family scripture was Alma 37:37 – "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let they heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

In years past, the children have often fought over who got to say the prayers every day. When I had only a few children, it was easy to dub them as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with Jason and I covering morning and evening. As the family grew, so grew the volunteering and competition to pray. While this made us happy that our children desired to pray, the contention that existed was unbearable. And thus, the inspiration came to have a helper of the day…which would give ownership of one day a week to each child – when they could have the opportunity to help in the decision making, the execution of choices, and all of the prayers for that day. These assignments were respectfully delegated to each child, from their father (who is the patriarch of our home).

Helper of the Day (Currently)

Sunday – Lisa
Monday – Bryson
Tuesday – Megan
Wednesday – Kimberly
Thursday – Tyler
Friday – Emma
Saturday – Jason

When Eli is old enough to say a prayer, Jason will eventually shift to Sunday and Eli's day will be Saturday. That leaves me, the mother, without a day for myself. The reason for this is that I am usually always at home, so if there is ever anyone missing from home when the prayers need filling in for, guess who does that. And, I am the one who supervises and assists in every meal that is prepared and cooked…so eventually I may not need my own day, simply because I help every day! And this schedule is always subject to change as time goes by.

What the helper of the day does…

• Helps plan, prepare, serve, and clean up ALL meals of the day (this includes setting the table, clearing the table, and extra meal dishes)
  
• Empty the dishwasher
  
• Change the calendar
  
• Rotate a load of laundry (with my help, if this is needed)
  
• Restock anything from the basement that is needed: i.e. bread, toilet paper, paper towels, butter, jam, milk, etc
  
• In charge of all prayers for every meal and family prayer at night
  
• In charge of daily family scripture study: hands out scriptures to everyone
  
• Is the helper of the day; if there is anything that you need extra help on, you can call on them to do it
  

The rewards that have come from this system have been wonderful, namely no more fighting over prayers. Each of my children have been able to shadow me in the kitchen until they are ready to take on a recipe by themselves. Some day, when they leave my home, they will be armed with cooking skills. Another plus is that since they are the one who picks what we are eating, it takes the pressure off of me in making the meal decisions. Maybe one day, Bryson won't like what Megan wants to fix…and the next, Megan won't like what Bryson is fixing. They learn how to be selfless and conform to what is being fixed. It's actually quite functional and happy! And another benefit is that the children know that there is only one day a week that they have to give a little bit of extra effort around the house, and the rest of the week it is someone else's turn to be at mom and dad's beckon-call.