Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Buddy System

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I got this idea from watching The Duggars on The Learning Channel. They are a homeschooling family with 16 children, and I figured if it works for them, then it will work for me. Plus, I know a good idea when I steal one!

Michelle Duggar, the mom, told how each child is assigned to a buddy. The buddy is responsible for helping with whatever the little one needs if mom is unavailable. Helping a buddy can include tying shoes, pouring milk, getting dressed, buckling seat belts, or whatever the little one needs at the time.

In our family, buddies hold hands in parking lots, help with getting dressed for church, and this post tells how the buddy system can even help with fire safety. For more Works For Me tips, go to Rocks in my Dryer.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you hear that the Duggars are expecting number 17? Isn't that great? :)

I haven't done so well at the Buddy system yet. I always have an older help a younger...but haven't permanently paired them. I think it might be better to pair them, so they always know what to expect, or what they need to do.

paulmerrill said...

We adults need those (buddy-like) friends too! Accountability & a safety net are great for us all.

Lady Why said...

I love the Duggars!! My blog post was about their laundry system. Aren't they just full of great ideas?? And, I didn't know they were expecting again! Delightful news!

Brandy Brow said...

The buddy system works great for us. Like you, we have six children ages 1-12. (Want to swap notes sometime?)

To make our buddy system work, we did pair them permanently, that way they know who their buddies are. We changed them a few times after realizing there was a better personality fit with different pairs and after we had our baby. Right now we have our 12 and 5 year old paired, 8 and 3 year old (both sets are boys), and the 10 and 1 year old girls.

The older buddies know that they have to help the younger buddies with their chores.

Funny you should post about the buddy system this morning, because I thought about posting part of our discipline system that was also derived from the Duggars.

Thanks for sharing, and I hope you'll stop by my blog sometime and identify yourself in a comment so I know who you are if you come. :)

Brandy of The Building Brows

Anonymous said...

My kiddos are still young, but we are starting this on a small scale. My 4 1/2 year old helps the almost 2 year old when we go on the road. She can buckle and unbuckle the car seat and hold her hand in a parking lot.I love this idea and I think it creates bonds and keeps mama from burning out.

Thanks for posting

Nikki said...

Great tip. I love the Duggars wonderful ideas! I'll have to figure out what my 5 year old can help my 18 month old with.

The Estrogen Files said...

A good idea. I use this systme but also hesitate to over use it. I want the older kids to learn responsibility for the younger ones, but I still want to be the mom. Seems like my oldest 2 (nearly 10 and 7) think that they are the mom a lot lately.

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