Spouse briefs: Fabulous Friday best day of week

For our little of family of seven there is something especially great about Fridays. Around our house it's not just called Friday but Fabulous Friday. It didn't start out that way but over time it has become an enduring weekly family tradition, born out of a sense of parental desperation.

At some point my husband talked me into to buying a game system for our family. While it was just him playing, things seemed fine. Then our kids got old enough to want to play also. With one wanting to play there was no problem, but as soon as there were two, then three additional players our house became a war zone. Nothing we could do short of banning them from video games kept the fighting with each other at bay. Finally, following an incident that left the television covered in milk, we made a parental decision that video games would only be played on Fridays. It was hard for them to accept but with that change the rest of the week became more peaceful.

I began to feel bad that they had such limited gaming time so we extending Friday bedtime to 10 p.m. as long as they went to bed at 8 p.m. the rest of the week. After these two changes I realized that Friday was becoming a valuable parenting tool. Having a special day of the week gave us all something to look forward to and a goal to work towards. Soon the boys were jumping at the bit to keep the house clean and follow rules to be ready for Friday. So I stacked the deck. On that one day, I allow the boys to have Pop Tarts for breakfast and Lunchables for lunch. Now they no longer hound me during the rest of the week for these things. Over time they have added other expectations to their Friday schedule like pizza for dinner and not having to take a shower.

The biggest difference that Fabulous Friday has made in our home is teaching our six-year-old son to understand delayed gratification. Due to a medical condition, he has a hard time waiting for the things he wants or having to accomplish something before receiving a reward. Providing a scheduled reward day that comes once a week has given him a platform to explore those social behaviors.

For us Fabulous Friday is still evolving and needs frequent tune-ups. The power of the day is best expressed by a conversation between my two oldest boys. Boy One "Are you going to have Fabulous Friday in your family when you are the dad?" Boy Two "Of course, after all it's the best day of the week!"

Rebecca Adling started life as an Air Force brat and is now enjoying life as a mother raising her own pile of adorable Air Force brats