Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/139497
All about teamwork It's a weekday afternoon at the Bunker household – a rare moment of quiet just before the steady stream of kids begins to shuffle in from school. The living room is immaculate. Molly is quietly playing a computer game on her mom's lap on the couch. Nola is sleeping upstairs. And 2-yearold Lucy is toddling in from her room clad in a diaper and clutching a stuffed puppy. Twenty-two-year-old Heidi, who is pregnant with her first child and lives in the home with her husband Gene, is in the kitchen unloading groceries. Darren, an engineer who is currently looking for a job, just left for the first of several trips to pick up kids at school and after school activities. And Kerri is chatting with a visitor, answering that question she gets all the time: "How do you do it?" "I actually think people with two or three children have it harder than I do. They have to do all the laundry and dishes and diapers and everyone depends on them," says sharply-dressed, seemingly unflappable Kerri. "My big kids are a ton of help." Posted on the wall in each room is a laminated chore list with a child's name on it. Hans, 14, is in charge of laundry (which can amount to three loads per day). Martin, 16, is in charge of the kitchen, where the dishwasher never stops running. Savannah, 9, assures that the entryway, stairs and landing are clean. Allowance is based on age (35 cents per 14 The Bunker family poses with Dr. Steven Grover after the birth of Nola Sadie on 12/12/12. year until you turn 8 and then 70 cents thereafter) so by age 10, the kids are earning $7 every time they complete their chore list, which they can stow away in their college account. Once the kids are old enough to use a stove safely, they learn to cook for 14, taking turns preparing the family dinner. Kerri uses a commercial breast pump to keep the refrigerator stocked with milk for Nola for times when she's away from the house for work, or busy with the other children. And in the living room is a frequently-used diaper changing station. "If there is a messy diaper, or she needs a bottle, the kids just take care of it," she says.