Fourteen kids. Four sets of multiples. One house. Most parents struggle to get two children out the door on time, so when fans watched Deon and Karen Derrico run a 16-person household on Doubling Down With the Derricos, they did not just watch for the chaos. They took notes, and years later fans still trade the family’s parenting moves in group threads like recipes. Here are the five moves fans steal most.
1. Birth Order: Line Them Up and Count Them
The Derricos’ most famous trick is also their simplest: when the family left the house, the kids lined up in birth order and checked in as they climbed into the van. Karen likened it to a school lineup. Deon’s reason was safety, not tidiness: in an emergency, every child could be accounted for fast. Fans with smaller families say this is the move they copied first.
2. Everyone Works: No Spectators in the Kitchen
Deon is the family cook, and he turned the kitchen into a classroom. His Thanksgiving posts became fan favorites because the boys lined up beside him, sleeves rolled, learning to clean and prep the collard greens. “I’m teaching my boys the importance in being a part of cleaning and getting ready for the Holidays,” he captioned one beloved post, and the comments flooded with praise. Fans loved two things: nobody watched while somebody else worked, and Deon never gendered the chores. Boys cooked. Boys cleaned.
3. Same Bedtime, No Negotiations
Ask Derrico fans to name the rule they could never pull off, and this is usually it: every child went to bed at the same time, every night, no negotiations, with the house quiet by around 8:30 or 9 p.m. Fans who tried it say the payoff is real, because kids who know what comes next stop fighting the routine.
4. Debate, Don’t Argue: Talk It Out in Order
Here is the move that surprises new fans most. The Derricos did not allow shouting matches, but they did allow debates. Deon explained the system in interviews: the kids did not have to agree, but they had to respect a proper order of understanding, listening, and explaining, and when an argument broke out, the parents asked one question: who broke down the communication? It is a small shift with a big payoff, and teachers and parents in the fandom say they steal it for their own houses. Instead of “stop arguing,” the Derrico version is “argue properly.”
5. Warmth on Purpose: Hugs, Dance Breaks, and Family Everything
None of the structure worked without the warmth. Karen’s own advice list starts with love: hugs, kisses, and general conversation, every day. The family danced in the house constantly and did activities as a family, from cooking and cleaning to reading and exercising, including every child in just about everything. Karen’s gentler lesson was this: it is okay not to be okay, so calm down, take a moment for yourself, and the chores will get done.
YOU MAY LIKE“We’re Filming Right Now” — Deon Derrico Confirms the Derricos’ TV Return Is ComingOne honest note: these routines come from the show’s years, when Karen and Deon ran one household together. The parents have since divorced and now co-parent, and Deon has said, according to reports, that the family is filming again for a new season targeted for 2027, though no network, title, or date is confirmed. So which of these five moves would work in your house, and which one would fall apart by day two? Is birth order genius or too strict? Is one bedtime for every age brilliant or impossible? Pick your side, and tell us which Derrico move you already stole.
