An allowance(零花钱) is an important tool for teaching kids how to make plans for the use of money, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.
How large an allowance is suitable? Experts say there is not right amount. Actual amounts differ from region to region, and from family to family.
To set an suitable allowance for your child, work up a weekly plan. Allow for entertainment costs such as movies and snacks. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies. "If you make the child responsible for these bills’," says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, " he or she will learn to plan for necessary costs."
Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose buying power falls away below his peers’ can feel left out.
It can be tough, but don’t excuse your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $5 a week, $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch." If you lose your money," Brooke’s mother told her, "you walk home."
One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store, then she called home for a ride. " Mom made me walk home," recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. " At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson. "
Experts advise that an allowance should not be tied directly to a child’s daily housework at home. Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of a family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home, which can develop his or her early habits.
小题1:Which of the following is the possible title of the passage?
A．How to develop a child’s early habits.
B．How to work up an amount of pocket money.
C．How to teach a child about money.
D．How to teach a child to save money.小题2: It can be inferred from the passage that if a child is given an allowance, he or she may ________.
A．spend all the money very soon
B．fall into the bad habit of wasting money
C．feel responsible and careful about money
D．lose the money and can not return home小题3: In Paragraph 4, the words “his peers” refer to ________.
A．his parents
B．his friends
C．his financial experts
D．his teachers小题4: Why does the writer mention Brooke Stephens?
A．To question the opinion about pocket money.
B．To compare Stephens with other financial experts.
C．To explain that parents should be strict when children are developing good habits about money.
D．To suggest pocket money is useless in developing a child’s sense of responsibility.小题5: The writer implies in the passage that ________.
A．children may feel lonely if they have no pocket money
B．a child’s early good habits can be developed if he or she is paid for all the housework
C．paying children for their housework is no good
D．children may learn to put aside some money if they are given a great amount of pocket money
