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Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Paying Allowances for Completing Chores
The practice of paying children an allowance became popular in America about 100 years ago. Nowadays, American kids on average receive about $800 per year in allowance. But the vast majority of American parents who pay allowance tie it to the completion of housework. Although many parents believe that paying an allowance for completing chores benefits their children, a range of experts expressed concern that tying allowance very closely to chores may not be ideal. In fact, the way chores work in many households worldwide points to another way.
Suniya Luthar, a psychologist, is against paying kids for chores. Luthar is not opposed to giving allowances, but she thinks it’s important to establish that chores are done not because they will lead to payment, but because they keep the household running. Luthar’s suggested approach to allowance is compatible with that of writer Ron Lieber, who advises that allowances be used as a means of showing children how to save, give, and spend on things they care about. “Kids should do chores,” he writes, “for the same reason adults do, because the chores need to be done, and not with the expectation of compensation.”
This argument has its critics, but considering the way chores are undertaken around the world may change people’s thinking. Professor David Lancy of Utah State University has studied how families around the world handle chores. At about 18 months of age, Lancy says, most children become eager to help their parents, and in many cultures, they begin helping with housework at that age. They begin with very simple tasks, but their responsibilities gradually increase. And they do these tasks without payment. Lancy contrasts this with what happens in America. “We deny our children’s attempts to help until they are 6 or 7 years old,” Lancy says, “when many have lost the desire to help and then try to motivate them with payment. The solution to this problem is not to try to use money as a stimulus to do housework, but to get children involved in housework much earlier, when they actually want to do it.”
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