How does your child's allowance compare with the going rate? Children eight and nine got $3.74 a week; 10- and 11-year-olds averaged $5.19; kids 12 and 13 received $6.66; and 14-year-olds got $9.45, according to a nationally representative survey commissioned by Zillions, the Consumer Reports for young people. (Of 1,059 kids it sampled, about half got an allowance.) Boys and girls got nearly identical allowances, but the survey found a classic gender gap in some of their chores. Girls were also much happier with their pay, and the youngest kids were happier than the oldest, despite getting half as much. Most kids also received other money during the week of the summer survey: extra money from parents, gifts from relatives, and pay for jobs and added chores. Considering all sources, the oldest kids averaged $22.65 a week; the youngest, $10.65. About one child of four put some money into savings. More often, it went toward snacks, toys, and sporting gear. About one of 10 reported giving money to charity in a given week. Nearly all the kids did chores; 70%, for example, had to clean their room. The next most common: caring for a pet. Gender Gap Who did them        Chores Girls Boys Taking out trash, recyclables 36% 60% Mowing lawn, yardwork 10 40 Washing dishes 49 33 Caring for siblings 36 26 Helping prepare meals 36 25 Cleaning bathroom 29 16 Dusting 27% 16% Source: Zillions Copyright 1999 by Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., Yonkers, NY 10703. Posted by permission from CONSUMER REPORTS, January 1999. Downloading, copying, excerpting, redistributing or retransmitting of this material is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Subscribe to Consumer Reports by calling 800-234-1645 or visiting it on-line at www.consumerreports.org.

©1999 Credit Union National Association Inc.