WASHINGTON — If kids help out around the house, should they get an allowance? If so, how much?

Bethesda Patch says a new study by the American Institute of CPAs shows families pay children an average allowance of between 50 cents and $1 for every year of a child’s age.

Alabama mom Susan Youngblood, who is visiting D.C. with her 4- and 6-year-old kids this week, says she pays a $5 weekly allowance without requiring chores to earn the money, “Because we don’t want the concept of chores tied to payment,” she says. “We don’t want them to do something extra and expect something.”

Amber Foley, of Chesapeake, Va., says she doesn’t pay her kids to do chores because household work is “something that’s expected in my household. If you’re living in my household, you will contribute.”

The Foley household does reward children for good report cards. Aiden Foley, 11, says, “If I want a pair of shoes and I made good grades then I should get a pair of shoes.”

Five-year-old Kennedy Jones, a tourist from North Carolina, knows the value of her money. She just spent four weeks worth of her $5 allowance on a new doll and some supplies. When asked if that was a good deal, Kennedy says, “yes.”

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