Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

Giving kids allowances in the smart-phone

Allowances are a constant. No matter how much technology interferes with the parent-child relationship, kids still want money and parents still want to impart(赋予)a basic work ethic. But putting stickers on chore(日常事务)charts and dropping coins in piggy banks don't cut it with the smart-phone generation.

Parents in search of more 【小题1】 ways to teach children the value of money are turning to allowance-tracking apps, where kids can see their 【小题2】 rise and fall in real time.

Bonnie Koon, a mother of three in Crawfordville, Fla., used to post a calendar on her refrigerator 【小题3】 her kids chores, to the embarrassment of her 16-year-old twins. After seeing a Facebook ad for the app Green-light, she 【小题4】 it.

Green-light links to parents' bank accounts so that the payout can be seamless. Parents can encourage saving by paying interest on the money that isn’t spent 【小题5】 -- interest out of the parents' own pockets, of course.

It's the first taste of 【小题6】 freedom for many kids, and it's set in a relatively safe environment. Parents can determine spending limits and choose the retailers(零售商)where a child can make 【小题7】. If a child attempts to buy something at an unapproved store or to spend more than the limit, the transaction(交易)is 【小题8】 and parents get a notification. And if a kid loses the card, parents can immediately cancel it from the app.

One of Ms. Koon's twins. Brenna, works part time at a restaurant. She's putting half of her pay check into a car-insurance savings fund she set up in the app, whit the goal of saving $450 by July. With each 【小题9】, the app gives Brenna a progress update.

Some parents might worry that relying on apps to get kids to do chores only encourages them to be on their phones more. But parents who have chosen this approach argue that they are meeting their kids where they are and that it takes the 【小题10】 nagging(唠叨)out of the equation. The real-time look at their accounts makes the concepts of saving and spending more tangible than reviewing a bank statement.