If you want to do a school project on children’s rights (权利), you can look on the Internet for some information. A United Nations website can show you plenty of useful information for the project.

The United Nations lists the rights of children. Most countries agree all of them, but some countries do not. The following are some of the most important rights of children:

In some countries children do not have these rights. Many young children are made to work long hours in factories and on farms. In some countries there are so few schools that only rich children get an education.

The rights of children are, therefore, the rights people think children should have. They are not always the rights children really have.

Many kids help parents to do chores in the house. They may take out the trash, walk the dog or clean the floor. In return, some kids get money or other rewards from their parents, such as 20 minutes to play computer games.

But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. One of them is Jane Smith, a parenting educator and family coach (顾问). She believes if kids get rewards, they may think that work isn’t worth (值得) doing unless you get something in return. For example, kids won’t clean the floor if they see it is dirty. But they will do it if their parents reward them for it.

“Every house is a team effort (努力),” Jane said. “A home is a living place for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have a responsibility (责任) to keep our home clean.”

However, other people have different ideas. They believe that money or other rewards encourage kids to do more chores. It also teaches them real world lessons. They can learn about how we need to work to make money.

Now, there are also apps that encourage kids to do chores. The apps give kids points and digital (数字的) gifts that can be used either online or in life. With the Chore Monster, kids get digital points after they do chores. Kids can exchange (交换) their points for real rewards, such as time to play video games or a trip to the shop. “Our goal is to encourage kids to do chores so they can get rewards.” says Joe Black, the founder (创始人) of Chore Monster. “Kids need positive (积极的) power to make them do chores.”

Anyway, action is above all with rewards or not.

Many countries are struggling with food waste. What are they doing to stop it?

China has been promoting(推广) a nationwide activity called “Clear Your Plate” since 2013. This year, some restaurants are encouraging people to order food using the formula(公式) “N-1”. “N” stands for the number of diners at a table. If there are 6 people at your table, you only order 5 dishes.

In 2016, France passed a law that bans stores from throwing away unsold food. If it’s still safe to eat, the food must be donated(捐献) to charity(慈善机构); if not, it goes to farmers for use as animal feed or compost.

In 2019, the US said it encourages food companies to use the phrase “best if used by" for date labeling(标签). This helps shoppers better understand that they don’t need to throw food out after the printed date passes if the food is stored correctly.

In Japan, there are many food banks. People and stores can donate extra food to them and they will provide the food to those in need.

In 2016, South Korea started to charge(收费) people fees for throwing away food. There are scales that are used to weigh the food. One ton of food waste costs 1.5 million won (8,700 yuan).