CELPIP Listening Part 6 · Viewpoints · set 5 of 10

Should Parents Pay Kids for Chores?

A CELPIP Listening Part 6 practice set (Viewpoints): the transcript, 6 questions and the answer key with an explanation for each answer. No sign-up needed. This page prints the transcript and has no audio; on the real test you hear the recording once and cannot replay it.

The task

You will hear a parenting columnist on a podcast give his view on paying children for household chores. Listen once, then answer the questions.

You hear the audio only once.
The speaker presents a point of view: follow the argument and the position, not only the facts.

Questions: 6
Time: 4 minutes
Practice set: 5 of 10

Transcript

The test plays this once, as audio. For real practice, answer the questions first, then check the transcript.

Here's a question that starts arguments at a lot of dinner tables: should you pay your kids for doing chores? My wife and I disagreed about this for years, so I've had plenty of time to think about it. The case for paying is appealing. Children learn that money comes from work. They get practice saving and making choices. One national survey found that about six in ten parents give some kind of allowance, and many tie it directly to jobs around the house. And let's be honest, a five-dollar incentive can make a ten-year-old remarkably willing to empty the dishwasher. But I've come to believe that paying for basic household chores sends the wrong message. In our house, we tried it when our son was nine. Two dollars for vacuuming, a dollar for taking out the recycling. Within a month, he started asking, "How much will you give me?" whenever we asked for help, even for carrying groceries in from the car. One week he'd saved enough for a video game, and he simply stopped doing chores altogether. He didn't need the money anymore, so why bother? That's the problem. Making your bed or clearing the table isn't a job. It's part of living with other people. When you put a price on it, children start to see it as optional, something they can turn down if the pay isn't worth it. So what do we do now? We separate the two things. Our son gets a small weekly allowance, twelve dollars, that isn't connected to chores at all. It's his to manage, and he learns about money from it. The everyday chores are simply expected, because he's part of the family. Then, if he wants to earn more, he can take on extra jobs that go beyond the normal, like washing the car or raking the neighbour's lawn. I'll grant that this approach takes more patience. There are evenings when a few dollars would get the dishes done much faster than a long conversation. But I want my son to grow up helping because people depend on him, not because there's a payment at the end. Money lessons matter, but they shouldn't replace that one.

Questions and answer key

1What is the speaker's main argument?
1. AParents should never give their children any money.
2. ✓Everyday chores should not be paid, though an allowance and extra jobs can teach about money.
3. CChildren should be paid more for the most difficult chores.
4. DPaying for chores is the best way to teach children how to save their money.
Answer: B
He says 'paying for basic household chores sends the wrong message' but gives an allowance that 'isn't connected to chores at all' plus paid 'extra jobs'. 'Never give any money' is wrong because his son receives twelve dollars a week.
2According to the survey the speaker mentions, what do many parents do?
1. ✓Link their child's allowance to household jobs
2. BRefuse to give any allowance at all
3. CPay their children about five dollars every single week
4. DOpen a bank account for each child
Answer: A
About six in ten parents give an allowance, 'and many tie it directly to jobs around the house.' Five dollars is his example of an incentive, not a survey finding.
3What happened after the speaker's son saved enough for a video game?
1. AHe bought the game and asked for more chores.
2. BHe offered to share the game with his family.
3. CHe was told to return the game to the store.
4. ✓He stopped doing his chores.
Answer: D
'He simply stopped doing chores altogether' because 'he didn't need the money anymore.' Asking for more chores is the opposite of what happened.
4What does the speaker suggest is the main risk of paying for chores?
1. AChildren become better at saving than at spending.
2. BThe payments must keep increasing to stay effective.
3. ✓Children may come to see chores as something they can refuse.
4. DYounger children cannot understand the value of money.
Answer: C
He says that when chores have a price, 'children start to see it as optional, something they can turn down'. Rising payments are never mentioned; his son stopped because he no longer needed money, not because the pay was too low.
5How does the speaker's family handle money now?
1. ATheir son earns twelve dollars for each extra job.
2. ✓Their son gets twelve dollars a week regardless of chores.
3. CTheir son is paid only for raking leaves.
4. DTheir son loses part of his weekly allowance whenever he misses a chore.
Answer: B
The weekly allowance of 'twelve dollars' 'isn't connected to chores at all.' Twelve dollars is the allowance, not the pay for each extra job.
6What does the speaker admit about his family's approach?
1. ✓It requires more patience than simply paying.
2. BHis wife still prefers to pay for chores.
3. CIt has not taught his son anything about money.
4. DIt works only with older children.
Answer: A
He concedes 'this approach takes more patience', since a few dollars would sometimes be faster. His wife is mentioned only as having disagreed in the past, not as preferring payment now.

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