Four-year-olds will do almost anything for a sticker. Five-year-olds quickly realize stickers are just paper — and begin demanding toys. By six, they’re holding out for iPads. The art of the parenting is to control the “good job!” household economy before it spirals out of control and before bedtime negotiations start to feel like United Nations trade deals.

Kids love stuff. Parents love seeing kids love stuff. Enter: the seductive loop where “buying” starts to feel like “parenting.” But when toys, gadgets, and Amazon boxes start piling higher than your actual connection, something gets lost. This chapter explores how the “stuff = love” trap happens, why it’s so tempting, how it changes kids’ expectations, and most importantly, how to step off the treadmill and rediscover what lasts longer than two AA batteries.