[zandtar]

My beef with the article is how it attempts to go the standard "guilt" routine with parents, by setting conditions for the children's answers and then presenting them as what they "really" want. Baloney. I bet if you took each and every one of those kids, and said "What do you want for Christmas" without adding that 'no cost' conditional, they'd all be listing toys and games. They're kids, it's natural.

[NittanyLion]

"What do you want for Christmas" without adding that 'no cost' conditional, they'd all be listing toys and games. They're kids, it's natural.

It is natural for kids to think first of toys and games. To the article's point, asking these children about nonmaterial possessions gets at the matter of what they need more than what they'd want at first thought. I suspect every person on this thread would trade any toy they got as a kid for the nonmaterial items listed above, now that they can view the world through an adult's eyes. We understand what's most important, now.