This study examined how the use of material goods in parenting can foster materialism in children as they grow into adults. The researchers conducted surveys of adults about their childhood experiences with receiving material rewards and punishments from their parents. They found that receiving more material rewards and punishments as children was linked to higher materialism as adults. Specifically, these individuals were more likely to use possessions to define themselves, believe acquiring goods will make them attractive, and judge success by possessions. The researchers conclude that material parenting may unintentionally pave the way for children to become materialistic adults and contribute to long-term overconsumption and environmental harm.

1. Material Parenting: How the Use of Goods in Parenting
Fosters Materialism in the Next Generation
*Marsha L. Richins, University of Missouri
Lan Nguyen Chaplin, University of Illinois at Chicago
*Corresponding author, designated to speak with reporters
Trendy clothes, iPads, video games, and toys make children happy.
Parents love their children and want them to be happy. So, what do they do? They buy
their children these trendy clothes, iPads, video games, toys, and other things their
children want. Indeed, the crowded closets and overflowing toy bins in most middle
class family homes may be considered a testament of how much parents love their
children. And for some families, providing children with the things they want can be a
way to make up for missed family time or substitute for the attention of busy,
overworked parents.
Parents also use things in a more purposeful way--to shape desired behavior in their
children. Because material goods are so desirable, parents use them as rewards for
accomplishments and in disciplining misdeeds or failures. Thus, a child may receive a
lollipop for using the potty the first time, a new videogame for earning a starting slot on
the soccer team, or an iPad for achieving a target GPA. On the other hand, a temper
tantrum, failure to finish chores, or low grades can result in temporary or permanent
confiscation of a child’s prized possessions.
In our research, we use the term material parenting to refer to the use of goods in the
ways described above: giving children things simply because they want them (what we
refer to as “unconditional material rewards”), or using things as rewards or punishments
to shape children’s behavior (which we refer to as “conditional material rewards” and
“material punishments,” respectively). While these parenting behaviors are common,
their long term effects on children are not known. Our research sought to answer this
important question: What are the long term effects of material parenting?
To answer this question, we conducted three surveys of 701 adults. In addition to
describing their current life situation and values, respondents reported on a variety of
childhood circumstances, their relationship with their parents, and the rewards and
punishments they received during three critical ages of childhood: at grades 3, 7, and
10.
Results showed that people who received more material rewards and punishments
during childhood grew up to be more materialistic than others. This effect remained after
controlling for other possibly influential variables, such as childhood economic
circumstances and the parents’ own levels of materialism.
Study results revealed three important ways in which adults who had received more
material parenting during childhood differed from those who received less. First, adults

2. who received material rewards as children are more likely than others to continue to use
possessions to shape who they are when they are grown; they have come to believe—
more than others—that material goods play a vital role in defining and expressing who
they are. Second, they are more likely to believe that acquiring desired products will
make them more attractive to others. Third, adults who received both material rewards
and material punishments as children are more likely to admire people with expensive
possessions and to judge success by the kinds of things people own.
For all these reasons, adults who received more material parenting during childhood
place more importance on material goods in general than their peers. Thus, in their
efforts to make their children happy and shape their behavior through the use of
material parenting, parents unintentionally pave the way for their children to become
materialistic adults.
The research suggests that adults who received many material rewards during
childhood are likely to continue rewarding themselves with material goods when they
are grown. This is a cause for concern at both the personal and the environmental
levels. At the personal level, materialism in adulthood has been linked to reduced well-being,
marital problems, and financial difficulties. At the environmental level,
materialism is associated with overconsumption that leads to environmental
degradation. The higher consumption levels of materialistic consumers contribute to
greenhouse gas production and climate change, depletion of natural resources, and
environmental pollution. The United States already out-consumes nearly every other
economy in the world. Our findings suggest that material parenting may be setting the
stage for long term over-consumption and consequent environmental harm.
QUOTES:
• “Our research suggests that children who receive many material rewards from their
parents will likely continue rewarding themselves with material goods when they are
grown—well into adulthood.”
• “Our findings suggest that material parenting may be setting the stage for long term
over-consumption and consequent environmental harm.”
• “Reward practices can have a significant impact on the formation of values.”
• “Our research highlights the value of examining childhood circumstances and
parenting practices to understand the consumer behavior of adults.”
• “An affluence of things during childhood is predictive of materialism in adulthood.”