One Christmas season when Shirley Duncanson’s daughter was nearing her third birthday, Duncanson decided to take her along with her brothers ages 1, 4, 6, 8 out shopping. The little girl saw a doll that she wanted. Nothing Duncanson could say or do would alter her desire. She wanted that doll and she wanted it then. No reminder that Christmas was coming that she needed to be good because Santa Claus might be watching had any impact on her. With a one-year-old in the cart, and three other children to keep track of, Duncanson was losing patience. She tried to drag her daughter away from the doll section . . . but with every tug on her arm came a shrieking cry, “I want a dolly for my Christmas. I want a dolly for my Christmas.”

So Duncanson walked away, keeping track of her from a distance. …