I want! I want! I want!

[Irritationcity]

How do you stop a 6yr old asking for things ALL THE TIME?

We do buy him things - small things - but he seems to demand so much. It's a constant battle. I do say no but it's not enough. There's no internal shift. Any advice?

All 6 year olds are like this, in my experience. You just have to keep saying no most of the time. It's boring, but there you go.
We tend to say "put it on your birthday list" and that shuts him up until the next time!

4 year old DS was doing this, we started giving him pocket money, £2 a week and explained that he had to stop asking us to buy things and if he had enough money he could buy what he liked and if didn't have enough he'd have to save up. Works like a charm and he's stopped harassing us for things every time we go near a shop.

Your son is probably too old for this, but he might enjoy it in an ironic sort of way. These books are insufferably moralising and American (I am American so I know), but my children loved them, and this one was a reference point for years...

I am warning you that it is deeply, deeply annoying, not something I would ever have tolerated before seeing how much my kids loved it.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/1129297.The_Berenstain_Bears_Get_the_Gimmies

My partner's DS is 9 and always finds something in the supermarket that he 'needs', usually its complete crap. His dad has tried to explain to him quite a few times that he doesn't have money to waste at the moment, because we'll be moving house soon and things will be tight. But he still asks for things.
He's not deprived in any way, he gets every thing he needs and more on top, he's just like most kids and wants whatever random crap has caught his eye. And sometimes he will get grumpy if he can't get it.
He went through a phase of wanting a hamster, and sulked all weekend because we refused 😂

'I want never gets'

Seriously though, if he can't ask nicely for something then it is a definite no. If he can manage to ask nicely then it can go on a birthday/christmas list.

I had this with my then 3.5 year old. I introduced pocket money. He understood he could only get certain things if he had enough. Had to go through a few of the back lashes to a basic 'no' too. He wasn't playing with what he had due to extra toys coming in.