What were your childhood passions?
Super creative and armed with an endless stream of online how-tos, tutorials and inspiration, Gen Alpha already have one eye on a side hustle.
Encouraged by Millennial parents to find their “thing” and prioritise happiness over climbing the traditional career ladder, this generation is growing up with an entrepreneurial mindset unlike any before it.
Portfolio careers, passion projects and multiple income streams feel less like future ambitions and more like natural life skills. In our Gen Alpha: Born to Shop white paper, we found that 31% of UK kids and 35% of US kids had already made money from a passion, talent or side hustle.
Trading has also been part of Alpha’s world from day one, particularly when it comes to tech. Swapping a last-generation iPhone for the newest model or funding a console upgrade by selling the old one has taught many kids the basics of value, exchange and negotiation.
But Gen Alpha's creativity means that trading is no longer limited to big-ticket items. Increasingly, they are applying the same mindset to collectibles, creating entire ecosystems of value around the things they love.
Enter the squishy traders.
We’ve already seen the rise of squishy hunting and collecting, with kids searching for rare finds to complete their collections. Now that behaviour has evolved into something even more interactive and gamified.
The trend has been popularised by creators such as fidget store owner Mrs. Bench, whose real-life trading videos featuring young collectors have attracted millions of views, including 36.8 million on her most popular post.
The format is brilliantly simple and endlessly replicable. A hand-drawn trading board features three sections: accept, decline and add. Players place squishies on the trading mat, building offers and counteroffers as they negotiate towards a deal both parties consider fair.
The suspense of whether a trade will go through makes the videos highly watchable, while comment sections are packed with debate over who got the better deal.
What looks like a simple playground pastime is actually introducing kids to some surprisingly sophisticated concepts. Trading requires assessing value, negotiating, making compromises and understanding supply and demand.
At a time when even mini-consumers are chasing value, swapping provides an accessible way to refresh collections without spending more. It also extends the lifespan of toys already in circulation, creating a more circular approach to collecting that feels both economical and sustainable.
"On YouTube Shorts I've been watching squishy hunting and squishy trading videos. Squishy trading is pretty big now and a viral trend and I do it with my friends. You get this whiteboard and you make it with a tick for accept trade, a cross to decline the trade and a plus sign which means to add more to the trade." – Girl, US, Age 11
The rise of squishy trading is a reminder that Gen Alpha rarely separates play from learning.
What adults might dismiss as a playground craze is actually helping kids practise negotiation, decision-making and value exchange in real time.
Today's squishy traders are building confidence in striking deals, defending positions and recognising worth. Whether those skills eventually lead to running businesses, building brands or managing investment portfolios remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Gen Alpha are collecting toys AND learning the language of commerce.
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