“Sharktooth” (verb) -- adults
intentionally creating a positive experience or memory for young children.
Origin: While hunting together for shark teeth at the beach, parents would covertly drop one or more pre-purchased shark teeth in a child’s path, thus ensuring that the child experiences the joy of a
successful hunt within their limited
attention span. When searching for seashells, it may also be called “shell-shilling.”
Alternatively, as ammunition for ungrateful adults to declare to their well-intentioned parents that their entire childhood was a lie.