Why does Rumpelstiltskin want kids?

Answer 1

You can use a name to gain leverage, in our more literal manner. But to the magically inclined, a name can be a great many things, it can allow one to construct a curse, an enchantment, or a divination. Some traditions believe that the name endows a being with a grounding point around which magic may be worked, a symbolic syllabic cluster that is as much a part of a person as hir hand, but considered to represent the whole of the body and the mind.

Now, if you were a little impit what had knowledge of the workings of magic, what would you want with names?

Answer 2

Rumpelstiltskin wants children because in the fairy tale he is portrayed as a malevolent character who desires the firstborn child of the miller's daughter in exchange for helping her spin straw into gold. His motivation in the story is to claim and take possession of the child as payment for his magical assistance.

Answer 3

He eats them.