Baby boomer facts for kids

The term baby boomer refers to people born between 1946 and 1964 in many parts of the world. In Canada, this group includes those born from 1960 to 1980. Australia defines baby boomers as people born between 1946 and 1961. The number of births generally started to fall after 1960. The term baby boom was first used in 1951 by Sylvia F. Porter, a columnist for the New York Post. She used it to describe the big increase in births after World War II.

What is a Baby Boomer?

Baby boomers are a very large group of people. They were born after World War II. This was a time when many soldiers came home. Families started having more children. This led to a "boom" or big increase in births.

How Baby Boomers Changed Things

About 77 million babies were born in the United States from 1945 to 1964. As kids, baby boomers loved popular items. In the 1950s, they bought Mouse-ear hats. This was after watching "The Mickey Mouse Club." They also enjoyed dancing to rock and roll music. Elvis Presley was a very popular singer they admired. Toys like Hula hoops and Barbie dolls were also extremely popular.

Teenagers and Spending

By the 1960s, many baby boomers were teenagers. They spent a lot of money on different things. This included food, clothes, and recorded music. Businesses wanted to meet their needs. By the 1970s, entire industries changed. This was because of the baby boomers' choices.

Baby Boomers Today

The oldest baby boomers were 67 years old in 2013. By 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 years old. This large group getting older means society needs to plan for their care. It also means more services will be needed for older people.

Growing Older

As baby boomers get older, they face new challenges. In 1998, they started talking about their future needs. Surveys in 2011 showed some interesting facts. About 60% lost money in their investments. This was due to an economic crisis. Also, 42% were putting off their retirement. A quarter of them even said they would never retire. This means they plan to keep working.

Images for kids

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  Population in 2019 can be higher than births due to immigration; lower population can be due to deaths and emigration.

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  Two Dutch children playing with toys (1958): The 1950s and 1960s were an economically prosperous time in the West.

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  Young people in New York City (1967). Prosperity played a role in shaping the youth culture of the 1960s.

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  A graffiti telling students to "take your desires for reality" in the Sorbonne, May 1968.

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  Home economist Mary Norris with a Girl Scout, Seattle, Washington, 1966

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  Population pyramid of the European Union in 2016

See also

In Spanish: Baby boomer para niños