World War two naturally had a significant impact on the amount of children born whilst the war was in progress, and there was substantial life lost on the battlefields, however this was set to change when war ended and the world experienced a baby boomer revolution.
Children of the baby boomer generation were considered by most to be born somewhere between the years of 1943 and 1964, however there is much debate on the actually period of time that one would have to have been born to be considered a baby boomer, however no one seems to be able to agree, so these dates seem reasonable.
A baby boomer was part of a massive explosion of population growth with figures not seen for years, the US for example recorded more than seventy-six million births during the years of 1946 and 1960, quite a massive increased when compared to previous records held.
Two Sets of Boomers
Twenty one years was considered by some to be too long for those born in 1943 to claim that they were the same generation as 1964, and yet no one seemed prepared to change the records and shorten the time that baby boomers should have been born, and the feeling was not whole supported anyway.
It therefore became suggested that there were in fact two stages of baby boomer, those born in the first half, up until about 1955, and the second wave of those born from 1956 until 1964, as these two groups were teenagers at very different times and had many different experiences.
It is also thought that the first wave of baby boomers were those responsible for the change of culture that was coming about as they entered their teens in the 1960’s, the beginning of free thinking and the birth of the hippy, and also saw some the birth of world leaders, George Bush, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.
Many new and exciting events were also experienced by members of this generation, who grew up to be the baby boomers that first walked on the moon, and started to revolutionise thinking with protests and demonstrations with the focus on things like civil rights, environmental causes and women’s rights.
The second wave of baby boomers did not have perhaps as much fun, as they were subject to the cold war, shortages of gasoline and a massive rise in inflation hitting them hard, however they were also responsible for the introduction of punk music and new wave music.
