A Little Economic Baby Boom

Today's rate cut didn't do much to perk up Wall Street, and listening to Marketplace this evening wasn't that much of a pick-me-up either. Kidscreen has already run a series of articles about how the economic crunch will effect the children's markets, particularly retail. Toy sellers, and producers, are hunkering down a bit and preparing for a cold Christmas season.

That's why it's nice to find a little ray of sunshine, like this notice Kidscreen made me aware of quite a few weeks ago. Basically, while it's nothing compared to 1946, there was indeed an upswing in the American birthrate in 2007. As this CNBC article states, that means a surge in parental consumer spending, despite the forthcoming recession to which we seem to be headed. Parents scrimp on virtually all other areas before cutting spending for their children, and several industries—from baby entertainment to baby formula—therefore stand to benefit. I don't think children's items are immune to economic factors (parents will still have to increase cost consciousness), but I do think the increased birthrate is a positive factor that will help mitigate the negative ones coming from other areas.