Baby Boomer

Meaning of “Baby Boomer”

The phrase “baby boomer” refers to the people having lived as parents during the period called “baby boom” in the United States and the United Kingdom following the Second World War. This phrase means the person has more children. It also means the person was born between 1946 and 1964. The ‘baby boomers’ are also called ‘boomers’.

Origin of “Baby Boomer”

The phrase “baby boomer” first appeared in a newspaper in the United Kingdom 1920 in The Coshocton Tribune in its April 1920 publication in which it referred to London as having “baby boom” during that period. It later became popular when the American newspapers used it extensively for the same purpose that is to point to the high birth rate period. For example, The Galveston Daily News gave the headline to a news report as “Baby Boom Increases Population of U.S.” in its publication of December 1941. Since then, it is associated with these meanings.

Examples in Literature

Example #1

Baby Boomers by Phil Smith

*** and rock ‘n’ roll
Boomers were very different
Never to get old
Their parents always looked old
The World changed for them
Catering their every need

Trying not to sound like parents
Boomers invented living together
Kids without weddings
Naming them Sky and Summer
Maturing into jobs
Responsible and hardworking

Spoilt their kids with
Stereos TVs and phones
Most forgot the sixties
Short hair suit and tie
Making a corporate fortune
To support the new lifestyle

The poem highlights the age and features of the baby boomers or parents having given birth to many children during the 60s and 70s. The poet highlights the best of the baby boomers as they do not seem old and have always lived in combined families. They were responsible and hard-working. He compares them with next-generation and mentions that they have spoiled their children in the new age.

Example #2

Against the ’70s by Mike Watt

It’s not reality, just someone else’s sentimentality
It won’t work for you
Baby boomers, selling you rumors of their history
Forcing youth away from the truth of what’s real today
The kids of today should defend themselves against the 70’s
Stadium minds with stadium lies gotta make you laugh
Garbage vendors against true defenders of the craft

The above lines shed light on the event of a high birth rate during the 1970s, which now seems unreal. Now the time is different. The parents who were born at that time should defend their good times, broad hearts, vast homes. It may seem now that they are defending their useless age. The meanings of the phrase become clear that baby boomers have lived their times now.

Example #3

The Baby Boomers and the Queen by John wright

This book is about the making of the United States. It shows different trade policies and financial issues of the republic before and after the 70s. It argues that during those golden days, the cost of education and living was quite low. The easier life the people have lived during those days has now become a point of nostalgia. That is why the baby boomers remember those easy days and prosperity that they were blessed with. Hence, the phrase has been used in the title of the book to point out that generation having big families.

Example #4

In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation by Rick Bawa

The book details the baby boomers’ generation and highlights its place in United States history. Based on the thoughts, opinions, and views of this generation that the author had recorded his experiences of that period, including the personal narratives. The book also argues the case of the baby boomers and the importance of that era for the future. The use of the phrase in the title of this book shows its significance.

Examples in Sentences

Example #1: “This is not the era of baby boomers. You must not be like them; two children are enough for you.”

Example #2: “Yesterday’s baby boomers are today’s boomer babies, as the next generation has replaced them.”

Example #3: “Sometimes I feel my sister is a baby boomer. Though she is just 15, she speaks like my grandfather and bosses me around, who was born after World War II.”

Example #4: “Kermit lived during the baby boomer generation, so he wished that his son should have more than one child to keep the home happy.”

Example #5: “I love my grandfather, he was a baby boomer. I have two aunts and two uncles and they are all so wonderful. It’s wonderful to have a big family.”