The Commercialization of Childhood Index

If you think the kids in your life have a worse case of the "gimmies" than you had when you were little, here's why:
[these statistics are courtesy of The Center for Commercial Free Children. Incidentally, they (like all other non-profits out there) would love a donation this year.]

$500,000,000,000: The amount of money in purchases that children under twelve influence every year.

$17,000,000,000:  The amount of money spent to market to children, a staggering increase from $100 million in 1983. 

$3,400,000,000:  Revenue generated by the Disney Princess brand in 2006.  There are 40,000 Disney Princess items on the market today.

1,200,000,000:  Toys sold with kids' meals at fast food restaurants in 2006.

20,000,000:  Baby Einstein videos sold by Disney through 2006.  The American Academy of Pediatrics reccomends no screen time for children under two.

200,000:  The acts of violence, including 40,000 murders, that the average child will see on television by the time they are eighteen.

25,000:  Ads on television the average 2-11-year-old sees on television every year, a figure that does not include product placement.

4,151:  The number of product placements on the first thirty-eight episodes of American Idol