Think the economic meltdown is something only adults worry about? Think again. A survey conducted by youth opinion research company NODE RESEARCH found that 84% of America's 39 Million 9 to 17 year olds are very or somewhat worried about current economic conditions. More than half of all kids and teens expect that economic conditions will affect the amount of gifts they find under their Christmas tree. While the government might bail out Wall Street, there is no expectation of help for Holiday shopping on main street ... with a recession in Wii's, iPods and clothing expected.

The majority of kids, even those as young as 9 or 10, are worried about economic conditions. "These results point to the enormous responsibility parents and teachers - and even major news media - have to explain and educate young people about economic issues" says Mike Fassino, Node's Director of Youth Research. "Remember," Fassino adds, "these are kids that came of age during the economic expansion of the early 21st Century. The Internet Bubble happened BEFORE some of these kids were even born!" While slightly more boys than girls are troubled by US economic conditions, African American youth are statistically significantly less likely than Asian, Caucasian or Hispanic/Latino youth to be worried about the economy. This stratification by race and ethnicity is most evident among teens -- 92% of Asian 13-17 year olds report being worried about the economy, compared to 74% of African American 13-17 year olds.

America's economic situation has an immediate impact on young people - 51% expect to receive fewer Holiday gifts this year than last. Only 9% expect more gifts. "There is a huge correlation between kids' feelings about the economy and what they expect to see under the Christmas tree," Fassino says. "Almost 70% of the kids that aren't worried about economic conditions expect more or the same amount of gifts this year. But of those kids who expect fewer gifts, 90% are worried about the economy."

So what do kids want as Holiday gifts that have them so worried? NODE has been tracking the Holiday wish lists of kids since 2004. This year, Nintendo's Wii is on the top of boys' wish lists, followed by Money, XBOX360 and Ripstick. Apple's iPod is on the top of girl's wish lists, followed by the Wii, money and clothes. Speaking of holiday wish lists, Fassino said, "This is the third year in a row we've found the Wii at the top of holiday wish lists- it was released around this time in 2006. Microsoft's Xbox has clearly moved up on boys' wish lists and there has been a remarkable strengthening of the Wii among girls compared to last holiday season. Last year, cell phones were on lots of tween and teen girls' wish list. This year, it's a Wii."

"This year," Fassino said, "the average retail price of the average 10 year olds' serious wish list is $794. With 39 million tweens and teens, we're looking at 31 billion dollars to bail out Christmas!"