I found this hard to believe, but an article by a favourite radio columnist of mine was asking why some ratings services in the U.S. measure listenership starting at 6+. Yes, six years old.

I'd never heard of this until one reader wrote and wondered, "why would anyone care about what someone in kindergarten listens to?" At least in Canada it's 12+, as those same kids approach their teen years and may be listening to something on the radio - if they even have one.

So the author, Richard Wagoner, asked an industry veteran why anyone would do this. The answer was interesting. 

“The truth is they’re just trying to get the broadest number to reflect the biggest population – basically everybody in the universe of potential listeners,” said the program director. “I think they chose six because somebody theoretically is in kindergarten at that time but who the heck is depending on kindergartners for ratings?”

While I've heard some pretty childish stuff on air, I can't imagine the point of it, either. But apparently it happens. Why, I don't get.