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MNHQ have commented on this thread

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MNHQ have commented on this thread

News

Is today the worst day of the year to be born?

26 replies

GeraldineMumsnet · 31/08/2009 12:11

The journalist who did this article for the Beeb picked your brains for some of it, so thought you might like to see it.
MNHQ

OP posts:

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TheDMshouldbeRivened · 31/08/2009 12:17

I don't think so. ds is an end of august baby (was due in september) and its never held him back.
Only disadvantage is being pregnant over August if its a hot summer. Bloody nightmare

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oranges · 31/08/2009 12:25

I was born in August and always liked being younger and having that "extra year" in my life. Don't think it's held me back.

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SoupDragon · 31/08/2009 12:29

I've always thought that Christmas day is a pretty rubbish day to be born.

Unless you discover your baby neatly wrapped under the Christmas tree... I can see the advantages of that.

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said · 31/08/2009 12:38

Jan 2 must be pretty crap as well.

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twopeople · 31/08/2009 12:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

SoupDragon · 31/08/2009 13:37

Jan 1 worse IMO - you'd spend a large proportion of your birthdays hungover.

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SoupDragon · 31/08/2009 13:37

May 15th has always seemed a bit pants too.

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FromGirders · 31/08/2009 13:41

Completely irrelevant in Scotland!

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MarthaFarquhar · 31/08/2009 13:42

I know 3 people who have birthdays today. 2 are Cambridge graduates .

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shubiedoo · 31/08/2009 13:42

Yes, I think May and June must be bad; all my friends with birthdays then always had exams!
My birthday is 23 Dec; as a kid it was great, everyone off school for my parties, and always leftover cake if I didn't feel like pudding Christmas Day!

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Comewhinewithme · 31/08/2009 13:42

Yes IMO DD was 10 yesterday and we have had a nightmare since school began .

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OliviaMumsnet · 31/08/2009 13:43

more about this here

Hth

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MmeLindt · 31/08/2009 13:43

Jan 2nd is seriously crap. Sorry.

Jan 1st is ok, as you can celebrate into your birthday.

By the 2nd noone wants to party.

The last party I had (about 10 years ago) the last guest left at 10pm as they were all still tired from Hogmany. I don't bother with parties anymore, just have a nice meal out. If we can find a restaurant open.

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xxxxBAMBOOxxxx · 31/08/2009 13:46

A family member has her birthday on Jan 2nd and hates it. TBH, we all do I have to remember to buy her birthday presents and card before Christmas otherwise its her birthday before you know it and you have nothing to give her. For her 21st I made sure I had her presents in September as I couldn't risk forgetting with all the Christmas rush - and the fact there is nothing in the shops apart from Christmas paraphernalia

Her mum always has problems trying to organise anything and the amount of people that forget is astonishing, quites upsets her actually.

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MmeLindt · 31/08/2009 13:49

True, Bamboo. My DS has to rush out in the sales and buy my present in a panic.

Well, no. He doesn't as he knows months in advance that my birthday is coming up but he is a man. I do sometimes get great pressies though, cause he gets fab bargains.

Interesting article. I think that the school should offer several dates for school starting. I liked this comment:

"The answer might be not to plan our babies around the system, but make our system slightly more accommodating to the babies. "

Quite.

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beanieb · 31/08/2009 13:54

I think it's weird when they say this:

"Betty Kellett, a midwife based in London and Essex with 38 years experience, has noticed a growing number of women due to give birth on the cusp of August and September who try to do their unborn child a favour.

"There is such competition, especially for good schools, and parents have become much more aware," she says.

So what can women safely do? When they go beyond their due date, long walks are often recommended as a way of naturally inducing labour. Mrs Kellett says those wishing to delay matters for several days may instead choose to rest up. "

A baby comes when a baby comes surely. You're much more likely to speed up a birth than delay one surely!

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Thingiebob · 31/08/2009 13:57

Well it's my birthday today and although having lots of fun birthdays throughout my many years, I can quite see why it's not the greatest day.

Firstly I was the youngest in the year which, when you are a teenager, does make a lot of difference.

It's a bank holiday so everyone has plans and your presents and cards are always late.

Normally - although not today, but normally this weekend the weather changes quite dramatically and either rains or goes quite gray and chilly. In fact this is the first birthday I have had where the weather is nice, although for various reasons, have no plans during the daytime - DH has to work so celebrations postponed. I'm now off into the garden to enjoy the sun!

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breakingnews · 31/08/2009 14:07

I was due yesterday...I work in early years and my bosses all have been crossing their fingers for my baby to arrive in September. My nephew is an August birth and he has struggled at school.... but I think its as much down to the child tbh.... some will struggle whenever they born others won't....

Haven't been doing anything in particular to hold up labour think that baby will arrive when baby arrives... wouldn't cross my legs for 12 hours now if I suddenly went into labour in the next 2 minutes!!!!

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bruffin · 31/08/2009 14:11

My birthday is Sept 11th which is quite depressing

Both my DC's are september babies and in someways they would have been better off being in the year above.

DS has always been mature beyond his years. He will be 14 in 2 weeks but gets mistaken for 16 year old and gets on better with older children.

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pooka · 31/08/2009 14:16

Well I am due on the 4th and must admit that have been hoping to make it until midnight tonight - then it can come when it comes! (though would prefer to go to 41 weeks because want to be with dd at first day back at school and also ds's birthday is on the 9th and would like to get past that too - but I appreciate that these things happen when they happen ).

DD's birthday is in July and so she is one of the youngest in her year. Hasn't done her any harm yet, though it is still so noticeable that there are such differences between her and her best friend, for example, who has an October birthday. She is thriving at school, but we are fortunate here to have 2 entries, so she didn't start until she was 4 and a half.

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violethill · 31/08/2009 14:30

I reckon Christmas Day and New Years Day are the real pissers from the social point of view. Everyone else busy partying. End of August... well the stats say not good educationally, though of course that only tells part of the story. I do think it's VERY tiny to be starting school though, when they're barely a few weeks off 3 years old.

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lynniep · 31/08/2009 14:55

Mu birthday was on Friday - never had any problems with school even though I was always the youngest in the class. In fact I was unbelieveably smug when I did my maths GCSE a (school) year early, which meant I was 14 when I took it. (cringes with embarrasment at my teenage-self inflation!)

Love having a birthday that falls around a bank holiday. Really like anything else, it depends on the child. Some kids will suffer for it, some won't. You can't just assume its going to be an issue. The cutoff has to be somewhere.

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charlotteolivia · 31/08/2009 23:57

I was born on July 7th, and it was suggested I move up a year in primary school when I was younger. however although i was ace on the academic side, my social skills just weren't up to it.

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blithedance · 01/09/2009 00:40

Nearly all our family have been touched by this issue. We have a scattering of young but intelligent people who got through on brains.

DH (August) was undiagnosed dyslexic, bouncy and extrovert, resulting in him being labelled stupid and troublesome by an horrendous primary school - he still struggles to shrug off that label despite his later successes in life .

Life hands you good and bad cards - as a teacher astutely said on the other thread, if you have everything else going for you an August 31 birthday won't be the end of the world, but if there are problems at home, average/below average ability, mild SN, being that six months less mature than the average (or even more taking some developmental variation into account) might actually be too much to cope with and then you have a problem.

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Babyramone · 01/09/2009 16:24

Im up in Scotland and here it's the end of Feb's that are the youngest. However nearly all jan, feb birthdays and indeed some decembers defer to the following year. Thus becoming the oldest. so instead of going to school at 4.5 they go at 5.5.
This allows them time to mature cognatively and emotionally.
I was wondering if any parents in England choose to defer the younger ones.