Summer born children seem really behind?

[Shouldnthavedoneitthen]

So everyone in DS’s class now has their work online for all parents to see so I’ve had a look (yes maybe I shouldn’t have but It’s a boring life at the moment)

I’m shocked to find that all of the kids doing really well are the ones who had birthdays in September/October time and the least well are those yet to turn 6. (Year 1)

Of course this makes perfect sense, the older kids have had nearly an extra year of life to learn things than the youngest but it is plainly obvious... maybe ds’s class is an anomaly but is this the case in most schools? Do the younger ones ever catch up? How is this fair on them?

I feel sad, DS is a late August birthday. I knew his writing and reading needed improvement but the difference is shocking...

They dont even out. Summer born are known to be at an disadvantage. Some, obviously will have good homes who compensate for it. Most wont.

It is specifically the reason we, and a lot of my teacher friends, timed ttc to not have summer babies.

Just do all you can at home to Even it up. And Lots and lots of reading.

Someone asked about data protection. My son's class have a Google drive you can upload work to, I assume ops class are doing something similar. First names only (surname initial if needed) and school said don't put anything on there you aren't happy with people seeing. As for how do you know their age, presumably through remembering when birthday parties were / Facebook mentions, or your child telling you.
There are no secrets among small children!

My eldest DS is summer born and out of my 3 is the most academic and the only 1 of mine to go to university. I think it depends more on the individual child.

Statistically the differences persist into secondary, but not to the same degree. It remains a factor but is outweighed by other things.
Maternal level of education is the biggest factor. Talking to your child is high up there as well.

I would suggest don't worry keep looking forward at your own child and not comparing them to others. Mine is May born and is slightly behind in some areas but ahead in others

I have a summer born DD now in year 3. I couldn’t believe the difference between her at 4 years old plus a few weeks compared to a just turned 5 September child. I felt really sorry for her but the teachers always says she did well and had no concerns - they definitely made allowances for them. She’s now achieving all measures at the expected level and should do ok.

We seem to put so much focus onto educational attainment but we really try to focus on social skills too. I want her to be friendly, kind and confident. In the future workplace, those skills are very important too.

My daughter is summer born it didn’t Impact her at all and there was no marked difference in the class.

My dd (yr2) is a june baby and is ahead for her age. In fact there is a group of 6 girls all spring/ summer that were doing work from the next year. Having said that in a class of 28 there are only 6 boys !

Statistically, the difference lessens over time but remains all the way through to A level.

It does depend on the year group.
In Dd1's form, by the end of year R, all barring 1 of the top 2 tables were summer born, including a 30th August boy.
In Dd2's form it was almost reversed.
In ds it was mixed.

I have a summer born boy and he has done brilliantly in school from day one. Try not to worry.

Hi OP, I know how you feel I have 2 winter babies and then the 3rd is a July birthday. I had an interesting piece in a book (Freakonomics? Or one on the Malcolm Gladwell ones?) about the disadvantages of being born at the end of the school year. Not just in academics, but as a previous poster said, in sports. There had been some study of something like an ice hockey team in Canada, and most of the top athletes were born Sept- December.

But, but, but... there are always outliers.

DC3 seemed very young in Reception: she was just 4, and a lot of the very articulate, able girls are September and October birthdays. She was hitting all her targets, but I’d say not as socially mature, and just exhausted by the school day. Her sister had always wanted play dates, dc3 just wanted to come home and watch peppa pig.

Nearly 4 years later, she’s on the ‘top’ table at her local primary (her words, not mine), and working above the expected standard for maths and writing, and expected standard for reading. She still seems ‘young’ compared to a few of the girls in her class, but she’s fine.

I have not spent as much time on reading/ workbooks etc as I did with my first born (eek!), probably because due to the age gaps, I was working on 11+ stuff for her older siblings, and I was sooooooooooooo over Kipper, Chip and Biff

Your DC is going to be fine, just on the back of having an interested parent who cares enough to do some research, and ask for advice on mumsnet.

I work in a primary with a very challenging intake, and lots of children turn up having had no breakfast, smelling of weed, in dirty clothes - this sadly will play a much more significant part of their development that their birthday. :(

I think I read that its not until a level that being summer born stops disadvantaging a child, or that they reach their full potential. Maybe this even included A level.

Im a bit shocked their seems to be teachers who think its evened out by KS2

Statistically summer born children will acheive less than autumn born babies.

This makes sense as you are a whole year younger. Its pretty obvious a 5 year old is going to sturggle more than a 6 yr old. Not just academjcally but confidence, social skills, co-ordination.

I am august born, and I did very well in school and have a good degree. I was pretty much bottom of the class till about 6, then definitely middling, it wasnt till i was about 14/15 that I was more top of the class.

DP is very end of august and he has acheived well but hes definitely more intelligent than what hes acheived, and a lot of this is down to his confidence in his abilities. I think being younger than your peers throughout primary really affects your confidence in your own abiliies

Both my kids summer babies and are consistently top of their grades and 2 terms ahead in their reports. If that really matters. They are also kind, caring and thoughtful and creative, which I’m more pleased about.

My DD1 was an August baby, and autistic.
She was top of her class throughout school, had a reading age of 12 in reception class, was two years ahead in maths, got 5 straight A’s in her Advanced Highers (one of which she sat a year early, along with her Highers, also straight A’s.)
She got a gold certificate in the British maths challenge, went to a top uni, and following her maths degree got a very well paid job in risk analysis at the headquarters of a major bank.
So no, it’s not inevitable that summer babies trail behind! You can make a massive difference with input at home. I taught DD to read when she was 2 - she was fluent by 3. I taught her basic arithmetic at 3, and she was tackling algebra at 5.

Both my sons are summer borns. They do catch up.

Month of birth is only one tiny piece of a child. Home life, parents, together or divorced, step parents, only child, siblings, position in those siblings, parents working or not working, an ill parent or grandparent, peer group and most importantly attitude of parents to learning and education!

As a summer born with winter born siblings it pisses me off that children are written off before they even start. Stop having such low expectations of a child who is 6. this is a marathon not a sprint. He has years to go. Ds1 didn't start to really get ahead until year 9!

My DS is a July birth, now in Y5 and behind in some areas, ahead in others. He struggled for most of school to keep up with his peers academically and emotionally. It's the main reason I have deferred my August born DD who will go into reception in September aged 5 years and 1 week.

I’ve had two summer born children. They struggled when younger but both received amazing GCSEs and a level results.

What happened in sport is that the ones chosen for the team were the older (bigger) ones, so they then get extra training and experience, so they then get to be the better players so they then get picked for the National Team (not really) but that is how it goes.

Make sure your DCs aren't allowed to think they are less intelligent, point out they are doing really well as they are only 4 or whatever. And try to give extra exercise and sport away from school so they can get to be as good at it. Then can get in the team or whatever when they've caught up in build.

Statistically summer borns do have worse outcomes. But of course there are many many exceptions and other factors to consider.
My ds is late June. In R - year 2 he struggled with fine motor skills. He had terrible handwringing and could not use scissors for example. But he is very bright and could read early and is gifted in maths.
He is in year 8 now and less obviously gifted in maths, and still has terrible handwriting!

*handwriting!

As a summer born with winter born siblings it pisses me off that children are written off before they even start.

No one is. The system isn't fit for purpose and should be changed because it introduces disadvantage- no one on here is saying summer borns are intrinsically less capable. We start them ridiculously early anyway, even a 1st September baby is starting too early to my mind.

@OhArsebags

You can delay them entering school by a year so they start reception aged 5 years 6 days rather than 4 years 6 days. Look at the Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children group on Facebook for more info.

Im a bit shocked their seems to be teachers who think its evened out by KS2

Well, by then a lower-attaining summer born at EYFS will likely have become a middle attainer, which from a school perspective is caught up, even if they had the potential to be a higher attainer. Or they may have been labelled as SEND and had that used as a reason for still being a lower attainer. No attention is paid from a school data perspective to their social skills, provided they're not having obvious behaviour issues in class, or to their sporting attainment, or whether they actually had the potential to be more than middle of the road.

When I went to school in Sweden, we went for a developmental and health check-up with the school nurse and the school then discussed with my parents whether they thought I was mature enough to start school though I'd be one of the younger ones of my year. My parents thought I'd be ok, I was quite happy to start, so I did. But their friends' family had a son with a similar birthday to mine and they delayed for a year. The nice thing about this was that it was so openly available, so totally non-stigmatised and done through discussion with the parents.

My own ds (prem late-spring baby) was quite clearly too young to start school. It affected his confidence throughout his school career. Every day he saw how the others could do things he couldn't.