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Original poster

Is having an August baby really so terrible?

273 replies

SunflowerOwl · 17/04/2021 21:18

I'm expecting my first DD in late August. I'm so excited and thrilled.

But people keep telling me I should 'keep my legs crossed' until September as summer babies are at a massive disadvantage when they start school, they will be a year younger etc.

Aside from the fact that theres very little I can do about when she decides to arrive, is it really so terrible? People are starting to make me feel like I've set my child up to fail already and it's making me feel pretty crap.

OP posts:
wishing4sun · 17/04/2021 22:51

Me and my sister are both august baby's now 40 and 37 we have both done fine in school and don't think it was an issue.
I am a pre school worker and have had a few people hold back a year on august baby's and it's been ok for them, you know you're child.

Pebbledashery · 17/04/2021 22:52

My brother is August baby. He's a chartered accountant whose just completed a masters degree.
I would ignore people.

Historytoo · 17/04/2021 22:57

Lots of anecdotes here. This program has the statistics. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0938k8v
I also have an August born who did very well in her GCSEs. Still wish she'd been born a week later and been a September baby but nothing can be done about it so my view was to do my best for her and not blame myself. Lots of other factors advantage and disadvantage children too.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
fizbosshoes · 17/04/2021 23:01

In my antenatal group we were all due late july - sep. A few people were hoping their baby was late so it was eldest in the school year instead of youngest.my DD is early august, she has been fine academically although even as a teen I'm mindful she will be behind her peers to go out to bars , learn to drive etc
Pre school it was great to have summer parties for her birthday. It still is, but she rarely manages to have a party as such, because often friends are away for her birthday- we just time it for term time if she wants a larger gathering of friends.

TaVeryMuchLove · 17/04/2021 23:07

Load of bollocks. Every child is different, you’ll know if she’s ready. I have an august boy and he’s always been ahead for his age.

And what the hell is all this “it helps she’s a girl” shit? Whatever.

EileenGC · 17/04/2021 23:10

Someone has to be the youngest in a class, and at 4 that might be obvious but it eventually evens out.

I was two years younger in school and managed perfectly fine.

ouchmyfeet · 17/04/2021 23:17

I hope you're finding all these comments reassuring OP. My own august baby was totally ready to start school a week after his 4th birthday and never struggled either socially or academically. He is bright as a button and has been classified as working at greater depth in every school report he's had throughout primary school. He passed his 11+ this year with flying colours and is going to the top selective school in our area.

Also seconding the bonus nursery savings and lovely sunny outdoor birthday parties .

One of my best mates was born on 31st august and has a first and a doctorate from Cambridge.

TableFlowerss · 17/04/2021 23:20

@SunflowerOwl

I'm expecting my first DD in late August. I'm so excited and thrilled.

But people keep telling me I should 'keep my legs crossed' until September as summer babies are at a massive disadvantage when they start school, they will be a year younger etc.

Aside from the fact that theres very little I can do about when she decides to arrive, is it really so terrible? People are starting to make me feel like I've set my child up to fail already and it's making me feel pretty crap.

People talk bollocks. You can hold a summer born baby back a year. It’s a government initiative so it’s your choice when li is born. Don’t listen to ‘experts’ on the internet. It’s your choice op
IamHyouweegobshite · 17/04/2021 23:26

My ds is an August baby, now 16. He was 5 weeks early and I was concerned about being the youngest in year, but tbh it hadn't held him back, apart from things like learning to drive and getting a Saturday job. On the plus side, we never really had to worry about class parties etc as he would invite his best friend's over for a BBQ.

Thecazelets · 17/04/2021 23:28

My late August baby is currently at Cambridge, and my late August DH has a PhD. Purely anecdotal of course, and I know there's lots of evidence that summer born babies are at a disadvantage, but it still depends very much on the individual child. Being born on 1 September isn't a golden ticket either.

Lots of first babies are late anyway so it might be a non-issue!

ErrolTheDragon · 17/04/2021 23:33

I know an aug 30th-born who did brilliantly at school and went to Cambridge, embarked on a research career in an amazing field now.

Ozgirl75 · 17/04/2021 23:34

I’ve got a December boy (which is equivalent to a June baby here in Aus) and he has never struggled at all being towards the end of the school year. He’s fine academically (although often seems to take the first term to really “get” everything) and sports wise he’s been on the A team for cricket, plays tennis against people 2-3 years older than him and runs for the school in cross country.
Someone has to be the youngest!

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 17/04/2021 23:35

Nah it's fine, and you save a years worth of nursery fees Grin

RickiTarr · 17/04/2021 23:38

You can’t really generalise, and as PPS have said, there is now flexibility in the school system regarding holding back to the next cohort of appropriate, so I wouldn’t give it another thought until school applications hove into view.

newmumwithquestions · 17/04/2021 23:39

Statistically, August born children, as a group, perform the worst in school in England (I assume you’re in England or Wales as the Scottish intake works differently?). Followed by July, June, and so on working back through the year. The gap reduces through school but never disappears even in later life achievement. There will always be anecdotal exceptions but overall it is a disadvantage. But depending where you are and how amenable your local authority is you can start them in reception year at compulsory school age at 5 rather than 4. You have to apply to do this and it varies how easy or difficult it is depending where you live.

No need to decide what you want to do at the moment - you can think about it when she is 2-3. Enjoy your baby!

LoveSleeping · 17/04/2021 23:48

Why do people always find negative things to say about EVERY baby- related thing?

I'm an August born baby with a degree (a first) and an MA (with distinction) both from top universities- so no, my August birth has not held me back! Mum said I was more than ready to go to school when the time came!

Nellle · 18/04/2021 00:01

Another person interested in why a few posters have said they'd be less concerned with an August-born girl than an August-born boy?

ClaryFairchild · 18/04/2021 00:02

Statistically August born don't do as well as their peers. Out of the 3 August born in my DS's class, including my DS, they all struggled a little bit, as did the July child.

But, over a few years, and with a bit of perseverance at home, the difference can cease to matter. The biggest thing is making sure they don't fall too far behind in the first few years.

My DS found it difficult to focus for long periods of time and the teacher was an absolute cow about it, saying he was a year behind in maths when he was in year 4. I got him some tutoring and they said he wasn't behind at all. But the tutoring gave him the confidence in his ability and he was then able to speak up in class.

Maggiesfarm · 18/04/2021 00:12

What nonsense, I know plenty of people who had children in late summer who have done really well.

One girl I know, now in her forties, was born at the end of August. She was the youngest in her school year. She got three A levels at A grade, the results came out on her 18th birthday. She then went to a prestigious uni and achieved a good 2:1.

My husband was a July baby and did quite well.

Take no notice of negative remarks.

buckleten · 18/04/2021 00:28

I have a late August daughter, and I never even considered whether it would affect her. She was more than ready for school when the time came, and is now doing well at grammar school.

RickiTarr · 18/04/2021 00:29

@Nellle

Another person interested in why a few posters have said they'd be less concerned with an August-born girl than an August-born boy?
I know this was something my DM was taught at teacher training college in the 1960s/70s.

Isn’t it that girls generally outstrip boys academically until X age, and that X age has been steadily moving upwards from about 10 to currently 30ish?

That overlaid with the issue of summer babies being supposedly disadvantaged, led to a lot of academic concern about August born boys. I suspects it’s all been exaggerated & mythologised a bit over the years.

Yellowbowlbanana · 18/04/2021 00:39

I have an August born Ds. He does absolutely fine but he would have definitely found it easier with an extra year under his belt. He was less emotionally mature than many of his peers, particularly starting secondary school. It doesn't help that he is also very physically immature which is then compounded by his late birthday.

Kollamoolitumarellipawkyrollo · 18/04/2021 00:54

@TaVeryMuchLove

Load of bollocks. Every child is different, you’ll know if she’s ready. I have an august boy and he’s always been ahead for his age.

And what the hell is all this “it helps she’s a girl” shit? Whatever.

Statistically not ‘bollocks’ or ‘shit’.

OP, depending on your county, summer borns can begin in reception the term after they turn 5 fairly straightforwardly. They then do not miss that important first year. At just 4, there is such a difference compared to the Winter borns. Some children will be almost 25% older than them. But you cannot change it and home support goes such a long way.

Jamboree01 · 18/04/2021 01:11

I deferred school start for a year for my youngest summer born son as I had the option to with him. I think they start too young and he wasn’t socially ready but you will know yourself nearer the time. Don’t listen to other people who are being negative.

Jamboree01 · 18/04/2021 01:15

Currently, you can request that your child's school starting date is delayed by a year if they were born between 1 April and 31 August, and you don't think they're ready to start school in the term after they turn four. ‘Different children develop at different rates, and although some summer born children are more than ready to start school soon after their fourth birthday, many others are not,’ explains Pauline Hull of the Summer Born Campaign.