Would you wait to ttc to avoid a summer birthday

[justthinkingxx]

We want to try towards the end of this year and if we are lucky straightaway that would mean a summer birthday. I read it on here on other threads that people think it is the worst time to be born in, for the place in school year above all else

I can see some advantages though like maybe being off school for your birthday , always having good birthday weather , and importantly whilst cost of living is so high you would pay nearly a year less of childcare fees when lots of the first year of school is relaxed and play based anyway , so best of both worlds only you’re not paying for it ?

We’re in our mid20s so can wait if summer is truly disadvantageous !

I was your age when we started to try. Took 3 years. I'd say just go for it.

I like having a summer birthday, as does my 9 year old. If she had been an autumn baby she would have been really frustrated spending another year at pre school seeing as she had taught here to read in the summer before she started school.

As an August baby I loved having a summer holiday birthday, and have spent my birthday in so many different locations.

I was usually the shortest and youngest child in my class, but academically I thrived.

My January born DD hates her too-near-to-Christmas birthday. Swings and roundabouts maybe, but I’m looking forward to my birthday in a new holiday location again this year.

Ah, sweet summer child. Always ttc asap because it can take years and no-one thinks that wil be them, until it is.

Wow, it actually never occurred to me that people don't want summer babies because they will fall behind in the classroom. We always had someone in the group who started school year early (it was in Poland) and these kids were absolutely fine, never behind. I think they just adjust quicker?

I aimed for June, achieving target twice got one either side too. Summer babies are the best.

We had the odd September-born moved up a year, and the odd late August-born moved down. It didn't seem to make a difference to how well they did.

No.
It’s not that controllable. It took me 11 months tc with my first (at 31) and 15 months with my 2nd (at 35). My sister at 35 came off pill and was pregnant before her next period.

I was 25 when we started TTC deliberately waited until the January to avoid a summer birthday but it took us almost a decade to conceive in the end with my DS being born in October which was somewhat ironic in the end as I couldn’t have cared less after all that time. Definitely was naive in how long it would take us.

With DC3 I really didn't want a summer baby, so avoided trying for a couple of months. Was very happy that he arrived in September as planned. Then we moved to a country where the school starting age is more flexible and DC3 was nowhere near the eldest in his class despite his September birthday, so it didn't matter after all.

My DS is June baby - and for some reason his two best friends are also summer born. I thought that 6 months between Christmas and birthdays was ideal . Birthday often fell within half term week and often nice weather .

Didn't see any negative impact regarding school - although our authority did January start at that time . I do recall a friend's daughter really struggling though as she started school a couple of days after her 4th birthday .

OTOH I'm a September birthday and I always hated being the oldest in the school year - far too many expectations that I should be cleverer, more mature etc than the other children .

How so?

Women in their 20's have a 1/3 chance of pregnancy each month. If out have typical fertility it is entirely possible to time conception to avoid certain months. I know plenty of couples who did this successfully. Dd was born in October I would have preferred September, but hey-ho we were going to try for one more cycle (November baby) then lay off for a couple of months. We were 29 & 31 for refference. My Dsis got pregnant first month both times plenty of people do.

Silly question..... can someone please explain to me the disadvantage of a summer birthday in terms of the school year?? I have heard this before but don't understand it

@Mummy2022FT , there will be children in the class who are almost a year older than a child born in late August. The September-born will be 5 and the August-born will only have just turned 4. That's a big age gap at that age.

I'm also Jan 3rd and I love it! Never been at work or school for it I've had extra presents because people find stuff in the sales that they think I'd like in addition to what they'd already got! Hotels are cheap for a nice weekend away. Restaurants don't need to be booked. When I was little, my friends parents were pleased their kids had a party to go to at the end of the Christmas hols. I never had joint presents - my parents managed my birthday brilliantly and made it extra special just because it was so close to Christmas. The tree is always still up, which makes it feel holiday-ish.

DS1 is a fortnight after me and he also loves it - for the same reasons. Parties had to be indoors - but we knew in advance what the weather would be like! He's very academically talented. DS2 is early November and always enjoyed being older in the class, and having one of the first parties of each school year! He is very sporty, and clever but not academic at all. I think as boys they have been advantaged by being slightly older than a lot of their classmates.

My kids each had 2 best friends through primary school. Of both pairs, one had an August birthday and the other September. It was interesting for me to see the differences a whole year made, and definitely the August boys did not really catch up in maturity until Yr7, although one of them was an academic high flier.

Mid-winter babies do keep you warm! And an excuse to not host Christmas/New Year 🤣

I read some interesting research done with some European professional sportsmen which found that the majority were born Oct Nov Dec. There's all kinds of stuff about fetal nutrition at certain stages, and about when you progress to the next age bracket for your sport. In Europe that means that Oct/Nov babies might have a slight advantage physically. The school year structure in England means that autumn babies might have a slight advantage in terms of maturity, which might help them academically. Of course, in other parts of the world, the opposite will be true!

I didn't actively TTC, they were both 'unplanned' but wanted, but I had always said I'd prefer winter babies, based entirely on my own experience (my brother is May). And it's great! It's all about putting in the effort, as with most of parenting, and making the most of what you have.

The brightest and most mature dc in my year one class is the youngest, with a late August birthday. The most immature and weakest dc is the oldest pupil in the class. That’s an unusual situation but I’m pointing it out to show there are no guarantees.

@Goldencup That doesn't happen for everyone though - and it didn't happen for me . We were s little bit older but it took us s couple of years .

No but at OP's age it is very likely they can plan to some extent.

https://webcontent.ssatuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ECJ_p26-32_3-Education-The-Summer-born-effect-2.pdf
What is the birthdate effect? The birthdate effect in education is the term given to the phenomenon whereby students who are the youngest in a school year-group perform less well academically than their older peers. In the UK, it has become known as the ‘summer-born’ effect because, with a school year starting in September, it is students born in the summer that are the youngest for the academic cohort and therefore most affected. This term is a little misleading – research from around the world (where term dates differ) confirms that it is students’ ages relative to their year-group, not the month they were born, that is the key determinant of their performance. The birthdate effect is not limited to education. Perhaps surprisingly its presence is most clearly seen on the sporting field. A study of Premiership footballers in 2005 by the Association of Football Statisticians discovered that of the near 2,000 Englishmen to have played at the top level, more than 40% were born in September, October or November. The suggestion being that because they were the oldest in their age groups, they were the ones that stood out.1 Similarly, Malcom Gladwell in his famous book Outliers showed that most professional Canadian hockey players were born in the first months of the year. The reason being, he argues, was that the Canadian youth leagues recruit by calendar year and so those born at the start of the year were the oldest in their teams and were able to reap the rewards.2 That your month of birth can determine your future is an uncomfortable thought but of course a summer birthday does not consign you to doom. The effect is a statistical trend and many people do not conform to it.

...

At age seven, August-born pupils are 26 percentage points less likely to achieve the government’s expected level than September-born pupils.

At age 11, August-born pupils are 13 percentage points less likely to achieve the
government’s expected level than September-born pupils.
At age 16, August-born pupils are 6.4 percentage points less likely to achieve the
government’s expected level than September-born pupils.

There's lots of stuff about it on-line.

https://www.firstdiscoverers.co.uk/summer-born-children-struggling-school/

Basically it's being youngest in year - so physically and mentally less developed than peers so a a cohort do less well - though many individuals aren't affected.

However my teens have also found it a disadvantage with finding work post GCSE and a few other minor issues which as they start to leave education behind and get on with their adult lives should cease to affect them.

Old guardian article about teenage physical ability in autumn babies

www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/22/autumn-born-children-better-sports-study

I’ve always loved my end of July birthday EXCEPT when I was waiting to turn 18 and then it was awful!

also, it rains all the time on my birthday too 😂

From my sample size of my family and friends summer babies do better . I have 3 DC the one born in November has found school the toughest academically and socially while my other 2 both later summer been fine. In my own family I am born in August with siblings born in all 3 other seasons, my October born brother again found school the hardest all around. I love my August birthday always able to go away and its sunny and warm. My most successful friends are also all summer babies.

No, because you can send a summer born child to school in reception at age 5, which is what we are doing with our eldest.

This being an option now does potentially make it less an issue - only option we had was to skip reception and go into Y1 which didn't seem helpful.