about summer born children and school

[chilled7up]

My DS a summer born (July). He is 3 and due to start Reception next year. I know that one year will make a massive difference in his development, but I feel he'll be too young and immature for school. I worry that a bad start will damage his confidence on the long run.

I'm I being unreasonable to think that parents should have a choice and should be able to decide whether a child should start school a year later? I know we can defer reception and go straight to year one, but that won't make any difference, just delay the problem.

"So, I don't think there is anything to worry about with an August child. All this stuff about August babies struggling with education and career are as much to do with the upbringing of a child and the expectations they are set of life as anything else. "

Well - duh!

They are still likely to do worse than their older peers from similar backgrounds.

And at a societal level that's a problem.

"But she taught me well at home before I went to school, and I graduated at the age of 20 from a Russell Group university before going on to become an airline pilot. Not exactly what the Guardian would have you believe!

Oh hurrah for you!

But despite your Russell group university education you're still not smart enough to take on board 1) that the vast majority of summer born children aren't going to have academic hot-housing by a parent at home before starting school and 2) See above.

My DS was born 1st August and I really worried about him starting school so young. I did think about starting him in year 1 but decided it wouldn't be fair as friendships would already be established and didn't want to make it difficult for him in that way.

It turned out that there are 3 children in his class younger than him anyway. He didn't have any problems academically or socially. He's now 7 (nearly 8) and is just finishing year 3. Has just had a great school report and is exactly where he should be.

I totally get why you're worried but teachers are well aware of the massive age gaps in each year and deal with it really well (in my experience). I'm sure he'll have a great time and be just fine xx

One of my best friends at school was born on August 31st, and she was one of the highest achievers in her year for as far back as I can remember...

YANBU, statistically speaking summer born children, especially boys, do suffer.

DS1 is an August birthday, and also has HFA, double whammy. He had a really hard year between 3 and 4, was in no way ready for school (he would have needed 1-1 and a statement.) I moved home to NI in large part because the cut off date is different, so he got an extra year in Nursery. He started P1 already 5. It has helped immeasurably, he's a different child.

I think there should be a system more like Scotland, so they can choose.

I've been worrying about this. DD1 is three in August and starts preschool in September, and school the following year when she will just be four.

I first became aware of the summer baby issue when I was just pregnant with her. I was cradling my friend's November newborn and realised that my baby would be in the same year group!

DD1 is friends with two other little girls born in August so at least they'll all be the youngest together. And other posters have reassured me over reception class and the (hopefully) big developmental leap between 3-4 years.

I have 2 girls - one Dec born, one July..... yes, the July one was slower to get going - but by the end of reception, all kids were at a similar ACADEMIC level - able to read simple stuff, count to 10 forwards backwards etc.. by end Y1 she had caught up EMOTIONALLY too.

There are problems to start with, they are not major or insurmountable.

Riverboat - my dd is august born and was in top sets all the way through primary.

But she was at the bottom of the top set -which had 5 children in it, 3 of whom were Autumn born birthdays.

None of this should matter, but when at 11 it came to sitting entrance exams for a selective local secondary dd didn't get in; the other two children from her primary who were in the top set sat this test and got in.

Really I was an idiot and should have tutored her and prepared her better for the test (the other two children were, as said, older and also had 2 years of tutoring prior to the test). But I couldn't afford it at the time.

Anyway, point being, although she did better than the majority of other children in her year, despite being the youngest, she would have done better if she'd been sitting entrance exams at nearly 12, instead of at the age of 10.

yabu, although I have a summer-born & understand the worries.
(mine is left-handed speech delayed & emotionally immature boy)

If parents can choose then only the most attentive & caring parents (who can afford another yr of preschool childcare) will tend to choose; the kids from rougher or poorer backgrounds will be even more disadvantaged as the youngest. It's socially inequitable strategy. What's worse, why let only summer borns choose? Why not parents of May or January born children choose? People with September-born DC will be asking for the right to choose, too. You'll still end up with huge age gaps (What BelR said about Australia is type of thing I hear about from American cousins, too).

I am in favour of choice where relevant SN or premature birth are involved. With option to repeat reception for SN that reveal in R year. And hours of funded preschool should be standardised, not dependent on birthday.

My 3yo, who turns 4yo beginning of August starts reception in September and i have had the same worries but i have been told by the school that my dd will get a lot of help & support.
My 3yo has severe speech problems, she still only says a few words so to me she's still my baby, but her education is very important so i would not delay her starting.
Personally i think we start school too early in this country

Shagmund
"They are still likely to do worse than their older peers from similar backgrounds."

Well, an older child from my working class, uneducated family background should have been fucking brilliant then. I just need to point out here that I wasn't 'hot housed,' I had a mother who did not have any qualifications herself, who read lots to me from an early age - someone who took an interest.

There are masses of factors at play, and age is just one of them. As you point out, background is another, as is level of parental input. How on earth do you propose we remove all potential causes of differences in reception age children? Some will be older, some will be younger. Some will come from academic families and prosperous backgrounds, some won't. But we are talking about age here, not backgrounds. And I am just pointing out that being born in August does not necessarily mean a career as a shelf stacker in Tesco. Unless we have a National Shagging Day, there will always be older and younger children in a year.

The trick to making sure that it isn't a problem is knowing and understanding any potential problems your child may have, and doing something about it that you CAN do. You just can't change their birthday, and nor will you change the system.

havent read whole thread, but;

my dd is a July child and has done ok in terms of maturity/being able to cope etc. she has dyslexia, but apart from that is academically ok too

I hear ALOT of parents of summer boys wondering if their ds can cope with school. On the other hand, I have NEVER heard the parents of a summer dd wonder about this....

is it a boy/girl divide??

Btw, if I'm "still not smart enough" - it's because I was born in the summer, innit? See? It's a good excuse for all sorts of things!

I'll start teaching him at home before he starts, so may be more confident about what's going on.

My DS2 is August and his older siblings are both september. I was really worried whenhe started. He's just finishing year 2 and loves school, plenty of friends, and his Sats results are same as DS1's were. And in the 11+, if he does it, he'll get extra credit for being younger, whereas the other 2 are penalised!! I spent the summer before reception teaching him how to get dressed and open his lunch.

I'm a late July baby, DH is a mid-July baby, DS1 is a late August baby, and DS2 will be a mid/late July baby (if he ever vacates the premises! 39+5 today)

I was normally at or near top of my class all through school. Got a degree with honours. DH didn't do as well at school, but it seems like that was more due to teachers underestimating him. He went on to get a 1st at university and a PhD.

DS, so far as we can tell, is hitting all his milestones at average or above average times. He started pre-school in February and seems happy there. I'm not exactly happy that's he's only got another year before full time school, especially when I tend to compare to the U.S. system where he'd have two more years, but this is where he lives and will grow up, and someone has to be the youngest, right?

Just hoping our own backgrounds and lots of parental support will help both sons get over whatever disadvantage their birthdays might hold.

My DC3 had just turned 4 when he started school last year with speech and language difficulties and some special needs. I was really worried for him but he has come on in leaps and bounds. The teachers are aware of his difficulties and have liased with the outside agencies to give him the support and help he needed. He has just had his report for the year and is spot on with everyone else who are moving into year 1 for everything academically and socially, except writing but he will get the help he needs with that at school and obviously here at home.

Just to point out that much of the research on summer babies comes from the time when only "rising fives" went into reception and there infant class sizes could be much bigger. A summer born would thus have 3 terms less education than her peers born in November AND be thrust aged just five into a large class room where most people already knew the ropes.

witch thanks for pointing that out, that's something I didn't know. I'm glad I've started this thread

I agree with you and I believe you can defer in Scotland.

However, you may find that even if he does have some difficulties when he first starts (due to his age I mean) this will even out by the time he is in secondary. This is not just my experience but what I learned in Sociology!

Backinthebox - NOBODY is saying that age is the only factor when it comes to how well children do educationally.

And no - you can't change when a child is born or what sort of background they come from.

Actually I don't think anyone was suggesting you can. I was simply acknowledging that it makes a difference and will always make a difference, all other things being equal, and should therefore be taken into account in all situations where children's attainment and potential are being tested.

My DS is August, the youngest in the whole school, he loves it!! Just about to go into class 2 and it's been great for him - he doesn't give two hoots that's he's tiny and very young, his best friend at school is september baby so there almost a year between them..

So a complete success here, my mum is alos August and said it was great if she ever struggled she would just say "well I am the youngest"

My boy is now at the end of year 1, and has just failed the phonics test. Age not taken into account here either, it seems. If he took it in 11 months time he would be likely to do better, yes?

ds1 has a June birthday and although we could, in theory, have deferred him, in practice he was fine. He and all the other summer born did half days for the first term and this seemed to work very well. He was very tired initially after school and looked ever so little to be at Big School but actually coped without problems. At only 3, I found it difficult to imagine that he would be ready but a year makes a huge difference.

But Shagmund, all other things being equal isn't going to happen. You should take into account ALL the different things that can affect education, not just focus on one thing and get hung up on that being the main factor in a child's potential life-long failure or success. People do seem to be a lot more bothered about a child's month of birth than whether they are read to from babyhood - it is widely acknowledged that it's a bit late to try and get that back if you don't start reading to them early on. Taking interest in your child is something that every parent can do. Changing their birthday is something they can't. I was posting mine and my daughter's experiences as I am an August born adult and she is an August born reception year child, and it can be encouraging to hear that it is not all doom and gloom. By setting expectations that an August born child is always going to struggle you might as well write a future of struggle for them.

What I am trying to say is all things are not equal, not age, background, natural IQ, anything. An August born child will not necessarily struggle purely because of their age.

Anything else I need pointing out to me, cause I is fick?