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Original poster

To think that having a April birthday is the best month to be born in for school

80 replies

ReallyTired · 20/10/2015 22:56

It is in the middle of the academic year so the child should have roughly an average amount of development/ maturity. (Assuming no Sen and that the child is not gifted.) Some September born children might get bored in nursery, some August born children need a little bit more time in nursery.

OP posts:
HaydeeofMonteCristo · 20/10/2015 23:08

I always thought about January/ February was best for similar reasons. Not too near the beginning of year, but a bit above the middle.

September/October kids definitely get bored a lot of the time, both not starting til later and when they are at school.

Bloomsberry · 20/10/2015 23:13

Really? How clever of me, producing an April child though he was supposed to be born mid-March but went incredibly overdue... How reassuring to think I accidentally did something right!

EternalDalmatian · 20/10/2015 23:17

There are downsides. Ds2 is an April birthday and the 2 weeks Easter holidays nearly always play havoc with his birthday party.

Either it's immediately before his birthday, or his birthday is smack bang in the middle which makes giving out invites a nightmare and means plenty of no-shows due to forgetting after 2 weeks off or being away etc.

senua · 20/10/2015 23:18

But April children stand a chance of having their birthdays during the Easter holidays. Term-time birthdays are best.
I read somewhere that you are more likely to be G&T if you have a May birthday.

arethereanyleftatall · 20/10/2015 23:20

April isn't in the middle of the academic year. It's two thirds of the way through.
I would say January is good, middle to older for school, and oldest fir sports events which tend to go on birth years.

flixybelle · 20/10/2015 23:21

My dds are January and May. January seems to be the better as she was older but not enough to get bored. May seems a lot, lot younger and less ready for school all her close friends are older ones and the difference is pretty huge,emotionally and educationally.

TheBitterBoy · 20/10/2015 23:29

April children are part of the group termed 'summer born' by schools. I noticed a big difference between DS and his Sept/Oct born friends in YR and Y1 especially. And yy to the birthday party hassles - all those tricky bank holiday weekends and Easter to avoid as people will be away.

BrideOfWankenstein · 20/10/2015 23:31

I was born in April and still was youngest in the class.

namechangedtoday15 · 20/10/2015 23:32

Well I have DC with April birthdays and it's definitely the "younger" end of the school year. Not halfway at all.

And yes to never being able to have a party near your birthday if you want your friends to be around.

And going back a step - if you have a child that's born in April, you won't get your 15 hrs until the following September. There is no other month of birth where you have to wait until you're around 3 yrs 5 months until you get funding.

Theresomethingaboutdairy · 20/10/2015 23:35

I have 4 dc. One born in April and the other 3 in October. The October borns were at a distinct advantage when starting school.

EternalDalmatian · 20/10/2015 23:37

if you have a child that's born in April, you won't get your 15 hrs until the following September

That's not always the case. Ds2 started at nursery straight after the 2 week Easter Holidays.

grumpysquash · 20/10/2015 23:39

Halfway through the English school year is end of Feb. My son is 13th Feb (narrowly missed being a Valentine baby, but that's another story) so in the middle age wise, but whenever there has been split classes he's been grouped with the older ones.

Feb is a rubbish time of year for parties though. They always have to be inside. And 13th Feb often falls in half term.

My summer born DC (August and June) have a better time of the parties, but are younger in their year.

OP if you are talking averages, then you are definitely right. But there is a lot of variability between children and you just can't predict! My DS1, the August born, is better behaved and more academic than the February DS2. But DS2 is far more independent and bold. So it's swings and roundabouts, and birth month is just another factor.....however I would say that if your DC is struggling academically or socially or even just short for their age, then they would benefit from being autumn born. Oppositely if they turn out to be big for their age and also mature and able, then a late summer birthday is not problem at all.

grumpysquash · 20/10/2015 23:43

PS not meaning to imply that height is a thing, because obviously it is not a massive deal.

But a very petite August born child will be a lot smaller than an average September born (the year before) when they are 4 or 5 years old.

namechangedtoday15 · 20/10/2015 23:47

eternal you are right if easter falls very early (and therefore the new term starts early April). That doesn't happen most years - certainly if you're middle / end April, you won't get funding until Sept.

I also disagree with the whole autumn born = stronger academically. Grammar school area here, almost twice as many March- August children passed the entrance exams as the Sept - Feb children.

Calliou · 20/10/2015 23:49

The nursery funding is a pain. We essentially missed out in 6 months of subsidised childcare by a week.

In terms of birthdays it is difficult with Easter but as they get older it's also the beginning of exam time so difficult to celebrate.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 20/10/2015 23:52

February is a good time (I'm Feb born). It's lovely to have a birthday to break up that dreary stretch between Christmas and Easter.

I went to school in Ireland, where they are much more flexible about age and school year, so I'm not sure that early spring children fared all that much better on that score. Bored autumn/springs would have moved up and struggling summers would have moved down. That said, DD is the end of January and she fits nicely into the middle of abilities in her class, DS is June and we dropped him down a year when we moved over from the UK.

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 20/10/2015 23:52

Eternal Dalmatian my Dd is an April baby and it is correct you don't get the funding until September. The cut off dates are 31st December, 31st March and 31st August in England.

She has never been at school for her birthday but this year will be the first time.

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 20/10/2015 23:56

Forgot to say it doesn't matter when Easter is the cut off is still 31st March.

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 20/10/2015 23:56

Forgot to say it doesn't matter when Easter is the cut off is still 31st March.

Original poster
ReallyTired · 21/10/2015 00:01

I agree that nursery funding is unfair. Maybe March would be the best time to have a baby. Sometimes we have lovely warm weather in April and dad had one garden party. Winter horns have less options for parties.

I think that any academic advantage for having an autumn birthday disappears. I was thinking from an academic point of view that April was good. Today I had a woman saying it us hard for younger children and her daughter has an April birthday. My daughter has an April birthday and I have never considered her to be a summer born. Now that children start full time school in the September after they are 4 there is less of an advantage for having an autumn birthday.

OP posts:
Original poster
ReallyTired · 21/10/2015 00:05

Drafted IPad

OP posts:
Original poster
ReallyTired · 21/10/2015 00:05

I hate auto correct on iPads

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 21/10/2015 00:07

When DC4 was three, it was after 1 April but something like a week before they went back to school for the summer term. There was a space in the school nursery where his brother went, but they refused to let him take the place up and he had to wait until he was 3 years 5 months as well.

What irritates me is that the policy says 'from 3' and not 'from 3.5 for any groups we choose to make hang on for any reason'. I think if you are 3 at the start of term and a place is there, you should be able to take it up.

WhenWillYouMakeMyTelephoneRing · 21/10/2015 00:12

January is annoying as a month in which to organise a birthday celebration though. Lots of places you might want to go to for a day out are closed, no chance of having a party or party games outdoors, and it's a bit of an anti climax after Christmas, plus everyone's skint.

ForChina · 21/10/2015 00:13

No I think April is actually quite far through the school year. Research consistently shows that children who start school older do better for a long, long time both socially and academically (on average of course) so there is no argument for children starting later in the academic year to 'be more average'. Even the oldest are starting too young, if you look at the data available from across the world and which children are actually most successful and healthy and happy. It's the older starters.

Also, no good school should have 'bored' children in Reception!