August baby at a disadvantage to Sept baby?

[peachytacos]

AIBU to think that having a birthday in spring/summer won’t massively affect how successful your child is in school long term?

I completely understand in the first few years at school the difference is significant, as a year is such a large jump, but surely as they grow older it evens out?
I’m ttc no 2 and was speaking to my close friend about it today who told me its mean to ttc this month in case I end up with an August baby
She’s naturally very blunt and doesn’t mean anything nasty by it but she strongly feels that a baby born in August is at a massive disadvantage throughout. I know it’s highly unlikely to happen anyway but it’s made me think.

Thoughts/opinions please!

There are always outliers (and don't forget that in Scotland it's different, August born there is bang in the middle of the age group).

But - overall, there's a disadvantage. Especially at primary.

Such a huge difference between oldest and youngest in my childrens' classes - mine were towards the middle, and I'm glad they weren't any younger.

Don’t get your Frillyhorseyknickers in a twist!

I would never say anything to her and her baby was born after 37 weeks (so medically at term) with no issues. I just confessed to one moment of selfish satisfaction after months of being told I should have ‘planned my pregnancy properly to do the best for my child’ which I thought was utterly ridiculous on her part.

I don’t think that counts as point scoring, just mentioning that even the best laid plans for an autumn baby can go awry.

Award for the most awful comment goes to you @LaBelleSausage. Bravo!

What a horrendous thing to say.

I’ll never claim to be a saint, and I’m sure we have all thought things about someone that we haven’t said.

Anyway, I can see that I’ve upset a couple of people so I’m sorry for being thoughtless and for admitting to it, especially given the date.

I don’t want to derail the thread though, so we can all agree that I had a particularly nasty thought and if anyone would like to comment further then please just PM me

In the country where I live, the local school system is grouped Jan-Dec and the international schools (British, American, etc) are grouped Sep-Aug. DC1 is late October and I’m 38 weeks with DC2 who’ll be December. So given I have the option, we will send our children to international schools. Partly because we want a seamless transition when we return home, but partly because why would we purposely make them the youngest if we have the choice?

Similarly we have other expat friends who are sending summer born children into local schools because then they’re in the middle of the year rather than being the youngest.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to do your best for your child, but when it comes to TTC theres only so precise you can get!

I have two August born children, both IVF so after many years to ttc the month they were born didn't bother me in the slightest. my daughter is a 27 Aug birthday so the youngest in yr 5. she is top 10% of her ear and hasn't struggled bar yr R when the social side was harder. my son has only just started yr R and so far no issues but that remains to be seen. overall yes I imagine it does have an impact but you have to work with it - bear in mind they will start school when they are barely 4 and get them ready for this. I suspect there are many other factors also which impact both positively and negatively so I wouldn't let it sway your decision entirely!

Level of parental education and income are the biggest influences on how well your child will do, academically and beyond.

The educational outcomes gap for summer/winter born children narrows over a couple of years, the gap between richer/poorer and between those with more educated parents/those without doesn't.

Would you feel guilty for not being in the top 5% of earners? Or not having a post graduate qualification? No? Then I wouldn't feel guilty about having a summer born.

The arrogance of planning around avoiding summer born child never fails to irk me. Apologies if that sounds harsh, but God forbid some posters experience a premature baby, miscarriage or fertility problems. I imagine a summer born wouldn't seem too bad then.

I have 2 july babies. Oldest is top groups for most things (as much as they have that - she is only in year 2) and is very capable. Youngest has just started reception. She is behind where her sister started in terms of what she knows but I think she will catch up ok. I would say their differences are largely to do with their personalities. Oldest wanted to know everything, youngest not so bothered!

Have you ever considered that September babies might struggle in different ways - more than ready for school and easily bored if they find things too easy. I know on person having these issues and I am sure there are more.

I don't think you can really predict when you will get pregnant or when baby would come so I would just crack on with it. What if you were due September and baby came August?

My niece is an August child and she started school the September after so she is now the eldest in her class.

Apparently it does but my youngest DC is mid August and is in top sets across the board. It hasn’t affected her in the slightest.

I have a Summer born dd (albeit May) who did extremely well in Sats, is very sporty and socially friends with the eldest in the class. However, I think birth order definitely helps. Plus attitude to learning. My eldest, winter born ds is definitely lazier and less interested in school.

@laulea82, I was thinking this. DS has just turned three and has a slight speech delay. I'm very thankful that he has another year and ten months before he has to go to school. Those who don't believe there's an advantage to being born in Autumn - maybe if your child would take it all in their stride anyway, it doesn't matter whether they're August or September born, but if they have any issues, surely it's an advantage to be that much older before they have to go to school?

And for what it's worth, DB, DP and I were all born st the tail end of the academic year and have done very well academically and professionally. But socially I and my brother both really struggled when we were in primary school.

All the people who are saying 'Well my dc/my dp/ my next door neighbour's uncle is a summer born and they've done really well' are missing the point a bit. There are millions of successful high achieving summer-born people throughout the UK and world . They've just 'made it' against very very slightly greater odds than their Autumn born peers.

Statistically there is evidence that summer-born children achieve less than autumn born dcs at least to the age of GCSEs. Kelly Bedard and Elizabeth Dhuey (2006) provide substantial evidence that these initial maturity differences have long-lasting effects on student performance across a number of OECD countries. And a 2010 study by the Higher Education Policy Institute found 28% of August-born children went to university compared with 32% of those born in September over a six-year period.

Of course other things have a greater effect on achievement (like good or bad parenting, good or bad education, good or bad health etc) but it's not to say that if you want to try to give your as-yet un-conceived dc another tiniest of edges then using contraception in autumn is similar to moving into the catchment area of a good school or sitting round the dinner table eating wholesome food and talking every day.

I am always surprised by threads like this. There are lots of examples of women achieving an awful lot but that doesn't mean we should stop fighting for equality for all women. It's a real 'I'm alright jack attitude.

Summer borns are statistically at a disadvantage. It didn't stop me conceiving in November! But the sooner parents stop being in denial about the real disadvantage of some children starting school a whole year behind others, the sooner we can have the choice about when children start school (see #summerborn campaign).

We only don't have this choice (where other countries do) because it is a bit inconvenient administratively.

kittytom letting parents choose when children start school doesn't solve the problem of some children being a year younger than others in their class, in fact it makes it worse.

Month of birth is only one of many factors that can affect children’s education. August-born DC1 is flying along, top of the class but September-born DC2 has eyesight problems and is struggling.

Parental input and family financial state have at least as much of an influence as birth month.

By the way it is possible to have a child born in months other than August that are inconvenient for birthday - organising partiesthe child born in the first week of September is definitely trickier than the August one! And DC1 has a friend born at Christmas - always awkward trying to plan a birthday party when everyone has so much else going on.

I have a September 1st son and am actually worrying that he will be bored at school and would have been better being younger in the year. He has older siblings at school and is very bright, it's a long old wait for him to get started. Middle of the year birthday is best.

I am always surprised by threads like this. There are lots of examples of women achieving an awful lot but that doesn't mean we should stop fighting for equality for all women. It's a real 'I'm alright jack attitude.

[Confused] The month you are born is only a small impact on your life chances overall? Wtaf does this have to do with feminism? SEND/parental situation/ school you attend etc ultimately is a hell of a bigger influence than month of birth. It really is a first world 'problem', no more no less. "Fighting for equality" lol.

No effect really - late spring baby here, top A level grades in school, top degree from red brick, two lots of professional qualifications.

ROFL @ the continual boasting and lack of RTFT

As an August baby I struggled socially but had an inner confidence as I far outperformed my older peers academically. I’m not going to argue with the statistics - if this is a known issue then is there anything that can be done to help rather than just assuming they will eventually catch up?

I have much anecdotal insight here...

I am a teacher.
I am an August baby myself.
I have a September baby and two August babies.

I echo previous posters’ comments:
My last class had two boys of similar ability born 51 weeks apart. While they achieved similar gcse results, the younger was in far more frequent trouble for silly - not awful, just silly - behaviour. His immaturity showed, right to the end of secondary school.

My own experience was nothing to do with academic success but rather irritation at being the last to: get a Saturday job, learn to drive, drink (legally!) in pubs etc.

With my eldest two children, I see my September baby’s books at parents’ evening (y5), compare them to the younger one’s (y4) and it’s obvious that a difference is visible (very youngest August baby not yet at school). When I look in my middle child’s books and think about what the eldest was achieving a year before, it’s clear that beginning the y4 curriculum aged 9 is a massive advantage over starting the same Work aged 8 and three weeks.

However, what we should all realise is: babies come when they are ready and academic (or sporting) success or lack of it is but a tiny part of who they are. Being a decent, kind person is the main thing. And, by the time you are old, like me, it won’t matter that you had to wait longer to get that Saturday job. People need to just chill on this issue, because there isn’t a great deal anyone can do about it. The way to influence your child’s success, in my opinion, is not when you try to conceive but in the way you nurture them to work hard, be resilient and all the rest of it.

After a lot of reading I’ve gone back to being on the fence! Doesn’t help that DH thinks it’s crazy to put off ttc for this reason.
He thinks there’s pros and cons to both and that our influence on their education at home is paramount.
Plus his sister was one of the eldest and his Mum said she wishes she went to school sooner because she was very bored and found the first few years didn’t challenge her.
I think I’ll just forget contraception and what will be will be!!