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!

I've got a July, August, and September children. I do feel for my summer children, they really are less mature, smaller than their peers. Summer child is more confident and ready.

Plus august birthdays are a nightmare!

It makes a difference at a population level but whether it will make a difference in your child's case depends on all sorts of factors including genes and your input as a parent. I was born in late August and was the youngest in my year at school. I was always top of the class and went to Oxford from a comp. But I was massively advantaged because my mum was a primary school teacher who taught me to read before I went to school. Personally I wouldn't fret. There are bigger things to worry about. The fact that you are thinking about this at all suggests you will give your child lots of home support in their education which matters so much more than month of birth.

twins - late Sept birthday
DS2 - mid Oct birthday
DD2 - mid Sept birthday

I work in education.

Birth month makes a HUGE difference, I ideally wanted mine to be born in the Autumn term and was lucky that my planning worked out.

We have an end of August daughter. She’s thriving and enthusiastic about school and friendships. I think it has a lot to do with the schools attitude tbh. Sure her handwriting was a bit slower to take off but her teachers have always praised her which made her think that she was amazing. That confidence has made her really keen to learn and consequently she does well. She is only six and it was odd seeing her peers turn seven the week after she had had her sixth birthday.

The baby you have will be whoever he or she is.

The baby you have in August will not be the same child you will have in Sept. So you aren't doing any actual child a disservice by ttc now. That child (if he or she comes about) will never be a September child. I 0different child might.

Statistically, yes but.... at least they will have nice summer birthday parties.

DS is an end of June baby and he’s just started reception he’s doing just as well as the kids who have already turned 5. Me my DP, DB, DDad and DM are all summer babies and all gone through life fine. Plus on the other hand if you have a September baby and work you have to pay for another year of nursery for them...

There's plenty of evidence to show that on average older children do better academically and in sports (check out the birthdays of the most successful football players). In the UK that is children who are born September - December. For countries that start the academic year at a different point in the calendar year then the advantageous birth months shift accordingly. Freakonomics has an interesting chapter about this.

As a teacher, with over 20 years experience teaching Foundation and Year 1, then I'd say the difference between the oldest and youngest children in the class is very noticeable. August born boys are at a particular disadvantage as boys tend to start school with poorer verbal skills, fine motor skills etc than girls anyway.

Of course there are exceptions. I've taught plenty of confident, bright, mature summer born children. The teacher in the parallel class to me was an August baby and it hasn't held her back.

But generally date of birth does affect children.

I've an August boy. I worried a lot. No need. I'm so glad he wasn't born in September, as he would have been bored shitless. Him and his summer born bestie (also male) were the top achievers in his primary school. My other kids aren't like that BTW!

I have both. The August baby is nowell grown up and doing some levels. The disadvantages for her now are she will be the last one occasion her friends to be legally allowed to drink/driving lessons etc. Academically it hasn't help her back.
I think it is better to be one occasion the oldest in the year but it wouldn't affect trying as you never know what life is going to throw up.

I know few very bright august borns

But there is no getting away from the fact that statistically it does make a difference....at least in the the first years of schooling

I am sure the gap narrows as they age but I certainly dont know when that happens

I have an academically and socially thriving august born girl. She holds her own in sport, but is also small, so has less physical strength and confidence in that arena.

I guessed this thread would end up with lots of posts about exceptionally high achieving August babies 😂 However, the stats show there is definitely a disadvantage and that it follows through to older years. However that disadvantage doesn't mean that individual children in the group are doomed. 😏

2013 When You Are Born Matters: Evidence for England -Institute for Fiscal Studies. Look at this report for some solid facts and figures.

Sorry

Not few

Im sure there are loads

But I personally know

A few...

I accept the statistics but I'm a late July baby, was always top of the class at school and now I'm a solicitor. Hasn't affected me at all

Strangely, in the small law firm I work in (approx. 25 staff), there's about 15 of us with July/August babies... we've all turned out ok with decent careers!

August birthdays are the best. We hire a boat in Greece every year and spend the day at sea. Best day of the year, made even better by the fact that work is completely quiet so I don't get bothered.

There’s a distinct element of smugness from parents with Autumn babies on this thread

In my opinion - yes. I have a July baby and he really struggles at school. He gets in a lot of trouble as he is naturally much less mature than most of his other friends who are born much earlier in the school year. He has struggled since day one.
My DB also struggled all through school and he was born in August. In both cases struggling has led to bullying as they act and think differently to their classmates and this has lead on to problems in secondary school.
With retrospect and complete honesty I would actually use condoms to avoid conception leading to a late June to mid Sept birth. I do think it affects them that much. I have three DC with birthdays in other months so I have been able to compare.

A workmate has twins born in August, one is now a pro rugby player. She said it put him at huge disadvantage when competing at school/youth level because he was constantly competI got with bigger/older kids for his year group.

Husband was born in August, and I think is a good example of this. He didn't pass his 11+ (but then did no prep for it!), and I don't think back then they were adjusted for age groupings within the year. So developmentally he was best part of a year behind some other kids taking it. He went on to do really well in GCSEs and A Levels and has a 2:1.

I think the effect is definitely more pronounced to begin with and tapers over time. I would personally try to avoid it for this reason (first baby is due in Feb, which we are happy with) but ultimately I think that in terms of your child's academic achievements, genes and environment will have a greater bearing. I'd fancy the chances of an August child with supportive parents who provide an intellectually stimulating upbringing and take an interest in that child's education and emotional development over a September child with shit parents. The fact that you are even considering this now suggests to me that you are the sort of person that will provide a supportive environment and take an active role in your child's education and development.

A lot depends on the DC. I have a Sept and an Aug baby. The Sept DC is not academically ahead of their peers but did well or better because they were more mature and confident as a result of being older.

My Aug baby seemed to be behind the others born in Sept but then once they reached age 8 caught up and even surpassed some of his Sept peers in academic subjects.

Statistically, on a population level, it does make a difference and August babies are disadvantaged compared to September babies.
Having had an August born (premature) baby who struggled a lot when starting school, my preference would be to avoid August as a birth month. Although I wouldn’t let that put me off if I thought I might have trouble conceiving.

But it’s also important to remember that August babies being disadvantaged as a whole doesn’t mean that every single August baby will be at a disadvantage - there are other factors that influence a child’s success and there are many examples of high achieving August babies.

If you hold back a year as a summer born you can request they start in reception, latest recommendations are that huge weight should be given to parental preference. Obviously every county interprets that differently, but in our county it is a simple form and a phone call from admissions to the head teacher and then the child applies as normal with the cohort 'below'.

The county over the border doesn't even require a chat with the school, you literally just apply and then tell them you will be applying with the younger cohort.

If you think of it in terms of a child's overall life experience then at 4 years old an August birthday child has had a quarter (ie practically a full years) less experience than a September birthday child in the same school year. If you think about how much a child changes in just a few months then a years development gap is huge.

As the children get older then that full years difference gets proportionally less of the child's overall life experience so the difference decreases. But initially it can be a huge gulf in terms of physical size and muscle development, language skills, ability to concentrate, and general maturity.

A lot of the positive stories come (as we'd expect on Mumsnet ) from people who, had they been born in the middle of a cohort, might have been among those academically advanced children who would have benefitted from "grade skipping" - something we basically never do in the UK, but for which US research gives pretty respectable support, for children in the top few percent.

So to interpret the statistics before your child is born, one thing you might ask yourself is: did you and/or the father have school experiences that suggest you might have been better off in the year above? If so, your August baby might actually have an advantage over your September baby. (Even then, you still have to get past the emotional maturity issue, but that's really only important in reception, and you can get past it by starting reception after Christmas or even after Easter if it seems like a big issue.)

Overall, though, without adding extra info like that, your friend is right.

My Oct born dd was bored at nursery in her last year and more than ready for school.

My Feb born ds will start school in Sept 18 and I think it will be the perfect time.