To think having a baby in September is maybe the worst time?

[worldso]

I’m a September birthday but neither of my children are.

But I was thinking … heavily pregnant in a hot summer and an extra years childcare to pay for.

I know September births have an academic advantage but on balance I think my least preferred month!

Yep. Mine is December 25th...I used to (jokingly), moan to my parents that it was totally unfair that I had to buy presents to give to other people when it was MY birthday.

I hope so, I always told young teachers aim for a mid/ late September birth, and make sure you don’t start your maternity leave until the school goes back, even if it is for a week.

So sorry teacher haters, but decent maternity arrangements a la Burgundy Book were the only perk for many teachers . Which is why academies who tweak them suck!

🙂

My son was three weeks away from his fifth birthday when starting at a small village school, where the others in his group were all much younger - so he was bored. Educationally it’s not always an advantage.

I had two September babies. The first one there was a bit of a heat wave in July and i ended up in hospital with Pre elampsia for 2 months! It was so hot in hospital , really unpleasant.

I had to buy a new set of winter maternity clothes for my April baby... I had peviously had a December baby, but despite it being that December when it was frozen for the entire month, and generally below -8⁰C, I was too huge for maternity clothes, couldn't leave the house and generally lounged around the house in my underwear at a nice toast 15⁰C warmed by 8lb of furnace inside me.
Pre-Christmas birthdays are fine- it's late December/ Jan when everyone is skint, bloated and partied out that are limited fun.

Surprisingly April has been harder for birthday logistics as Easter fluctuates so people's avaliabilty is unpredictable from one year to the next. Weather is also unpredictable... could be heatwave... could be snow... It was actually snowy when DS2 was born!

With both babies, I was feeling human for their first summer.

Academically, I'm glad that neither is the youngest as they both have some specific learning issues. DS1 in particular benefited from a bit more life and social experience before starting school.

My youngest so was a September baby, yes it was very hot an uncomfortable for a few months but he loves being the eldest in his class and it’s not near any other big events like Xmas and Easter do for us! So it is as a brilliant time to have a baby.

But that is anecdata. I’m an August who was bumped up a year so often with fellows nearly two years older. When my DC went through school that practice had been stopped for good reason. The age disparity matters and 12 months is already enough of a range.

Academically I did well, as did my 4 Summer born DC but again this is anecdata. None of us had reception before starting yr 1 (or first year infants as it was in my day). The variation in maturity within classes at this age is huge. Not all children will have the parental and home support to easily catch up that lost reception experience.

There is a lot of data to show the Summer born effect on children right up to GCSE level with the general stagger really only starting to unwind around yr7+

June /july is probably best in terms of pregnancy/even split with Xmas and great time for out door party’s. September better for academics.

im October I hated i couldn’t have a outside party (back when we had proper seasons and October was wet and windy) I also felt like friendships weren’t properly established as had only been back to school 3 weeks.

My September baby arrived very late August. I think either is a great time to be born, it’s still mild and then you have the autumn months creeping in.

Best time to have a baby! Establish sleep in the dark nights, have an active, busy baby in the summer months.

I was born in October 1966.

My mother hated football almost as much as I do, apparently there wasn't much on TV that wasn't football and as she was apparently the size of a house (at one point she needed help with pulling her pants up) it was a miserable summer for her.

Of course. The handful of examples you happen to know of totally negate all the academic studies that have proven that summer born children are statistically behind their autumn born peers. How silly of me not to realise that!

Probably based on averages in state schools.

If that research were true only autumn born children would ever attend top universities. Few summer burns would become doctors, barristers, accountants, etc.

I wonder if you could link to the research.

Nooo!
Late pregnancy is always cumbersome and uncomfortable - whenever it is. It’s a one off - we all have to suck it up.

More important is the child’s birthday, which is every year. Massive advantage to be born at the start of the academic year!

Harder birthdays would be the Christmas period.
Ot August - end on the academic year.

Oh the same !! Dd1 born end of September. That 40 degree day was 😭😭

I liked being heavily pregnant in the height of summer, mainly because I couldn't really put my own socks on that well so it was nice not to have to bother.

I don’t have a public link handy but most of the work on this is derived from large cohort studies and not restricted to state schools. There was a discrepancy at university level but since students are disproportionately likely to be middle class (especially in our generation) some of that is smoothed out. Titles of public papers will usually be “effect of Summer birth on educational attainment” or similar.

DH was part of one of those cohort studies and I remember the numbers were quite astonishing even into GCSE/‘O’ level. This was also why the old 11+ used to have an adjustment factor for age (and still does in the areas I know). It isn’t that surprising if children have spent at least the first half of their education playing developmental catch up with their class mates.

In well resourced families the gap will be largely compensated but the gap itself is real and some schools manage it better than others. It has engendered many policy discussions both here and abroad on how to mitigate impact whilst delivering a system which has to work on calendar years and exam timetables.

End of August - DD1 needed so much extra support in primary years - literally turned 4 and started then turned 18 - got A-level results before birthday - and was off to uni. Made job and volunteering harder due to ages and getting bus pass before college got caught up in busyest time so cost us much more to get her in. Hotest day to give birth on.

Younger one have birthdays in exam period - 16 18 right in middle of exams - not great but only a few years.

I have early January no -one bothers much - DH says same in late Nov but he gets more attention IMO.

I have a Jan baby and an Oct baby. The summer in the second pregnancy was harder. I quite liked being about to hanker down in the winter and didn’t feel like I was missing out too much, and then when you e found your feet and want to go out more the weather is getting nicer. I’m also pleased they won’t be last in the school year. BUT, it makes their birthdays expensive as no outside garden/park parties and always have to hire somewhere. Plus my early Jan baby I feel sorry for as will get forgotten in Christmas hangover or when he’s older they’ll all be doing dry January!

Mine also. Had one in August and was totally fed up being heavily pregnant in the heat. Glad I didn't have to pay an extra year in childcare though

She is three! She really isn’t ready for a long school day, a nursery day, even with long hours isn’t comparable to a school day. Most children, as a rising five, which she will be, still find that the first school term is exhausting . Focus on her being three,it’s a lovely age full of curiosity and delight. And there are so many ways to enrich her experience at that age, to enlarge her vocabulary, improve her physical skills, develop her social skills, all of which will stand in good stead when she does start school.

Paddling pools are not much good if you don't have a garden though and working in the heat. My birthday is Aug 28 th. No issues being youngest in school year.

I have an August DC. When I went to ante natal classes, several people wanted their babies to be late, so they would be oldest in the school year. (I hadn't even given it a thought at that point although my due date was too early for it to have made a difference for me)
I'm pretty sure September is meant to be the busiest month for births.
The last month of my first pregnancy was a heatwave but although it was uncomfortable I spent a lot of time not doing very much except eating ice lollies - I definitely didn't do any nesting!

On and as for school. I was top of my class in a selective prep school. Have 3 brothers all Sept/Oct birthdays of which 2 of them were nearly 8 before learning to read ( no sen) and the other was very average in state schools

While I think a lot of parents like to think their children are very much ‘school ready’, most three year olds are still emotionally all over the place, particularly boys. I’m grateful that, even though my three year old is a real sociable bright little spark, he’s got another year of nursery and home to develop a bit more in other areas. Oh and at nearly 4 he still naps! Not at nursery but on the days he’s home. So I doubt he’s physically ready for a full school day either.