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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want an August baby?

360 replies

DodgyApostrophe · 19/11/2008 20:49

I'm not ttc this month.

I don't want a baby in August as I feel they are definitely at a disadvantage throughout school.

I do want a baby, desperately. Have been ttc for 2 years and have had 2 mc since ds1.

Is it really that bad to be born in August?

OP posts:
Original poster
DodgyApostrophe · 07/12/2008 07:00

Er.

Well all I can say is whoops.

BFP

Due August 15th.

OP posts:
LadyG · 07/12/2008 11:22

Fear not DodgyApostrophe I have an August born DS and he is lovely! Very bright and easily keeps up with his friends who all happen to be about 6 months older than him.

LadyG · 07/12/2008 11:23

And congratulations!!!

amidaiwish · 07/12/2008 11:37

Congrats!
it's not necessarily a bad thing to be the youngest in class. i was a late June baby and never had a problem. DD2 (3.2) is a 1st october baby and is has to wait another year to even start nursery - when she will be almost 4, she is going to go insane and probably be very bored when she is there. she'd be far better off 2 months older already at nursery and starting reception next sept.

KatieDD · 07/12/2008 11:41

Keep your legs crossed you can hold out to September !

WalkinginWaynettaWonderland · 07/12/2008 11:44

DS1 born in August, youngest in his year. DS3 born this August, will probably be the youngest in his year.
I think it gives them a whole host of opportunities, including, if required, the option that if they have to stay back a year they won't be hugely older than their new class.
I was always the youngest in my class, have a great education, a good job and a gorgeous famuly....oh, I can see how that can be viewed as a disadvantage

WalkinginWaynettaWonderland · 07/12/2008 11:45

oh, just saw your last post - congrats!!!

(and need to write family)

EBenes · 07/12/2008 11:59

I have two just-before Xmas babies and have been a bit annoyed about that - would love birthdays with sunshiney picnics and half year gap between presents. Lots of us lucky enough to have children find silly trivial things to wish were different. It is harder at school for younger children, statistically, for obvious reasons, but not insurmountable. I would swap my advantageous December birthdays for sunny birthdays! My own birthday is August 2 and I loved my birthday parties.

SmallShips · 07/12/2008 12:07

Congratulations.

If it helps, i was born at the end of July and i am a frickin genuis.

SpirobranchusGiganteus · 07/12/2008 12:10

DS1 was supposed to be a sept baby but I let go three weeks early.

So he is youngest in year.

Not a problem with him and I don't think it is something to get too hung up about. It's just one factor among several, with presumably marginal effect.

wintera · 07/12/2008 12:56

My 3 year old daughter is an August baby and I am a bit worried about her being young for school etc. . Although she seems to be doing just as well as all the other kids in her nursery class. And is even quite far ahead of some with her speech and the way she constructs a sentence. However I am also chuffed to bits she will always be off school for her birthday due to summer hols. Both my nieces and nephews always think they should get a day off on their bithdays, so at least I will never have that problem!

wintera · 07/12/2008 12:58

Also agree that you never know whats going to happen with birth dates. One of my nephews was due in December last year, he actually arrived at the end of October! You just never know!!

OneBoyOneGirlWithBellsOn · 07/12/2008 13:01

my DS was due on 29th September and was born on 14th August - there are no guarantees. The thought has crossed my mind that it may not be easy for him at school, but i wouldn't base not ttc for one month for that reason.

TheButterflyEffect · 08/12/2008 22:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

flipflopper · 21/01/2009 12:19

Ha ha-- what did i say?!!!!!

congratulations!

Grendle · 21/01/2009 19:05

YABU. Babies are gifts and should be valued whenever they arrive. There are plenty of dates that would be less than ideal as a birthday (e.g. 25th Dec, 1 April, 29 Feb), but if you wanted to be sure to avoid all possible downsides of any date then you'd never have a baby.

Dd is an August baby. My mum actually commiserated when we announced she was due August. After 6 months of trying and a miscarriage en route we were very pleased to have a beautiful, healthy baby. If being born in August is the biggest challenge she ever faces then she'll have a great life .

frankie3 · 21/01/2009 19:16

Since you are desperate for a baby and have had 2 mc, this seems a very strange worry to have. With all the things to worry about in life, does it really matter that your future child may possibly find school work a little more difficult than some other children?

littleducks · 21/01/2009 19:20

good luck with the pregnancy, you obv just have a contrary body!

DandGsmummy · 21/01/2009 19:25

Mine born in August so cant see why not, so there a bit behind in the school year. Just make sure you do alot at home before they go.

fledtoscotland · 21/01/2009 20:38

this doesnt really have any bearing in scotland as the cut off is 1st march.

clam · 21/01/2009 21:01

I get so fed up with this "August babies are behind" nonsense. There is a massive range of ability in any year-group at school and they're not ranked in the class top to bottom according to their birthday, fgs. And who are they supposed to be "catching up" with? Children who might just be brighter than them anyway? It entirely depends on your child's ability. Also, you could argue that they'll always be ahead of the kids in the year-group below. For the record, both my DCs are August-borns and both have been "top group" all the way through. And my son, at the end of Year 7 was scoring level 7 (just) in maths, whereas his mates 2 weeks younger in the year below, were max-ing at a 5A (which is a ceiling mark for Year 6). SO IT DOESN'T MATTER in the grand scheme of things. If you truly want a baby, then surely you'd be going for it big-time regardless, not basing it all on some hypothetical perceived ability-grouping in reception in 5 years' time? I couldn't care less where they are in the pecking order in class, actually. They're my precious kids who I waited a long time for.

lingle · 22/01/2009 17:16

Hmm, Clam, please could you read a report called "when you are born matters" published by the IFS before talking about nonsense. A child who starts school when unable to realisticaly access the curriculum is at risk of being put off education for life.

upnorth · 22/01/2009 18:09

You can't be that desperate if you want to pick the month the baby is born. Anyway it could be early/late. Just be pleased once you have a baby. Kids born in August are no more at a disadvantage than those born around Easter - the school intake will be the same for an August child as it is for an end of April child. Do you really want to avoid having a baby between April-Sept?? If you feel your child is at a disadvantage at any point then hire a private tutor or spend your own time with them. Lots of parents do. Personally I don't and my daughters seem to be doing well at school - one is a May child the other July. Each child is an individual - the month doesn't matter. It might not seem fair how the school's arrange their intake but everyone else has to accept it.

Bubbaluv · 22/01/2009 18:23

You can always move to the Southern Hemisphere where your DC would be smack in the middle of their year group.

Bumpsadaisie · 22/01/2009 18:57

If your child's bright and enthusiastic they'll do well anyway even if born in Aug.

I'm an August baby with a degree from Cambridge - found school a doddle all the way through.

Much more important than birth month is whether you foster and enthusiasm for learning.

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