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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

August/September baby - please help, I'm clueless!

55 replies

lucysnowe · 28/03/2011 13:33

Hi all

So am in an interesting position... DC1 is due on 8th September and I am probably going to have an ELCS which, as far as I know could take place either end Aug or beginning of Sept (this is all speculation at the moment, haven't discussed with consultant yet).

As I understand it (as I am pretty clueless), a baby born in Aug will be the youngest in the class, and one born in Sept, the eldest.

So, if I have the choice between Aug or Sept, which should I go for? What options are there for deferment/starting early? I'm in Oxfordshire BTW.

Thanks!

OP posts:

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themildmanneredjanitor · 28/03/2011 14:50

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eatyourveg · 28/03/2011 15:15

September - no contest!

cat64 · 28/03/2011 15:18

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IndigoBell · 28/03/2011 15:21

There are no options for deferment or starting early. So if baby is Aug or Sep will determine which year they will start school in.

Def, def, def go for Sep. If you need convincing read Outliers

MrsH75 · 28/03/2011 15:51

My feelings are that there is a risk of disadvantage when they are one of the younger ones in the year, but it generally only might manifest itself if they struggle academically.

But then I was the eldest in the year, very tall, bright and grown up for my age and in a way I always wonder whether I'd have been better off being put up a year as I always felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb in my class until the later years of primary school when things evened out.

DD1 is July born (not planned!) and is also tall, grown up and bright but being younger in the class she isn't the tallest and probably there are some kids ahead of her academically. Also there was a split intake - they do September and January starts so she was 4.5 when she started school.

I know you should teach them that it's good to stand out and be different, my parents did though I didn't believe them until I was about 17!

2pinkmonkeys · 28/03/2011 16:00

i would choose sept if i could as DC will have an advantage over the younger ones. some kids are ready for school at just 4 but some really arnt and there is no way of knowing until your DC is that age. so i would go for the safe bet.

supadupapupascupa · 28/03/2011 16:05

god i'm depressed. my DS is Aug born and this is worrying me now. Does anyone have any positive stories for boys in Aug????

Saracen · 28/03/2011 16:25

Both my kids would have fallen the wrong side of the cutoff: the first was autumn born and quite advanced socially and academically, preferring the company of older children; the second was summer-born, has a developmental delay of about a year, and plays with younger children! Home education has been the making of both of them. Neither is even aware of how they compare to other children their age and they can choose whatever friends suit them and work at their own pace.

Whether a September or August birthday is best, not knowing what sort of a child you'll have, depends on whether you think it is worse to fall behind or to be bored. It's a difficult choice IMO. I found school painfully easy. However, I guess if I had to choose, I'd say my autumn-born child would have been better off at school than her summer-born sister. She wouldn't have been happy being eldest in her year, but at least her self-esteem would have remained high.

Runoutofideas, you know you can defer your daughter's start until later in the Reception year without risk of losing her place? The School Admissions Code guarantees parents the right to do this, so long as the child start school by the end of the Reception year and by the time she reaches compulsory education age in the term after her fifth birhtday.

Runoutofideas · 28/03/2011 17:15

Thanks for that Saracen - I'm going to wait until her place is confirmed (end April) then have a chat to the head about our options. I feel she may be better off starting in Sept (getting to know her peer group/not standing out as a new child later on etc) but being part-time for a long time. Not sure if it is possible but we'll see......

MrsTumbles · 28/03/2011 17:23

If DH had been born an hour later he would have been the oldest in his year and not the youngest! DD was due the day before DH's birthday but hung on until September Every teacher I spoke to when I was pregnant said that they have planned/would plan to have a September baby.

In saying that, it never did my DH any harm being the baby of his class

Original poster

lucysnowe · 28/03/2011 17:39

supa I bet there are plenty of positive stories and your DS is super clever and advanced anyway Harry Potter did okay!

However it does seem as if the vote is leaning towards September - I hope I can actually have some input about the date!

OP posts:

TaffetaCat · 28/03/2011 17:44

I have an October born boy in Y2 and an August born girl in Reception. My boy was bored, bored, bored. The work seems about the right pace for DD, but she started in Jan, so has effectively missed a term, so more work is squeezed into 2 terms.

So, IME, the August born one is finding the work more appropriate for her needs, whereas the Oct one has needed extension/extra stuff where available. Lots of state primaries have a woeful provision of extension work.

skybluepearl · 28/03/2011 19:29

given the choice 100% go for September. it will be a real advantage to the child to be older in the class.they will more than likely be more able/confident/coordinated than a summer born pupil.

notnowbernard · 29/03/2011 13:40

lucysnowe I think boys are a bit behind developmentally (esp emotionally) at 4-5, yes

My Aug born girl has settled really well in Reception (teacher said you'd guess her as one of the oldest)

Lord knows what my limpet Aug born boy will be like

FWIW, I think the fact that my Aug born girl is DC2 and not DC1 is a big advantage. She knew the drill before we started, IYKWIM - from traipsing up there for 2yrs with DC1

I agree don't panic if you have an Aug born DS though. They start off part-time anyway

samels001 · 29/03/2011 13:43

September, september, september every time!

Original poster

lucysnowe · 29/03/2011 13:46

LOl I will probably be told I have to have the op in August now! It will be cutting it a bit fine :-) Thanks for the answers, all!

OP posts:

jeee · 29/03/2011 13:53

There is some research indicating that summer babies do worse at school, all the way through to A levels, than autumn babies. I think it's accepted that children pigeon hole themselves even at four - 'Oh, John's really clever, 'cos he can read loads, and I can't'. John, of course is nearly a year older than James. And my DH assures me that a disproportionate amount of professional football players are autumn born, for exactly the same reasons.

If you have the choice, you are giving your child a small advantage by going for a September CS.

Disclaimer: Obviously there are many summer born children who go on to Oxbridge/play for Man U.

PrinceRogersNelson · 29/03/2011 13:57

supa My DS is august born and has just started reception. I worried and worried about it - but he has done really well.
He is having trouble with phonics and is certainly not racing along with reading - but I am refusing to worry about it. It will click when he is ready.

Socially he seems to do fine and has no problems mixing with others.

He is happy at school and is confident. I certainly don't look at the other children and feel that he doesn't fit.

He is lucky to be in a group where there are a lot of summer borns so he does not stick out so much.

HTH

circular · 29/03/2011 14:50

Mine girls are a bit older now (13 and 8) but I one at each end of the spectrum.
DD1 was August born which was a complete shock, as very premature and should have been November. We were seriously worried about her starting school, but she was absolutely fine - just a bit behind on her organisational and motor skills. We worried all through the summer holidays about her going from half days at pre-school to full days in reception just after her 4th birthday but needn't have.

DD2 was October born and one of the olders. She was at an advantage definitely, though part of her maturity would also have been due to having an older sister. As her school started the younger ones in January, there was the added plus in being in a reception class of just 15 for the first term.

There have been a few disadvantages in being one of the youngest in later years. Like nearly missing out when yr7 went on some age 12+ activities, taking first GCSE at age 13, being one of the last to turn 14 which could delay starting DofE or turn 16 and get a proper Saturday job.
On the positive side though, will be eligible for apprenticeships for an extra year after finishing school, so get more time to change their mind.

Given the choice, I would go for September though. But if you can't, it isn't the end of the world.

myredcardigan · 30/03/2011 12:28

I have 3 children and they are all autumn term babies. I planned it that way because I'm a teacher. Most teachers plan to have babies between September and February. They do this because statistically, autumn babies do better both academically and emotionally.

Of course, stats aren't the whole picture and many late summer babies will do just fine, esp girls. But armed with the stats, I didn't want to chance it. My DS is a Dec baby but my DDs are Sept and Oct.

So given the choice, I'd say September every time.

Desperateforthinnerthighs · 30/03/2011 13:27

September!!

My son is a 29 August baby and it is a massive disadvantage as far as I am concerned!!

On the plus side though, when he was 4 he was soooo ready for school and would have hated another year of pre-school and so from that respect it was good. They just always seem to be catching up!

BarbarianMum · 30/03/2011 13:45

September.

I was an end of August girl. Academically it was never a problem, socially/emotionally it was until I was in my teens. I was just more immature than lots of of the other children (was "young" for my age even), which lead to shyness and awkwardness and friendship difficulties.

Obviously that isn't true for every child, but if I had a choice oldest in the year is what I would choose.

lemonmousse · 30/03/2011 14:52

So many people told me that it would be harder for my August born DD2 to settle/do well at school as opposed to her November born sister.
She was absolutely fine - now in year 6 and the youngest in her class but on the top table with friends nearly a year older than her. Her only complaint is that she never gets to be at school for her birthday
Personally I think it depends on the child - not on when they are born.

iskra · 30/03/2011 15:00

I would go for Sept although I think personality has something to do with this too. My little brother & my cousin were born 2 week apart - one in Aug & one in Sept. The Aug born struggled the whole way through school, my brother was a year below him & of course didn't. So our family legend is v much that summer born suffer - I am worried about my June girl!

supadupapupascupa, oddly, myself & 2 of my best friends are married to August born boys (men). They are all happy & successful men. So much of this depends on personality.

myredcardigan · 30/03/2011 15:51

It does often depend on personality but as you cannot judge that beforehand...
Not all summer born babies will struggle-of course not. Many, will in fact, thrive. However, statistically, late summer born children (esp boys) do not do as well as those born between September and Christmas.

My DS and my DD1 are both able and confident. DD2 however, is far less self-assured and is probably going to be less academic too. There is nothing wrong with that but I am very glad her birthday is 2nd September (she was nearly 3wks early) otherwise she'd be going to school this year and she is certainly not ready. I know those 2days mean the difference between struggling socially and academically or having another yr at home with me and starting next year when she's far more able to cope with it all.

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