August Bumps - Youngest in class

[Siyren]

idk if this is still relevant, but my mom looked into holdin back my now 17yo brother when he started school..
but while thats allowed; policy states *in england* that the child must rejion his or her own yr group come sept (so effectively the child would skip reception and enter year one with children who have already been there a yr)

my mom felt that would be more a disadvantage than an advantage,
but as i said idk if this is stil the case

 

[Ducky77]

My son was born on 12 august, so he is one of the youngest, I think he is the youngest...but as far as I know, he doesn't have any problem in school. well...he do have problem for language because he is bilingual but for intelectual, or behavior, no problem...in fact I am a bit proud that he can do very well in class despite being the youngest. It's mean that my son is smart

 

[TheNewWife]

I am an October baby so I was always among the youngest in my class (the very youngest was born Dec 26th) and I never had any problems. I was also in the top 2 academically so that wasn't an issue.

I'm a teacher (high school) and rarely see it being relevant. Perhaps in the younger grades but I wouldn't even consider a child's birthday in their academic achievement or social interaction.

 

[lindypops]

Siyren is right - if you put your child through the non-private education system, you can hold them back a year...but they will just be put in a class that they should be in according to their age. So you will actually potentially "disadvantage" them socially and educationally as they will not have been to the reception class with their new peers.

The only way to avoid this is by going private!

 

[amylw1]

if your baby is born after the 15th aug but b4 1st sept you get the option when they are at playschool of keeping them out of mainstream school until they turn 5 the following year - then they are the oldest. from what i was told they then start in reception as they would normally, i thought that they joined the yr they should have been in but apparently not.

i had this option with my lil man who was born 15th aug. but he is doing so well at playschool and about 80% of playgroup are going to school this sept so he is going as well. what he lacks in age he makes up in mouth!

 

[Marg_27]

I hope that it will mean that he reaches certain milestones nice and early compared to other children his age (i.e. the September babies, for example).
Shadow xx

Can I just ask what you meant by this shadowrat, as I actually feel quite offended for my unborn son.
Does this mean that if he reaches his milestones ont ime that it wont be as significant if a younger child does it at the same time?? Did it not cross ur mind that a september child might actually meet these milestones early too, also making them 'clever'??

Can I also add for those of you who are concerned...
My DD is an April baby who is in actual fact the cleverest in her class, by a mile!! Shes more suited to those in the year above her when it comes to most aspects...english/maths/social skills (shes only 6) whereas if you looked at her birth month, she should be 'average'.

I believe most of it comes down to what you do with them at home, hth xxx

 

[bjl1981]

As a teacher I know there IS a small link between birth month and exam results on average, its more significant in early years but then falls off by GCSE age.
However, this is just an average, and obviously you could have a clever child born in August or a weaker one born in September, its clearly more than just month that influences these things.

Personally we were planning on having a september baby, but it didn't work out quite like that!! It did worry me at first that out LO would be the youngest in the year, but now I'm not that worried, especially as it means you have a year less childcare to pay for!!!!

 

[10thSept]

I was born in June and was always at or close to the top of my class, a good friend of mine born in August was the same. My cousin born in Sept was also always at or close to the top of the class.
So I think there are a number of other factors.
I don't think there is any need to worry, jsut work with your child at home, which is what my mum did with me.
As for saying that September babies will reach milestones later, I'm not sure how that's true - a September baby might reach the milestone the same number of months before his/her birthday as a non-Sept baby.
I don't see why there is such competitiveness when the babies aren't even born yet! It all evens out in the end and how much work your child does and home input has a much greater role than the number of months they've been on the planet!!!

 

[Tsia]

I am still confused. lol

However I am convinced mine will be born between 15th august and 1st sept.. AS MY FIRST IS BOUND TO BE LATE LIKE MY MUMS WAS WITH ME. So whats this mean then? Will I be given the choice? *confused* lol

 

[Marg_27]

Tsia...not sure how it wirks in ur oart of the country, but in mine the cut off is 31st august, so all babies born on or after the 1st september go into the next year group... hth xxx

 

[Torianna]

When I got my BFP and i worked out my dates this was one of the first things that crossed my mind! I know some research suggests the the most successful academically are Sept/Oct/Nov babies because they are that much older to start with.

My friends little one was born in October last year and to see how much he's learned at 6 months old is staggering when you consider he'll be in the same year group as my little one who is currently unlikely to survive out of the womb!

I was hoping to go 2 weeks over to cross into September, but the more uncomfortable i get, the less i want that! some of the responses on here have been encouraging tho, about how we can help our August babies overcome the age gap.

I quite like the idea of home schooling to start anyway, although we'll see how i feel when i've been stuck at home that long! x

 

[Rachel_C]

I honestly don't think it makes much difference in the long run. I was born in September, my middle sister was born in April and my youngest (twin) sisters were born in August so we have a good range in our family. When I was in the infants, my parents were asked if they wanted to move me up to the next school year because I was doing well. When my youngest sisters were due to start school, they were given the option to keep them back a year. My parents said no to both options because we were all happy with our peer group. I don't know how it affected us then (I don't remember any of us struggling), but I can tell you that all four of us had broadly similar Year 6, Year 9, GCSE and A-level results so it worked just as well for all of us.

 

[lindypops]

I don't think we can usefully compare babies who are 6 months old with those who haven't been born yet - by the time they reach high school age they will have been through similar experiences and milestones and a few months will be hugely insignificant compared to the first year of their lives.

 

[LMH]

I've been worried about this to, the twins are due 7th Sept and I really want to make it full term so they will be at the start of an acedemic yr. I am not sure how true this is, but I was talking to my Dad (retired teacher) and he says there is a proposal that all babies start their reception yr in the Sept of the academic yr they are in (I hope that makes sense!). Which means that if the twins are born in august then they would be 4 in the august and then start reception potentially a few days later. I am worried that a full day at school for a just turned 4 yr old would be to much. (I can remember when I was at school there was one little lad in reception who was so tired towards the end of the day he would curl under a table and go to sleep).

 

[ShadowRat]

I was born in September... When I was in the infants, my parents were asked if they wanted to move me up to the next school year because I was doing well.

Hope you don't mind me quoting you, Rachel You made the point that I was trying to make beautifully here: I think whatever time of the year we have our babies, they will have unique "issues" to deal with in terms of academic development. Every child is different, of course (as I learned only too well whilst training to be a primary school teacher!) but the point that I was making specifically with regards to the August/September school year divider was that there would inevitably be some kids whose birthdays happen to fall in September who may seem "ahead" of the rest of the class (academically, socially and in other ways like confidence etc. I'm sure...) The point I was trying to make about these particular kids was that they would take their SATS and things like that almost a full year later than the 'youngest-of-their-yeargroup' August babies. As I was saying, I'm in two minds about this issue, because although I don't want my August-born child to have to struggle to keep up, I'm not sure that I would prefer for my child to have a birthday in September (or October, or even November really) if it meant that he was in a class with kids who might not be at his levels at the same time. But, of course, NONE of the children will be at the same levels at the same time, they have to draw the line somewhere don't they?

There's so much to consider on this topic, but as it is 'out of our hands' for the most part, I'm happy to go with the system and just trust that all of our kids will be treated as individuals who will inevitably progress at different levels. I think the most important thing will be to find the best school for each of our individual children's needs

What do people think about smaller schools which tend to mix up the yeargroups (i.e. classes of year 1/2 children or year 5/6 children, say)?

Shadow xx

 

[joeyjo]

I was born in October and started as one of the oldest in my year group but could already read, tell the time - I got my first watch for my 4th birthday - etc having been taught at home by my mum.

I did later (age eight) move schools and ended up skipping a year in school and became the youngest in my class. Academically I never had any issues and socially things were fine too although Mum said later on she felt I pushed the boundries and she let me go out with friend earlier than I might have done otherwise. My best friend now was the oldest girl in the year at high school having been kept down a year due to illness.

However I believe that it had nothing to do with my age and more to do with the things my parents did with me at home, making up stories together, answering all my questions and spending time helping me to understand things. I was always asking why one word said my name and letters fascinated me. I hope to be the same with my kid(s) and encourage them to reach their full potential, at their own pace.