If YOU have a summer birthday

meggers102 · August 2013

If you have a summer birthday, were you young or old for your grade? Did you like it or would you have preferred being the opposite?

Both of my kids, a DD and a DS, have June birthdays and I'm starting to wonder what I will/should do once kindergarten rolls around. Any insight, pros and/or cons would be great!

SallyJean95 · August 2013

I was one of the youngest with a late August birthday. I did fine in school and never struggled. I actually never thought about my age in relation to others because I always did ok. I can't see my being the oldest in class makings my grades better. But that's a diff story about parental involvement. My brother was the youngest with a sept birthday and he ended up having a lot of problems and was held back in 3rd grade. I think it depends on the kid and if its a boy or girl. Boys tend to need extra time. Pro for me, um cant think of any for me being on the younger side. Cons, I was the last one of my friends to drive, get a license, get a job, I was 17 when I started college and that was weird.

aglenn · August 2013

I'm a mid-August birthday and started on time..and ended up skipping second grade as well, so I was REALLY young. Honestly it was never an issue other than times like when everyone started driving in high school, etc. That was mildly embarrassing at times, and the fact that I was not yet 21 when I graduated college and could not attend the champagne breakfast for graduating seniors....but honestly 99.999% of the time it was absolutely no big deal for me personally. I would not hold a kid back unless there was a specific reason to do so.

sschwege · August 2013

I have a June birthday as well. Overall it was fine, never really bothered me or even noticed in the younger grades. It did stink being the last one to get my driver's license, be able to get a job, and the absolute worst was in college having to sit home while ALL my friends went to the bars. But you don't have to worry about that for a long time

doublefiesta · August 2013

My school was by calendar year, so with a July birthday I was in the middle. My sister has a December birthday (so was among the youngest) and did really well! In general, I hear of parents enrolling their late birthday daughters and redshirting their sons.

memali26 · August 2013

I am a mid-August birthday and one of the youngest, if not the youngest, in my class and did just fine. I don't remember every being bothered by being the youngest, even when I was among the last getting my driver's license, etc.

XCrissCrossX · August 2013

I'm a late July birthday. My mom sent me to school right after I turned 5. Academically, I was ahead of most of my peers. However, I was much less mature than most of them until 10th-11th grade. In retrospect, I think it would have been much better for me if my parents had waited until I was 6-- however, I don't think my immaturity was as noticeable in kindergarten as it was a couple of years later, so how were they to have known?

changingnames · August 2013

I have an early September birthday and was young for my grade. I excelled academically and would have been very bored if I had been held back. I was in a variety of GATE and other programs and was at the top of my class- until jr high. At that point I decided I wanted to be "cool" and refused to take my add medication. I decided to leave the honors classes for regular classes- I went from A s in honors classes to almost failing regular classes. I righted the ship in high school and figured out how to balance social and school but sometimes I wonder if another year would have made that a little easier- then again I would have gotten boobs in jr high instead of high school if I had been held back and that would have been tough. Being 17 when I left for college was a little rough. Our oldest son has a mild presentation of autism spectrum disrder. He has an August birthday and was a month premature. Academically he is at or above grade level and they (the district team) recommended he is ready move on to kindergarden. In the end we decided to do a "bonus" year in a program specifically for kids doing a third year of pre-k at a local private school it is very popular to do this where we live. Some of our initial concerns about doing another year of pre k were that he may become academically bored and act out (the program we found addresses this and he will be studying a number of new subjects like Spanish, the curriculum is tailored to 5 yr olds), that his already tall frame would totally outsize the other kids by the time he gets to kinder- even worse if he has social issues and is the super big kid with social issues- we had to make a judgement call and weigh the other benefits, since so many people are holding their kids back he won't be the only 6 year old in kinder, umm I can't remember any other right now : ) In the end it is a judgement call for your specific kid and there isn't a universal answer (unfortunately). I thought a lot about what it would be like for him when he is 7, 9, 13, etc- not just kinder. I have no doubt he would have been fine in kinder next year but I wondered about socially later on. I pretend in my mind that he was born a week late (and therefore after the cutoff) instead of a month early. Our youngest son is neuro typical and has a Spring birthday. I wouldn't dream of a third year of preschool for him- even if he were a Summer baby I doubt I would do it. Sorry for the lack of editing but I am on an ipad and I'm no good at scrolling.

ChelsiAnn13 · August 2013

I have a November birthday and went early so I was at least a year behind everyone in my grade. Never bothered me, even when I was driving a year behind because I had also made friends with the grade below me.

aandg · August 2013

I have a June birthday and was always one of the youngest in my grade. It didn't bother me at all.

Our daughter has an early September birthday and she won't be able to start school until she is almost 6. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

zeptattoo · August 2013

I am a June birthday and there was no issue in my schooling.

islelily · August 2013

Mine is in August and I was one of the younger ones in school (had a few friends who also had August birthdays and one September (and one October) birthdays). I didn't seem to mind being young. I was just bummed that I never got to celebrate in school with friends.

JMU_Bride09 · August 2013

I was born in July and was "young" for my grade. I honestly never noticed it making any difference. I think that if your child is ready for school, it doesn't matter if he/she will be considered young. Especially with a June birthday.

sucredee · August 2013

My Bday is mid October and I started first grade at 5. They didn't really pay attention to my birthday as I could read and was relatively tall already. Academically I was definitely ready and physically/emotionally I really wasn't any different from the rest of the class. I have no regrets being the youngest in my class. And since I'm from the Netherlands driving wasn't an issue since you can't get your license until you are 18.

DaisyJanie · August 2013

Mine is at the end of July. The cutoff was September 1, so I was one of the youngest. I liked it, or at least I didn't care. My son's birthday is in June and unless there's some behavioral or developmental reason to hold him back, we won't.

kristennd · August 2013

I have a May birthday so I was youngish and it was fine.

DH has a July birthday. He started out as one of the younger kids, couldn't hack it, and ended up held back a year.

No long term damage. He was an A student in high school. But socially he wasn't ready.

boogerbearoriginal · August 2013

Late July birthday for me, I was young for my grade and did fine socially/academically. The only time I really "noticed" was when it came time to drive/get permit I was one of the last to drive which kind of sucked lol.

DH has a late August birthday and was one of the oldest in his class, he also is fine socially/academically.

Honestly, I think we put more value into the age when we should be focused on the individual child and his/her personality. Obviously there are some generic developmental differences in kids by age, but there is also a wide range of normal. There will always be a range of ages in a school group, and I think that's good for kids.

lorist202 · August 2013

My birthday is late August, and I was on the young end of my class. I always liked it, and in fact, summer felt extra special to me, so I didn't even mind that my birthday wasn't celebrated in school. I always excelled.

My younger brother's birthday is in early September, and he struggled all the way through as the youngest in his class. Considering he was reading at a high school level in 2nd grade, never stayed back or had any evidence of learning issues, he probably would have benefitted from waiting a year to start.

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