Would you avoid an August birthday if possible?

[Anonymous]

The baby could be born a few months early. You never know. I’d just transfer asap and worry about when the baby goes to school later.

Best of luck!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public kindergarten has gotten really hard. If you have the means to send your kid to a private, play-based kindergarten, August is no problem. But a public school kindergarten as the youngest...yeesh. The kids are expected to be able to write letters and numbers and sit quietly and color in the lines, follow all classroom routines, etc from the very first day.

I'm sure some of it comes down to personality and preschool preparedness, but IMHO the summer kids look so tiny next to the "just after the cut-off" September kids.

I guess I don't really have any solid advice, just grateful to have the kid I have after a lot of struggle, so I also understand how sometimes you just go for it and trust that you'll figure the rest out later.

I keep hearing how hard Kindergarten is these days and I just don't see it. We're in VA so the cutoff is 9/30. I sent my mid September birthday girl on time and she's had no trouble at all with the material, following directions, or with making friends, and she fits right in physically (95th percentile height). If anything, the one kid in the class who was redshirted (July birthday) is having the most trouble adjusting from what I have heard from her and other parents hearing the same thing from their own kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public kindergarten has gotten really hard. If you have the means to send your kid to a private, play-based kindergarten, August is no problem. But a public school kindergarten as the youngest...yeesh. The kids are expected to be able to write letters and numbers and sit quietly and color in the lines, follow all classroom routines, etc from the very first day.

I'm sure some of it comes down to personality and preschool preparedness, but IMHO the summer kids look so tiny next to the "just after the cut-off" September kids.

I guess I don't really have any solid advice, just grateful to have the kid I have after a lot of struggle, so I also understand how sometimes you just go for it and trust that you'll figure the rest out later.

I keep hearing how hard Kindergarten is these days and I just don't see it. We're in VA so the cutoff is 9/30. I sent my mid September birthday girl on time and she's had no trouble at all with the material, following directions, or with making friends, and she fits right in physically (95th percentile height). If anything, the one kid in the class who was redshirted (July birthday) is having the most trouble adjusting from what I have heard from her and other parents hearing the same thing from their own kid.

Its hard on parents as they don't want to work to prepare their kids. Also, the play based preschools are a problem if they don't teach reading and the basics, so its a huge change to K. We found public K very easy. Our September kid who want was bored. They were aready reading and doing basic math before K.

[Anonymous]

LOL. Redshirting before you even have a kid. This is hands down 💯 the most ridiculous post on DCUM ever, and the bar is so very, very high. Congrats OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could name pros and cons for every birthday and every season for pregnancy / maternity leave. Just get pregnant when it makes sense for you to cycle.

Completely agree! There’s no perfect time to have a baby. Plus, you could have what you think is the ideal mid September due date and the baby could decide to come a month early.

School start cut off dates can also vary by region. I had spring/early summer babies in the DC area with the September cut off. When my oldest (late June boy) was 4.5, we moved to a place to with an August 1 cut off and early August start. Summer birthday boys seem fairly evenly split on redshirted or on time, but August birthdays would have to test to start early.

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mother of IVF twins born in late August. Depending on your age and how confident you are that the transfer will be successful, I would vote for avoiding an August birthday. Sure, plenty of kids with August birthdays do fine, while others get held back. It might work out fine, but if you don't hold back, it can be hard always being the youngest in a grade (especially in schools or areas where redshirting is common).

Whenever someone tells you how great their young for their grade kid is doing, ask how old their kid is. There are decided disadvantages to being the youngest in the grade, some of which aren't apparent until a kid is older. For example, in Maryland, you can't get a driver's license until you are 16 years and 6 months old. That means that if you complete your driving requirements and get your license the first day you are eligible, the earliest you can drive is February of junior year. That gives kids only two summers as drivers before college and means that you will be driving them around for much longer. There are also jobs and education programs that require a minimum age of 16, which again, limits opportunities for summers during high school. If given a choice, I would not opt for an August birthday. My kids turned out fine, but I regret not holding at least one of them back.

You can’t be serious. You’d plan baby date based on when they get their drivers license?? You’re nuts.

Ignore this troll who probably has MS kids. Kids these days don’t even get their DL. We know tons of 17 and 18yos who don’t have full license. Moot point. Next…

[Anonymous]

This is so weird that this is even a discussion. So weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL. Redshirting before you even have a kid. This is hands down 💯 the most ridiculous post on DCUM ever, and the bar is so very, very high. Congrats OP!

+100. Wild.

[Anonymous]

My august boy entered kindergarten a freshly-turned five year old and zoomed through grades 1 to 12. If they are smart, supported, and encouraged to learn, they do fine. You’ve waited this long, just go ahead and become a mom. Don’t try to figure out timing for school that all works itself out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public kindergarten has gotten really hard. If you have the means to send your kid to a private, play-based kindergarten, August is no problem. But a public school kindergarten as the youngest...yeesh. The kids are expected to be able to write letters and numbers and sit quietly and color in the lines, follow all classroom routines, etc from the very first day.

I'm sure some of it comes down to personality and preschool preparedness, but IMHO the summer kids look so tiny next to the "just after the cut-off" September kids.

I guess I don't really have any solid advice, just grateful to have the kid I have after a lot of struggle, so I also understand how sometimes you just go for it and trust that you'll figure the rest out later.

I keep hearing how hard Kindergarten is these days and I just don't see it. We're in VA so the cutoff is 9/30. I sent my mid September birthday girl on time and she's had no trouble at all with the material, following directions, or with making friends, and she fits right in physically (95th percentile height). If anything, the one kid in the class who was redshirted (July birthday) is having the most trouble adjusting from what I have heard from her and other parents hearing the same thing from their own kid.

Its hard on parents as they don't want to work to prepare their kids. Also, the play based preschools are a problem if they don't teach reading and the basics, so its a huge change to K. We found public K very easy. Our September kid who want was bored. They were aready reading and doing basic math before K.

My August bday kid was also reading and doing math before K...and was at a play based preschool. Kids learn a lot through play!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL. Redshirting before you even have a kid. This is hands down 💯 the most ridiculous post on DCUM ever, and the bar is so very, very high. Congrats OP!

+100. Wild.

Seriously. OP - get your stress under control

[Anonymous]

I can’t make the decision for you, but I’m a grown woman in a set of boy/girl twins born the 3rd week of August. The cutoff where I live was 8/31, but my mom held us back because my brother had “mild delays” and was small for his age.

He is still small as an adult because we have small parents. His “delays” were just being in the average, not gifted, range of intelligence and ability.

Meanwhile, I was a little old for my grade, very bored in school, and always a teeny bit out of step with my grade cohort. Would it have been the same had I been sent on time? Maybe, maybe not. But if there’s a risk of twins you should consider the very real possibility that you won’t get to make a decision that works well for both of them.

Also, I never got to celebrate my birthday at school and kids were always gone for my party, and while those were both minor that was definitely disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public kindergarten has gotten really hard. If you have the means to send your kid to a private, play-based kindergarten, August is no problem. But a public school kindergarten as the youngest...yeesh. The kids are expected to be able to write letters and numbers and sit quietly and color in the lines, follow all classroom routines, etc from the very first day.

I'm sure some of it comes down to personality and preschool preparedness, but IMHO the summer kids look so tiny next to the "just after the cut-off" September kids.

I guess I don't really have any solid advice, just grateful to have the kid I have after a lot of struggle, so I also understand how sometimes you just go for it and trust that you'll figure the rest out later.

I keep hearing how hard Kindergarten is these days and I just don't see it. We're in VA so the cutoff is 9/30. I sent my mid September birthday girl on time and she's had no trouble at all with the material, following directions, or with making friends, and she fits right in physically (95th percentile height). If anything, the one kid in the class who was redshirted (July birthday) is having the most trouble adjusting from what I have heard from her and other parents hearing the same thing from their own kid.

Its hard on parents as they don't want to work to prepare their kids. Also, the play based preschools are a problem if they don't teach reading and the basics, so its a huge change to K. We found public K very easy. Our September kid who want was bored. They were aready reading and doing basic math before K.

My August bday kid was also reading and doing math before K...and was at a play based preschool. Kids learn a lot through play!

+1. My kids who went to a 9a-12pm church-run play-based preschool were fully prepared for kindergarten!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, we have a September kid who went and turned five the first week of school. They are fine, really... in all advanced classes, gets top grades.

+1 We have a child with a Sept. 30 birthday. We did not hold her back. She was 4 when kindergarten started and she will be 17 when she starts college next year. We have had zero issues with either academics or sports. She fits fine into her peer group.

I don't really understand why you think an August birthday is a problem. And I can't fathom putting anything off for such a trivial reason.

[Anonymous]

This is PP. Sorry, meant to say 5 when she started kindergarten.