Off-Topic: Advice from parents with August children?

[Goldilocks07]

I need advice from parents who have children born in August. I want to try and get pregnant this month, and therefore would have an August baby. There are so many pros and cons to this month, I would really like advice from those out there who already have children.
A couple of things:
*yes, I know there's no 100% chance I WILL get pregnant, but the first time I did right away, so I have to be prepared in case it happens.
*Did you guys hold your children back a year or put them in ahead?
*Any other pros/cons?

I know this sounds trivial in the scheme of things. I get it. All in all what's most important is a healthy baby. BUT, what month you are born in can determine many things in life, at least until after college. It is important for birthdays, milestones, and most important of all--- school.

I really appreciate your help and advice...so so much!! I love Disboard peeps!!!

 

[cjbcam]

There is a lot of discussion about holding kids back and what not on another thread. I have 4 kids none of them are born in August but I can tell you one thing it would suck to have to deal with the heat being that pregnant all summer. My kids were born in winter months and I was so hot I couldn't even wear a winter jacket and we live in Canada lol.

 

[Alexle2007]

While I don't have an August child (my DS6 was a March baby and skipped a grade, we'll did 1/2 yr of kindergarten and 1/2 of 1st last year so he is now in 2nd and by far the youngest in his class), I would highly recommend any August child start school on time. There's a great article that talks about the advantages of it- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-delay-your-kindergartners-start.html?_r=2&.

 

[Goldilocks07]

My first child was born in March, and it was AWESOME. Great timing all the way around. I am not too concerned with the heat. I'll be in maxi dresses the whole time.

It's just hanging over my head to go ahead and try and get pregnant. I am 37 (turning 38 in April) and hubby is turning 48 in February. EEEK. lol
That being said, I REALLY don't want to wait to try, I HATE being pregnant and also dreading the aftermath, so I just want to get it over and done with. Each month that passes is another month I could have been done with. FOREVER. (I don't plan on having more than 2 kids total).

I guess I wouldn't hold the child back? But I am not sure that schools accept children in August for the current year (I am in NYC).

Any additional advice/stories would be appreciated.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

In my opinion, it's way too early to even be thinking about school for a child who may or may not be born in August of next year. There are so many factors to consider that are completely individual to the child. It's not a decision that can or should be made until the child is on the verge of becoming eligible for kindergarten. He/she may be so bright and advanced that it's a no-brainer to send them on to school. On the other hand, the child may show obvious signs that an extra year of preschool would be beneficial. My advice would be to try to get pregnant whenever you're ready to do so. Make the school decision when the time comes and when you can properly assess the situation. Good luck!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

In my opinion, it's way too early to even be thinking about school for a child who may or may not be born in August of next year. There are so many factors to consider that are completely individual to the child. It's not a decision that can or should be made until the child is on the verge of becoming eligible for kindergarten. He/she may be so bright and advanced that it's a no-brainer to send them on to school. On the other hand, the child may show obvious signs that an extra year of preschool would be beneficial. My advice would be to try to get pregnant whenever you're ready to do so. Make the school decision when the time comes and when you can properly assess the situation. Good luck!

 

[dragonfly08]

In my opinion, it's way too early to even be thinking about school for a child who may or may not be born in August of next year. There are so many factors to consider that are completely individual to the child.

Definitely this.

My older daughter is an early October birthday. Just misses the end of September cutoff here, but went to private K and tested into first grade in the public schools. So she's pretty much the youngest in her grade, but it works for her. She's in the advanced academic program, does well socially, and I've never regretted moving her forward.

DD #2 is an end of August baby, so clearly made the cutoff. We sent her to K right after her 5th birthday and she did all right. Definitely not near the top of the class, and her teacher had enough concerns that she requested a conference at the end of the year to bring up the idea of retention. DH and I chose not to do it. Three weeks into first grade the next September, and I'm getting calls from the new teacher expressing concerns, with specific details, the upshot of which is that one Friday DD was a 1st grader, and when she went back to school on Monday she was in K again.

Best.decision.ever. as far as I'm concerned. She's in first now, and doing an amazing job. Totally different kid in and out of the classroom. But I had no way of knowing that until we were right in the middle of it; I could never have guessed in advance, and even at the end of her first go round in K it still wasn't clear the HUGE benefit another year of maturing, etc. under her belt would have.

So to make that long story short...have a baby when you're ready and it happens. Worry about school when you get there. Good luck!

 

[bjgonzo]

One of my DD's turned 5 at the end if Sept and we chose to hold her back from Kindy this year even though she is eligible. It was a no brainer decision because while she has the intelligence she doesn't have the maturity. No way could I of even contemplated this before this past year when it was time to enroll her in Kindy. Kids grow and change so much as as you've read above sometimes those with later birthdays are ready early and sometimes they aren't. Each kid is different and state laws are subject to change with age limits so I personally wouldn't let that be a deciding factor.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Thank you for everyone's reply and/or opinions.

I guess my other concern is with birthdays? Again...trivial. But still important. How do summer birthdays work? Isn't everyone out of town?
Maybe it's just me- because I live in Manhattan and during the summer everyone I know pretty much leaves the city (including myself).

 

[3Gsandme]

I was born in August and have one child born in early September.

My parents didn't hold me back a year. I started kindergarten as a very young 5 and graduated high school at 17. I was a studious child and did well in school and I think I'd have been quite bored had me parents held me back.

Dd has an early September birthday and our school district has a 9/30 cut off. We did "red shirt" her and it was a great decision. We'll be red shirting her younger sister as well, who would have been a young five as well (she has a late June birthday). My second and third daughters have some delay, so the extra year in developmental preschool has been a big boon for them.

What will be right depends on your own child. I did great. I think my middle dd would have struggled a little, but would be fine. Little dd would struggle a lot if she were to start K in less than a year.

Having a baby in late summer means that I sat on the couch and ate a lot of otter pops. She was cute as a little tiny button for halloween (not quite two months old) and was adorable and smiley by Christmastime.

 

[3Gsandme]

It's much easier having a birthday party in nice weather months. My June and September babies are so easy to plan and have parties for. My February baby means either a very small party or a venue. We can't just have it in the yard.

 

[kohlby]

Agree that birthday parties in nicer months are easier. Plus, it's nice to have Christmas so far away!

I agree that I wouldn't worry about it yet. Even once the child is here and kindy is about to start, it may not be clear! One friend with a boy put him in half-day kindy at a local church. That's where she felt he needed to be - and she's a former pre-k teacher so she knew better than most parents. The next year, he was going to do full-day kindy at the public school. That way, he got an extra year to mature but was still moving forward. However, he really was ready for first grade then so he ended up doing first grade and is doing wonderfully. So, though it wasn't clear at almost 5, it was at 6. Then there's my eldest - a May b-day. The plan was public kindy. But he was a wiggly, impulsive boy who learned out of order. There's no way it would have worked for him, so we homeschooled instead. He's now 10 and leaps and bounds ahead of his age-mates academically and even about a year ahead of other boys his age emotionally. (Not girls, they're a totally different story!) I'm so glad I hadn't kept him back a year. Another situation was my older brother. Our cut-off was Dec 31st in those days. He was Jan 3rd so he just missed. He is extremely intelligent, like off-the-charts gifted. But he struggled with ADHD back in the days before they diagnosed it much. So, him being the very oldest in his class was a good thing for maturity.

Most people do not get pregnant the very first cycle and then deliver near their due date. It happens, but I wouldn't count on it. I also wouldn't count on your child being ready or not being ready for kindy at a certain age. Also, living where you do, it's possible that you have more to factor in than most of us. If you live in a competitive early education environment, then you'll need to weigh the pressures and benefits of that as well.

 

[Sgibbs]

I need advice from parents who have children born in August. I want to try and get pregnant this month, and therefore would have an August baby. There are so many pros and cons to this month, I would really like advice from those out there who already have children.
A couple of things:
*yes, I know there's no 100% chance I WILL get pregnant, but the first time I did right away, so I have to be prepared in case it happens.
*Did you guys hold your children back a year or put them in ahead?
*Any other pros/cons?

I know this sounds trivial in the scheme of things. I get it. All in all what's most important is a healthy baby. BUT, what month you are born in can determine many things in life, at least until after college. It is important for birthdays, milestones, and most important of all--- school.

I really appreciate your help and advice...so so much!! I love Disboard peeps!!!

My daughter has an August birthday. She is 11 now and doing great. Academiclly she did great from the beginning but she was a little behind socially. We didn't hold her back. The social aspect could have also been from being the youngest child in the family. You may want to see if you have a boy here in Texas it's common to hold boys back for athletic reasons.

 

[brandip22]

It's such a child-by-child issue. I'm a teacher and have 2 boys- both with late bdays, one August, one July. We always planned to old oldest Ds back, but he was gifted, very smart, blah, blah so teachers said not to. In 2nd grade he it a maturity wall. We let him go to 3rd and it got worse even tho his grades were great. I personally moved schools the next year, brought him w me and held him back. Best decision ever. Now my youngest is in kinder w me and I think he'll need to stay back as well for maturity. Our district doesn't allow it unless they don't pass and he's gifted as well slim seriously considering homeschooling next year if we can make it work. Just take the lead of your child and it'll work out. Sometimes it just takes a while for the child to show us.

 

[MinnieDaisy]

My son was born August 15. We placed him half day pre-school when he was three and half-day Pre-K at four and he was perfectly prepared to start kindergarten on August 15, 2013 -- his 5th birthday! Every child is different, but I would encourage at least pre-K or pre-school to get an evaluation of where your child is before making the decision to hold them back a year.

The only August-specific things I noticed about my child are:

1) My ninth month of pregnancy was very uncomfortable due to Oklahoma humidity in August and

2) His birthday falls when school is not in session, so it's hard to round up his friends (this year we held his bday party a week after the actual day so he could invite his school friends).

Good luck with your baby plans!

 

[laurab84]

I have an august baby and I hate it! I'm in the UK and we only have one school in take. its the 1st September after their 4th birthday so Theo will be 4 and one week when he starts full time school. I hate it! I feel like I've lost him a whole year early. its horrible, I feel like I've lost him way too soon. if he was a week late then I'd have had him at home for a whole extra year! he's going to be so diddy when he starts school.


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[Gumbo4x4]

In my opinion, it's way too early to even be thinking about school for a child who may or may not be born in August of next year. There are so many factors to consider that are completely individual to the child. It's not a decision that can or should be made until the child is on the verge of becoming eligible for kindergarten. He/she may be so bright and advanced that it's a no-brainer to send them on to school. On the other hand, the child may show obvious signs that an extra year of preschool would be beneficial. My advice would be to try to get pregnant whenever you're ready to do so. Make the school decision when the time comes and when you can properly assess the situation. Good luck!

Yup, plus those rules could change at any time. When I was young, children had to turn 5 by the end of September to enter Kindergarten. The state has changed that to the end of July now. So, in my state, an August child would be the oldest in their class, not the youngest.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Thank you thank you THANK you!!!

Great advice.

It is true that I will have to just wait and see as far as school goes, based on how I feel about my child, his/her maturity, etc.
In Manhattan (as someone pointed out) it is EXTREMELY (and super annoyingly) competitive. You guys have NO idea. It's awful. I grew up in the South and am shocked at what parents go through here to get their kids in school, and what they pay.

Off of my own topic a little- there is a school here called Avenues, it's the newest and considered 'best'- kids start at 2.5 for pre-school (Alicia Keys was on a tour there last week with my friend who saw her there). It is 45K a year. And you have to bring your own lunch, and pay extra to get there. They don't provide transportation.

We are NOT applying there, fyi. I would rather use the money and LIVE at WDW for a month!!!

Back on-topic.....
So school and age are a BIG deal here in NYC.
Well, I am going to 'try' this month (lucky husband, lol) and we will just see what happens. DD wants a baby sis/bro more than I do. She asks for one all the time and just loves little babies.

 

[shoney]

Thank you thank you THANK you!!!

Great advice.

It is true that I will have to just wait and see as far as school goes, based on how I feel about my child, his/her maturity, etc.
In Manhattan (as someone pointed out) it is EXTREMELY (and super annoyingly) competitive. You guys have NO idea. It's awful. I grew up in the South and am shocked at what parents go through here to get their kids in school, and what they pay.

Off of my own topic a little- there is a school here called Avenues, it's the newest and considered 'best'- kids start at 2.5 for pre-school (Alicia Keys was on a tour there last week with my friend who saw her there). It is 45K a year. And you have to bring your own lunch, and pay extra to get there. They don't provide transportation.

We are NOT applying there, fyi. I would rather use the money and LIVE at WDW for a month!!!

Back on-topic.....
So school and age are a BIG deal here in NYC.
Well, I am going to 'try' this month (lucky husband, lol) and we will just see what happens. DD wants a baby sis/bro more than I do. She asks for one all the time and just loves little babies.

The cut off age in Manhattan is December 31st, so an August baby is not going to be any where near the youngest.

My oldest has a mid-October b-day and started K at 4yo. There were kids younger than him. He did just fine and I never considered holding him back. Our cut off is Dec 1st.

I really wouldn't worry about the birth month and just assess the situation when the time comes.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

My daughter was born 3 days before August. My friends are all jealous because we have way more options for birthday celebrations than their winter babies do. And you can't make a decision on schooling until you get to know the individual kid. You are putting WAY too much thought in to this. Even if you get pregnant now, the baby could come early in June or July. Almost happened to us.