youngest in class worries

mynameisclare

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

massive amount of research out there to say that 'September's child will be a success while August's child will have all the stress."

Yes, on average. But that tells you nothing about any particular individual child. My birthday is August 23rd, so I was nearly the youngest (there was one boy with a 31st birthday) and it did me no harm at all. It just meant I never had to go to school on my birthday which was nice

GemmaE

I'm an August baby, as is DH and DD2, me and DH seem to be keeping up and never suffered (well not that we can remember anyway). I have read somewhere that by the end of the school year the difference is not that noticable, but can't remember where now.

Please don't worry about DS, he is probably just tired from school, I guess if you just think what you are like after working without taking any holiday you get a bit tired and bored yourself, well I do anyway.

We have sent DD1 to preschool from just after her 2nd birthday, just 2 mornings a week and the change in her has been incredible, she will be 3 in January and I hope to send her full-time, hopefully then school will not be such a shock to the system for her, being a January baby will probably help too as she will be a bit older.

As mynameisclaire says, its lovely not going to school on your birthday, DH has never worked his either and he is 32!

Mojisola

There is evidence that the difference in success between the oldest group and the youngest group in a cohort can be seen right up to degree level but, as you can see from the individual stories given above, some people will do well whatever their birth month.

I would suggest not worrying about things in the early years. Children can only learn when they have reached the right developmental stage. Trying to push them when they are not ready will lead to failure which will set them back.

Let him grow and mature this year and keep watch on how he manages in later years but don't stress over it.

mynameisclare

GemmaE wrote: »

As mynameisclaire says, its lovely not going to school on your birthday, DH has never worked his either and he is 32!

Me neither, I always book the week off

zoesmummy_2006

we had a little progress and fun today, had some one on one time with him as his sister was at a party. I downloaded an alphabet tracing game onto my phone and dug out the leapfrog number drawing toy I bought him a while back.

He spent a good while tracing letters and numbers and then writing letters to make words and enjoyed it, and his pen grip and control was very good!! He then asked me to write some christmas cards with him and he wrote his name himself with only a little help from me once, but again he got bored and gave up after 3 cards lol.

lilymay1

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

massive amount of research out there to say that 'September's child will be a success while August's child will have all the stress."
exactly my reason for not ttc this month- and ttc next month instead.
this article is really good- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15490760 it mentions about teachers being helpful and sympathatic to the children who are nearly a year behind the other children in the class, and recgnosing that its not their fault, so patience on their part

Many children do not arrive on their due date. By that logic, you should avoid TTC for the next 4 months as a baby born at any point after about 25 weeks would still hopefully survive.

August born babies are not a new anomaly and the fact they are a year younger than some of the children is almost always taken into account.

loracan1

One of mine was a mid-august baby, that first term is the toughest, it'll get better and easier over time!

Savvy_Sue

zoesmummy_2006 wrote: »

and he wrote his name himself with only a little help from me once, but again he got bored and gave up after 3 cards lol.

It's a man thing ...

Seriously, writing your name repeatedly IS boring.

valk_scot

My two kids were born almost in the same month and both have been almost the youngest in their class. (Slightly different dates up here in Scotland but they're still the youngest and have kids much older in their classes.) The boy struggled for the first couple of years, the girl shot to the top immediately and has stayed there ever since. There is a definate boy/girl divide and on top of that they are all individuals who develop at their own pace.

So don't worry too much at this very early stage. Support and encourage by all means but don't push, you risk him taking against you and the learning big style if you pressure him too much at this stage. He will be lagging due to age, he'll catch up. But he may never be top of the class due to ability...on the other hand, he might. Too early to worry about it!

And they're always tired, especially at this time of year when they have to get up in the dark. I've been dragging the elder one out of bed to go to school for 11 years now, I don't see this changing anytime soon!

Tigsteroonie

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

exactly my reason for not ttc this month- and ttc next month instead.

lilymay1 wrote: »

Many children do not arrive on their due date. By that logic, you should avoid TTC for the next 4 months as a baby born at any point after about 25 weeks would still hopefully survive.

WSS ^^ Our son should have been born in November, where he'd have been one of the older children in his school year. Instead, he was born mid-August so effectively he'll now become one of the youngest.