Not allowed to take birthday cake to daughters party?

fluffnutter

daisiegg wrote: »

That is exactly what we are planning to do! Not due to not wanting to be heavily pregnant in summer but due to not wanting a summer baby due to aforementioned educational difficulties they may suffer.

daisiegg wrote: »

I know one of the big drives at the moment in education is 'narrowing the gap'. Those groups include: ... summer born children. So they are considered to be educationally at a disadvantage.

daisiegg wrote: »

Oh, just wanted to add - with all due respect, it doesn't really matter whether or not you believe that children born in summer can suffer educationally; it is a statistical fact.

I've not actually quoted all of your posts - there are more. You seem a little fixated with the whole summer baby thing. I hope you get your wish and manage to produce an academically advantaged child but bear in mind that banging on to people about how their kids are statistically likely to be a bit thick can be seen as a little insulting. I had to wait nearly 10 long, heartbreaking years for my July born baby - kind of puts things into perspective.

Every birth is a miracle. If you're looking at your newborn and worrying about how many GCSEs they're going to get, you've got the wrong priorities frankly.

daisiegg

fluffnutter wrote: »

I've not actually quoted all of your posts - there are more. You seem a little fixated with the whole summer baby thing. I hope you get your wish and manage to produce an academically advantaged child but bear in mind that banging on to people about how their kids are statistically likely to be a bit thick can be seen as a little insulting. I had to wait nearly 10 long, heartbreaking years for my July born baby - kind of puts things into perspective.

Every birth is a miracle. If you're looking at your newborn and worrying about how many GCSEs they're going to get, you've got the wrong priorities frankly.

You've really missed the point of quite a lot of what I have said, but that's ok - people choose to take things the way they want to. Huge apologies to all for taking the thread off topic - I won't post again about anything to do with summer babies etc, but I do hope the OP manages to sort her daughter's birthday cake out

fluffnutter

daisiegg wrote: »

You've really missed the point of quite a lot of what I have said

I don't think so. I've no doubt edited your comments to overly highlight a point you're making (you do mention that not all summer children have problems and that you might not be successful with your plans and that other factors are important) but, at the end of the day, your main thrust is that you're deliberately considering when you have your baby so as not to academically disadvantage it. You don't want your pregnancy to result in a baby born in summer and are actively avoiding falling pregnant at what would be the wrong time. The implication is that summer babies aren't as 'good' as autumn/winter/spring ones. I know that's not what you're saying, but you really have laboured the point that you'd rather not have one. Can you not see that might feel a little rude to those people with summer babies?

I've read the studies. I know the facts. My point is that, if you have your baby, and you're still worrying about its academic potential and bemoaning the fact that you didn't manage to squeeze it out in the magic September - December window, then your priorities are wrong.

As an aside, late summer babies tend to be larger, healthier and better at sports (so some studies show - as a result of the increased vitamin D in the final months in the womb). It's not all bad being a summer babe and I get a little weary of this hackneyed idea that having an August baby means you're going to get some wizened retard.

neverdespairgirl

krustylouise wrote: »

My daughter is 5, soon to be 6 and has a reading age of an 8 year old. She is top of her class for maths and writing. I don't believe at all that children born in summer have educational difficulties. I personally believe children develop depending on how much effort and commitment you put into them.

Of course it's not a rule. It is, however, a statistical fact. In countries where the academic year start in January, it is autumn-born children who are at a disadvantage.

Help at home, and all the rest of it, certainly makes a difference.

You can't disprove data by anecdote - if someone says, for example, that smoking's not good for you, that's not disproved by someone saying "my great-uncle smoked 150 fags a day and lived until he was 100...."

My sister was born in late May, and was a year ahead of herself at school, so she did half her GCSE exams at the age of 14, and half at 15, and her A level exams were either side of her 17th birthday. That doesn't prove anything statisically either!

neverdespairgirl

daisiegg wrote: »

Equally, if I did have a summer baby I am fairly certain s/he would also be fine, as my husband and I are well educated, and would be very involved with our children's education

Don't count your chickens - my son is a summer baby aged 7 (late June), OH and I are both well-educated (we have 2 undergraduate and 3 post-graduate degrees between us), and we've been very involved in DS' education. He's been struggling in some respects, and we've just been told, after assessment, that he's fairly seriously dyslexic.

He has the oral fluency and processing speeds of an 11 year old, vocab of a 10 year old, maths level just short of a 10 year old. He then has the reading age of a just-turned 7 year old and the writing age of a 6 year old.

neverdespairgirl

krustylouise wrote: »

I have to say I have never heard of educational difficulties with summer babies. To be honest there's a statistic out there for everything, and whether you believe them or not is entirely a personal option. For me we have proven this "statistic" wrong.

<wince>

If you want to help your DD's education, better brush up a bit on stats before she gets on to the subject in Maths!

princessdon

It's shown that summer born children particularly boys do fare less academically in FS/Ks1. Less evidence as they get older and by GCSE age I haven't seen any major evidence that month of birth impacts greatly,

chewynut

We host children's birthday parties where I work & customers have a choice between a package, or hiring the room and doing what they like. The parents often hire bouncy castles, children's' entertainers, mobile discos, somebody dressed up as Pepper Pig last week, a miniature petting zoo one time, we're next to a field so a lady brings her ponies and the children can have pony rides.

But anyway. I haven't read the thread through but if you're looking for ideas, it's worth ringing your local community centre type places because these people always leave business cards in the hope we'll recommend them to parents looking for something different.

krustylouise

Kayalana99 wrote: »

Well my personal opinion is it only affects them really early on...by time they are 16/17 a year is nothing but obvouisly when they first get to nursery a year is everything!

But I think its pointless debating something that can never really be proven....I was born in april and my sister in sept..I have always been the smarter one out of the two (I am not being big headed shes a complete airhead although we love her!) ...I might not be quite summer babies but EVERYONE is differnert and these stupid tests can only prove that someone's theory is correct...

I put to you now...that perhaps the less organised parents had babies in August by not planning ..and the ones that planned for september + are wiser people which makes the kids smarter as they get it from thier parents...so it has nothing to do with thier birthday but the parents planning skills..!!

My baby was planned irrespective of dates.

krustylouise

Kayalana99 wrote: »

I'm really interested if the party place get back to you and allow you to have your own cake - at the sake of losing the whole party.

Please update when you find out if you don't mind.

They got back to me said we could use their "private kitchen" to cut up cake and place in party bags as long as I make it very clear it is my cake and not theirs! Problem solved. Why she couldn't have suggested that on the first place I will never know