Topic for Sep. 19. ( Thur )

[Alex !]

What Is the Best Month to Be Born?

By Sam Benson Smith

There's scientific proof that there is an ideal month to be born—and it's not just a matter of having an outdoor birthday party.

Your kids might be set up for greatness from the moment they’re born. No, we’re not getting into the nature versus nurture debate—we’re talking about the role birth month plays in a child’s future. A National Bureau of Economic Research report aimed to answer the biggest question: What is the best month to be born in?

The study looked at the grades of students ages 6 to 15 and found that children born in September, which also happens to be the most common birth month, had higher test scores on average than their peers.

Using equations to project the kids’ future grades and college outcomes, the researchers determined those successful young students would be more likely to have higher overall test scores, more likely to be accepted to better schools and less likely to be incarcerated for crimes.

The study’s findings have nothing to do with the traits of Virgos and Libras—neither of which rate as the smartest Zodiac sign—but rather how old those September babies end up being compared with their peers.

The birthday cutoff for most schools is Sept. 1, so kids born that month are the oldest and most developed in their respective classes. Kids with August birthdays, on the other hand, were more likely to lag behind their peers because they were younger than most of their classmates.

At young ages, this natural several-month leg up is crucial, as childhood development grows in leaps and bounds relative to any other time in one’s life. Later, the cutoff advantage snowballs, as the kids who are favorably born have an advantage that puts them into better programs and earns them more instruction time. This improves their cognitive function further, which continues to aggregate over time. 

Parents with July or August babies, don’t fret. Your child’s academic future isn’t completely out of your hands. Plenty of things beyond birth month still factor into how well your little one will do in school. But if you want to boost your kid’s brain brawn, you can start by exposing them to the best children’s books of all time.