Babies Born In September Are More Successful

By: Phoebe Ackland, ellaslist

According to new research, babies born in September are more likely to be successful....well, at least in the United States, it seems. 

The University of Toronto, Northwestern University and the University of Florida found that September-born babies went on to score better academically throughout their childhood and early teen years compared to kids born in the other months, as well as having lower rates of childhood incarceration and being more likely to get into college. 

But Why?

In most states in the US, the cutoff date for kindergarten is September 1, meaning that September babies are generally the oldest kids entering the class, compared to August born babies who can be among the youngest. The National Bureau of Economic Research showed a correlation between the age a child starts school and their cognitive development from ages 6 through to 15, meaning that kids entering grades older perform better generally than the younger kids. 

The UK, who has a similar cut-off system to the US found that those born between September and November were 25% more likely to get into Oxford or Cambridge than August-born children, according to Fiscal Studies. Fiscal Studies even went so far as to suggest that "national achievement test scores" be lowered for August-born babies and raised for September-born babies, according to Simple Most. 

So, if we put this theory into NSW schools (with a July 31 enrollment cut off), that would mean our August born babies are going to be the most successful in life... 

Not Just Successful In The Classroom

This general principle of success lying at the age in which you begin a new grade can also be applied to the sporting world. According to Malcolm Gladwell's popular book 'Outliers', the cut-off for each age division in junior Canadian hockey leagues is 1 January. So, who do you think make the most successful players? A whopping 40% of elite Canadian hockey players are January-babies, meaning they first entered the little league as among the oldest in their division. There really must be something to it.....