Not only is September the most popular month for birthdays in terms of birth rates, but a new study suggests that those born in September may have a tendency to be more successful in life than those born in other months.
(CBS Philly)– Not only is September the most popular month for birthdays in terms of birth rates, but a new study suggests that those born in September may have a tendency to be more successful in life than those born in other months.
Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research studied the relationship between school-starting age and the cognitive development of children between the ages of 6 and 15.
They found that the September-August birthdate difference plays a significant role in kindergarten readiness and can affect the success of children when they get older.
The researchers, who hail from the University of Florida, University of Toronto, and Northwestern University, found that one of the main reasons for the success of September babies in their life is that the school year starts on the 1st of September in most countries.
There is an advantage to being the oldest in the class since there tends to be more positive reinforcement which is a self-esteem booster and grows confidence in September babies.
The study also found that babies born in August, missing the cutoff date for most schools, tend to struggle for the exact same reason. Being younger can have disadvantages such as a larger learning curve and less readiness for the classroom.
While researchers were aware of practices like redshirting as well as other socio-economic, environmental, and other such factors can yield different results, they found that their results were consistent otherwise.
So, September babies can rejoice. Largely, they have a major advantage in life because of their birthday month.
