Falling pregnant and staying pregnant is not always easy these days. When you finally do fall pregnant, it doesn’t matter when. Or does it?
Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, says people who are born in the first six months of the year tend to excel on all levels in life by the mere fact that they have had more time to develop, compared to a baby born in the last months of the year. Does it mean that a baby who is born towards the end of the year has no chance to succeed in life? First, we need to ask:
Which ‘year’ are we talking about?
- the calendar year starts in January for some and coincides with the lunar calendar for others
- the academic year starts in September in the northern hemisphere and starts in January in the southern hemisphere.
Deciding when to fall pregnant doesn’t have to be so complicated, you just need to be clear about what is important to you. Parents differ, so if your motto is: Winning is not everything, it is the only thing, your baby’s date of birth is important. To win, and to stay ahead of the rest, it would be important to you that –
- your baby is the first to walk in your circle of friends
- builds a puzzle with the most possible number of pieces at 18 months
- says more than the average 30 words at age 2
- goes to school at a younger age than any other because he is ‘bored’
- is in the academic top 10 throughout his whole school career
- is captain of as many teams as possible year after year
- is a head boy with 10 distinctions and the dux pupil trophy in matric.
But please note, Malcolm does not issue a guarantee with his statement!
Research has shown that the brain develops the most rapidly between conception and the next 1000 days, by implication Malcolm predicts that if most of these 1000 days coincide with the start of the academic year, your child has a very good chance of being developmentally ready (and confident) for what lies ahead; both in the classroom and on the sports field.
Does this mean you HAVE to give birth in the first 6 months? If your baby’s ‘happiness’ is more important than his ‘performance’ your baby’s date of birth matters less because enjoying the feeling and freedom of movement is more important than being the first to sit, walk talk, etc.; being with friends is more important than being the captain; learning to reason, read and write and use these skills to make this world a better place is more valued than awards.
John Lennon tells the story of when his teacher asked the class what they wanted to be one day, and he replied ‘happy’, the teacher said: ‘you don’t understand the question’. He replied, ‘you don’t understand life’.
For most, parenting it is not about a choice between performance and happiness, it is about getting to know your child and providing many playful opportunities to discover his innate strengths and develop those while having fun with the rest.
Every child is unique and so is the tempo at which he or she develops.
Does your baby’s date of birth matter? YOU decide.
Read more about their first day at school or how to get them motivated for school.
