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marriedacarrot t1_iyobq5b wrote

Reply to comment by enny_el in [OC] Birth months of FIFA World Cup players. The top three are January, February and March, possibly due to the "Relative age effect" by desfirsit

In India, reporting the wrong birth month to the school is super common (or it used to be), from parents trying to optimize their kids' chance of academic success.

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enny_el t1_iyom36a wrote

That's crazy! I could totally see that happening some places here too though.

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marriedacarrot t1_iyp045e wrote

Come to think of it, I don't remember providing a copy of the birth certificate when I enrolled my kid in kindergarten. I think most American parents are so eager to get their kids out of the house and into free childcare (er, I mean school) that the deception would be more likely to go the other way (pretending your kid is older than they really are).

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enny_el t1_iyp2iix wrote

I was definitely one of those parents desperate to get my kids to school as soon as possible! But one has a September birthday and is the youngest in his year, and I know that other parents, in a different position (I've, who could afford private childcare) held back their kids with September birthdays because of this idea they would be more likely to get college sports scholarships or do better or whatever. Not being from the US and having gone to uni with people from other countries (who start school at different times and ages), i have always thought this is really weird -- like surely, and compared to kids from other nations with different school systems, surely this can't still be giving intentionally-held-back kids an edge once they are older?

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marriedacarrot t1_iyp5hs2 wrote

>surely this can't still be giving intentionally-held-back kids an edge once they are older?

That's the weird thing: It does. Being the oldest/tallest/strongest/smartest kid in your cohort means coaches give you more game time, or you gain more academic confidence and skill among your peers in early grades. And it snowballs from there.

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enny_el t1_iyp5ubm wrote

I just find it hard to believe that that applies universally across countries and cultures and hemispheres and school systems and everything. But maybe I just don't want to believe it because it means I already screwed everything up for my September-born kid! Doomed from birth, poor thing!

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marriedacarrot t1_iyp8q6g wrote

Which month is the "right" month definitely changes by culture, but the premise that being the oldest in your childhood cohort confers an early advantage seems to hold across multiple countries.

If it makes you feel any better, the magnitude of the advantage conferred isn't huge. I'm a September baby, was almost always the youngest in my class, and (at the risk of bragging) I'm objectively successful. I was never great at sports, but being several inches below average is probably the culprit. :)

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zedfrostxnn t1_iyomcwd wrote

So do parents in India want their children to be the oldest in class?

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marriedacarrot t1_iyoztd2 wrote

Yes, according to my co-workers from India. They're pretty upfront about it, too (and pretty upfront about being in arranged marriages).

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