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Babies Born in September Are More Successful, Study Suggests

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If your little bundle of joy arrived around this time of year, rejoice: Science says he or she is more likely to be successful later in life. As a result of a process called “redshirting,” parents who hold back their children a year may see a host of benefits.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) looked into Florida’s data and discovered “a positive relationship between school starting age and children’s cognitive development from age 6 to 15.” From their research, they concluded that starting school later “increases children’s college attainment and reduces the likelihood of being incarcerated for juvenile crime.”

According to Country Living, the sole fact of a child’s age could impact the way a teacher interacts with a student. Judging a student’s ability just by their age could result in an instructor challenging an older student more than they might a younger student, for instance.

NBER’s research took a closer look at the “redshirting” phenomenon — a tool that more affluent families use, which is essentially to delay the start of schooling to give their child an advantage against their peers. Children from less affluent families whose parents do not have the luxury of holding back their child — either due to lack of knowledge or lack of resources — were often held back and forced to repeat kindergarten at an older age. That said, research indicated that students who were redshirted or retained both ended up with about the same socioeconomic status, which seems to hint that the key to success would be simply starting kindergarten at an older age.

So for those of you whose children were born during the other 11 months, don’t fret! Just because your child wasn’t born in September doesn’t mean he or she isn’t capable of success. A lot of other factors go into determining the happiness and success of your child; it’s not solely about age.

h/t Country Living

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