hoarder59 t1_je4tjtp wrote
Reply to comment by CulturedClub in TIL that children born earlier in the academic year have a higher chance of participating in upper echelons of sports or academia. This is known as the Relative Age Effect. by ThatFaultyGamer
No, they are correct. Many school systems have a cutoff birthdate. So do sports teams. My parents had the choice of keeping me out of school for another year but didn't. As a result, I was usually the youngest and smallest in every class until I graduated high school. While I did reasonably well academically, I was inevitably left to last on sports teams. In our ice hockey system it is even stricter adherence to age.
CulturedClub t1_je5e23r wrote
So do you think that there was no one else in the commenter's class that was also born in August or even July? I.e. everyone else in their class was born the previous September
Toy_Guy_in_MO t1_je63j5i wrote
The commenter said
> I was as much as a year younger
This allows for a range. And as in the example of my own class, not everyone was a year younger than everyone else; that would be impossible. But a large portion of the students were close to or more than a year younger than a good portion of other kids in the class and this showed in academics or athletics. Most of the birthdays in our class, that we celebrated, were Sept/Oct or Feb/Mar, relatively few in the Nov-Jan span, Apr/May and unknown in the summer months. And especially at those younger ages, it doesn't even have to be a full year, even a matter of 2-3 months is a big difference. A child who is 5 years and 3 months will, on average, have an advantage over a child who has just turned 5.
CulturedClub t1_je6b4rf wrote
Commenter did a sneaky wee edit. Your point is the same as the one I was making to them.
hoarder59 t1_je72cxp wrote
No, but the average age would be older per grade. I was the youngest, on the younger age of the average. If I waited a year I would have been the oldest, older than the average but receiving the same instruction. I was the best reader/writer but the least social. In sports, where it really matters is the growth of a child. Go to hockeydb.com and look at the birthdate of professional hockey players. The overwhelming majority were born in the first 3 months of the year. Kids start hockey by age group. There is some adjustment for skill, but older kids aren't moved downand only the very top talents move up.
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