Minimizing pre-school childcare costs this way, however, also minimizes your child’s age when school starts. I think this is probably pretty bad for them long term, and recall reading various things that showed large outcomes differences between kids born just before and after age cutoffs.
Not wanting your kid to be at minimal age to start school is a totally valid counterargument. Perhaps there’s a middle ground—prioritizing the spring for example.
Had anyone I’d been discussing this with brought up this counterargument I would have had a very different takeaway from the conversation. The point I was trying to make was that even people who are thinking some about the economics of pregnancy and parenthood don’t seem to be thinking about it very comprehensively in my experience.
That said, IIRC from your blogs, 2 of your 3 kids have June-ish birthdays, so I take it your concern about being in the youngest quarter of the year wasn’t something important enough to you to actively avoid.
I agree most people aren’t thinking this through.
Minimizing pre-school childcare costs this way, however, also minimizes your child’s age when school starts. I think this is probably pretty bad for them long term, and recall reading various things that showed large outcomes differences between kids born just before and after age cutoffs.
Not wanting your kid to be at minimal age to start school is a totally valid counterargument. Perhaps there’s a middle ground—prioritizing the spring for example.
Had anyone I’d been discussing this with brought up this counterargument I would have had a very different takeaway from the conversation. The point I was trying to make was that even people who are thinking some about the economics of pregnancy and parenthood don’t seem to be thinking about it very comprehensively in my experience.
That said, IIRC from your blogs, 2 of your 3 kids have June-ish birthdays, so I take it your concern about being in the youngest quarter of the year wasn’t something important enough to you to actively avoid.
February, March, June. Around here the cutoff is September 1st.
(Timing isn’t necessarily going to work out, plus I don’t think we were targeting a season)