New study commissioned by leading parenting website Emma’s Diary reveals that August babies are keen talkers, September tots are early birds, October children are social butterflies – while June babies are least likely to be fussy eaters, but most likely to throw a tantrum.
The Great British Birth Month Study of UK parents looked at children born throughout the year over a ten year period (2016-2026), exploring their early milestones, sleep, eating habits, personality and behaviour during their first five years.
And while nobody is suggesting parents should start planning conception dates around the results, the findings throw up some fascinating – and sometimes rather funny patterns.
Key Outtakes:
Chatty, Friendly and Smiley!
August babies appear to be the early talkers, with six in ten (61%) saying their first recognisable word at 10 months, whilst also being the first to speak a short sentence.
September babies are quick off the mark in another way, with 37% crawling by six months. They are also the nation’s biggest early birds, with 78% described by their parents as morning people.
But if you’ve got an October baby, you may have a budding social butterfly on your hands. An impressive 94% enjoy trying new activities, the highest proportion of any birth month, while 76% make friends easily and are the most confident (72.2%).
Meanwhile, December babies have plenty to smile about. Four in ten (41%) gave their first social smile during their first month – the highest of any birth month in the study. They also recorded the highest average scores for enjoying both reading (4.03 out of 5) and numbers and counting (4.06 out of 5).
Around the Dinner Table
More than half (51%) of June-born children were described as eating ‘almost everything” – the highest proportion of any month – while not a single June-born child in the survey was described as an extremely fussy eater.
There may, however, be a catch. June babies were also the most likely to throw tantrums regularly, at 61%. In contrast, just 35% of October-born children were reported to regularly throw tantrums.
In other words, June babies might eat their broccoli – but that doesn’t necessarily mean parents are guaranteed a quiet life.
Spring in their Step
Spring-born children produced another striking result, with 91% of April babies playing outdoors often, the highest figure of any month.
And when it comes to being busy bees, summer babies stand out. Almost three-quarters (74%) of July-born children enjoy trying new activities.
Perhaps not surprisingly, June, July and August babies were the first to be reliably dry and out of nappies.
Sleeping on the job
There may even be some good news for exhausted parents depending on when their child arrived; February babies were the most likely to sleep in their own bed every night, with 84% doing so, compared with 61% of March-born children.
So what does your child’s birth month say about them?
The findings are, of course, an entertaining snapshot of the experiences reported by parents rather than evidence that being born in a particular month causes a child to develop certain characteristics.
But for anyone convinced their June-born toddler has always had particularly strong opinions, or wondering why their September child considers 5.45am an entirely reasonable time to start the day, the results might feel strangely familiar.
Faye Mingo, Chief Growth Officer at Emma’s Diary, says: “Every child develops completely differently and there is certainly no rule book determined by the month they were born. But that’s exactly what makes these findings so much fun.
Parents love comparing those little milestones and personality traits that make their child who they are, and we were fascinated to see some of the patterns that emerged when we looked at them by birth month.
Whether you’ve got an adventurous October baby, an early-rising September child or a June-born little one who’ll happily clear their plate before having a spectacular tantrum, it’s a lovely reminder of just how individual those first few years can be.”
