Around the world, approximately 4 babies are born every second. The birth of babies happens all year round, it occurs at any given place, time and season. Some babies are born in spring, others in autumn or winter, and some are born during the summer. In the United States of America, summer season starts early to mid June and lasts up to late August or early September, this places summer from June up until September in the calendar. Summer is known to be the warmest time among the 4 seasons; it follows spring and precedes autumn and commonly, during this time, universities and schools have summer breaks for students to enjoy the warm weather and have a well deserved rest and relaxation. Babies who are born from June to September are called summer babies. These babies are believed to be different from other babies, some studies suggests that summer babies tend to grow taller and bigger compared to those who aren’t, others also believe that these babies are more likely to have ADHD. Are these all true or are they baseless claims?

A new study to be published in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics, led by Dr. Melinda Morrill of the North Carolina State University, believes that summer babies are not likely to have ADHD. The claim that these babies are highly prone to the disorder is untrue. This study was able to observe how the misdiagnosis of ADHD took place. When a child starts kindergarten, around the age of 4, the cut-off birthday would be on September during the same year, summer babies who are born form June, July and August, tend to be younger when they enter school. They could be a few days, weeks or even months behind in terms of age; this is why teachers and even some adults misinterpret the child’s behavior and attitude as a manifestation of ADHD, instead of considering it to be a normal occurrence and closely related to their maturity level. How adults and teachers perceive the child’s behavior is the main reason, why confusion takes place. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental and neurobehavioral disease which is characterized by hyperactivity and attention problems.  ADHD is correctly diagnosed using a thorough psychiatric evaluation, a criteria is used to support the diagnosis. Other diagnostic procedures such as physical examination, laboratory tests and various imaging processes can also be done.

The statement that babies born in the summer are more prone to having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not true. This false claim was brought about by the misinterpretation and misdiagnosis of the adults in school. They over looked the fact that summer babies are generally younger compared to the non-summer ones, and because of this, they mistook age appropriate behavior and personality as a symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Now that we know where the error is, it would be everyone’s best interest to have everything straightened out and demonstrate the facts for what it really is.