Many parents consider delaying their younger child's entry into kindergarten if their birthday falls late in the year, believing this may help them keep pace with older peers. However, it's important to recognize that this temporary disadvantage may not diminish as they progress through school. Instead, it often endures, echoing the dynamics seen in sports like hockey, where the earliest-born players maintain a significant edge.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers: The Story of Success," he highlights how this phenomenon reveals that advantages based on birth dates can have lasting effects. The early-born children, who start school with advantages in maturity and development, often continue to excel, suggesting that the timing of one's birthday can influence long-term outcomes in education and beyond.