Our Timing Was Off

My wife's due date was recently pushed from Sept. 2 to Sept. 4, gee thanks, modern medicine. No matter when the baby comes, so long as it comes after 11:59 pm, August 31, 2007, it's gonna cost us.

No, we don't have some magical "free baby" option that sunsets at the end of August. Looking over the regulations of our school district, a child must be five years old before September 1 of that year before they can enroll in kindergarten. Now, of course every child is unique and this rule should be coordinated on a case-by-case basis. Given the general aptitude and intelligence of its parents, there's a good chance that my baby will "test in" or be considered mature enough to attend kindergarten and the tender age of 4 years, 361 days old. But if not, is it a bad thing that I'm already calculating how much that extra year without private school will cost me?

Like most things I am discovering with babies, the result is based on the individual and not on some arbitrary deadline or when "everyone else" says it should happen. If my child is fairly adept at reading, writing, and not biting other children come September 2012, then it's off to school with you.

And if my child can benefit from some extra developmental time, so be it. Considering I realized last night that my wife and I will be paying our own student loans for the next 17 years, we could use that extra time to add to the college fund.