 Leaps ahead!If you are expecting a baby any time this year, 2004 will be very special for you. It might be even more memorable, however, if your baby is due on Feb 29th! Nothing in particular distinguishes Leap Year babies from others. They look the same, act the same, grow up the same. Yet they belong to an exclusive club of children whose unusual birthday does make them stand out from the crowd.Sam Pope takes a look at what having a Leap Year baby is all about!
Having a baby on a date that only occurs once every four years can be pretty daunting for prospective parents. With the help of Raenell Dawn (herself a Leap Day baby!) of www.leapyearday.com, we answer your questions about babies born on Feb 29th and show why they're so special! What do I call my baby?Apart from their usual name, if your baby is born on February 29th, their correct 'title' will be 'Leap Day baby', not 'Leap Year baby', as anyone can be born in a Leap Year! Remember - it's the day that makes them special. How do I work out my child's age?According to Raenell Dawn, it is incorrect to say that your eight-year-old child is two. 'They are two Leap years old,' she corrects. How do you answer your child when they ask how old they are? If they really want to be eight or 12, instead of (technically) two or three, then celebrate them being the age they want to be. When they get older they will appreciate the opportunity to truthfully say they are younger! When should I celebrate my child's birthday?It's not rocket science. When a Leap Year occurs, celebrate it on Feb 29th. For all other years you have a choice - 28th February or 1st March. Some people even have two birthdays! (Well, if the Queen can, why not?!) Raenell Dawn has some top tips for celebrating a Leap Day child's birthday. 'When it comes to celebrating at a birthday party, the frog is the big deal. So are leaping lizards. Getting the child items that reflect their "Leapness" is always fun.' How to explain Leap Year to your child?At some point your child will want to know why they can't celebrate their birthday on the same day every year. You could try getting away with explaining that they were born on Feb 29th, Leap Year Day (or Leap Day), and that this day just doesn't occur every year. This might work while they're still fairly young. However, as they get older and more curious, the explanation gets a bit technical. You could simply say that when the calendar was invented, an extra day was added every four years to keep all the seasons and the calendar in synch. If your child is Paxman-like in their demands for more detailed answers, you could explain further by saying that the Earth completes its orbit around the sun in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 36 seconds. This is the length of the 'solar' year. The moon, on the other hand, finishes its phases in around 29.5 days. Therefore, 12 lunar months (a lunar year) total more than 354 days, 8 hours and 48 minutes. The discrepancy between the solar and lunar years is unavoidable but needs addressing to help harmonise the seasons and keep track of time. (Have I lost you yet?) Hopefully by this point they will have wandered into the kitchen in search of a chocolate biscuit. Raenell Dawn has simplified it a bit more for us and has added a reason why your child should feel even more special! 'Leap Year Day was added to the calendar when February was the last month of the year. When February was promoted to the second position of the calendar, it retained the responsibility of keeping the calendar in line with the universe. There's a reason for that. We experience the seasons the same time every year… If we didn't have that extra day to keep the seasons lined up with the calendar, we would have a horrible time trying to maintain our crops. It's because of that extra day, February 29, Leap Year Day, that the calendar is as perfect as it is.' Here are a couple of amazing facts about Leap Year Day! Parents can vary in their reactions to having a potential Leap Day baby, as the responses we received from several babyworld members showed:
Give me a vindaloo! Life's a (once-in-four-years)party Que sera,sera Potentially a problem
Why didn't I think of that?! Many thanks to Raenell Dawn from www.leapyearday.com for her assistance with this article. By Sam Pope
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