babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Malia Obama’s Another Holiday Baby
I’ve got to say Malia Obama’s got it rough. Having a holiday birthday is one of those things little kids usually moan about, but being a July 4 baby as the president’s daughter?
I’ll concur with a commenter on Jezebel’s coverage of the presidential birthday celebration for Malia: “that blows.”
Sure she got to celebrate in the White House. But then again, she had to celebrate her birthday in the White House . . . on the most patriotic day of the year! She had to share the national birthday, from the center of the nation’s capital. She seems like a smart kid, but still . . . she’s a kid! Talk about stealing her thunder.
It’s why I was always happy NOT to share my birthday as a kid. As a one-week-after-July-4 baby, I never had a problem. Summer birthdays carry with them the advantage of never having to attend school ON your birthday (downside – no cupcakes in the classroom, sigh . . . ). But birthdays on a holiday, especially a date-specific holiday (such as July 4 or Christmas) are a bummer for younger kids who still want to feel like their birthdays are more special than any other day of the year.
It’s something we lose – sadly – as we grow up. An aunt recently apologized for scheduling her husband’s (my uncle’s) birthday bash on my own birthday, and I told her honestly I didn’t really care, “but if I was six, I would!”
Because kids are pretty self-centered. It’s not a knock – it’s part of growing up. And so are the joys of birthdays . . . for most of us.
A friend born December 24 confessed that as much as her parents tried to make Christmas Eve about her, they couldn’t help but be swept up in the preparation for the holidays. This wasn’t just about the presents – but their presence, right down to their mental presence in the moment of her birthday rather than in thinking about the roast to make, the tree to trim, the Christmas mass to attend.
Most of us don’t have much control over what day our kids are born, but if you could keep your kids’ birthdays off of the holiday, would you? How do you make holiday birthdays special?
Source/Image: Jezebel
Related Posts:
Go Back To Strollerderby
5 Comments
[...] breaks this holiday/birthday thing down a bit more and Droolicious shares some of Malia’s fashion choices for the day. [...]
Malia Obama Shares Her Birthday With America | Famecrawler commented on Jul 06 09 at 3:26 pmWhit commented on Jul 06 09 at 2:51 pmShe got to celebrate it with a private Foo Fighters concert. That’s better than any birthday I’ve ever had.
Rosana commented on Jul 07 09 at 1:42 pmI will think it blows if I hear her complaining about it but not if others think it blows. I celebrating your kids birthday is one way to make them feel that day is special, even if his a holiday too.
ChiLaura commented on Jul 07 09 at 3:25 pmAgreed, Rosana. my son is also a July 4 baby. I do think that he’ll miss out bringing cupcakes to school, but besides that, I think that July 4 is a pretty great day for a b-day! Out of school for the summer; parents have the day off (presumably) to do something special with him; probably a baseball game; always a picnic or bbq. I sympathize with kids who have Dec 24 or 25 b-days, but July 4 is much more low-key as far as parents prepping for possible visitors. Come to think of it, my b-day is on Thanksgiving every few years, and I always loved it when it was.
NY Phoenix commented on Aug 07 11 at 8:01 pmKids with summer birthdays aren’t left out as much as they used to be. I have one kid with a May birthday and another with a July birthday. The one with the July birthday has had 2 teachers that did a “summer birthdays” during the month of June and last year his 5th grade teacher did a “1/2 birthday” for kids with summer birthdays.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
5