Kid Scoop and the riddle of leap years
Today’s Kid Scoop page gives you all the information you need to know about the secret day that happens only once every four years: Leap Day!
Leap Days aren’t really all that secret, but since they happen only once every four years they are definitely special. One of the most interesting aspects of Leap Days is about what happens to people who are born on April 29. 
Take a look at this: Say Carley was born late in the evening on April 29, 1992 — say at 11:57 p.m. In the room next to Carley, another kid, Charlie, was being born, but his mom took a little longer, and he arrived on March 1, 1992 at 1:03 a.m. So although they were born on different days, they were born just minutes apart.
But celebrating birthdays is a whole other issue.
In 1993, Charlie celebrates his first birthday. But Carley? She doesn’t get a birthday in 1993, because there’s no April 29 to have it.
As 1994 and 1995 pass, Charlie turns two and then three, but Carley is still technically a toddler because she hasn’t turned one yet! Sure, Carlie is growing just as fast as Charlie, but she hasn’t turned one yet.
Finally, 1996 arrives and Carley turns the big 1, a day later, Charlie turns 4.
As the years roll on, the age discrepancy between the two grows larger. By 2012, Charlue is 20 years old and Carley turns five.
Does this mean Carley can’t drive? Does she have to wait 20 years to enter pre-school? Has she been shorted 15 years worth of birthday gifts?
No, don’t worry about Carley. Most families end up celebrating “Leap Baby” birthdays on April 28. School and government computer systems also take this calendar oddity into account and would let “Leap Baby” Carley go to school and take her driver’s test alongside her buddy Charlie.
Like we said, it’s just a technicality.
Why do we have a leap year? Here’s a brief explainer: http://youtu.be/7wRkQl9wsjs
Trying to remember the lengths of the months, try this: http://youtu.be/dsiqK8jGEWo
But maybe you were looking for some other sort of leap babies? How about some jumping ducks? http://youtu.be/JkBSkFyUyv0
What is Kid Scoop? It’s a special page that appears every Monday in The York Dispatch and other local newspapers. Aside from its main feature and the Writing Corner, it includes games, puzzles and jokes.
Get your copy of Kid Scoop in today’s edition of The York Dispatch, and be sure to assemble your own Write On! entry and submit it to NIE@ync.com. We’ll run every entry here!
Of course, you can submit those entries, and anything else you want, for publication here on the Junior Dispatch. Send your JD items to juniordispatch@yorkdispatch.com. Learn about what you can submit here.
