A FATHER and son both turn 12 this year.
Stewart Reid, from Dundee, was born on February 29 1968 and officially turns 12 today, making him a “leapling” or a leap-year baby.
His son, Callum, is currently 11 and will turn 12 on August 14.
That means that later this year, the pair will be the same age – and it will be the last time Stewart is technically older than his son.
In reality, Stewart turns 48 this morning but due to his rare birth date he has only been able to celebrate on the actual date he was born a dozen times.
As a result, he has been “milking it” and his wife says he has been celebrating the majority of February.
Stewart, who works as a lift engineer, said: “Normally I celebrate my birthday on the 28th because that is the last day of the month.
“But when I was a bit younger I celebrated it on whatever day fell on the Saturday. Tonight I’m just going out for a nice family meal, but I’ve been milking it most of this month.”
Stewart was born in Essex but moved to Dundee at a young age, and says that his unusual birthday is still a talking point.
“Friends say I’m underage and not old enough to drink in the pub,” he said.
“We were out for a family meal and one of my cousins said he was the youngest, but I had to correct him.
“Everybody likes to say they are young at heart, but when I say I am actually young because I have only had 12 birthdays it gets a wee giggle.
“I worked out that this is the last year I’ll be officially older than Callum. After this he’ll overtake me.”
To celebrate his birthday this year, his wife Pauline has booked both him and Callum on a speedboat ride under the Forth Road Bridge.
Several weeks ago, they also enjoyed a trip to the Anfield football stadium in Liverpool, and stayed a night in the Bill Shankly hotel.
The family have also booked a trip to Disneyland Paris this summer, as an early birthday present for Callum.
Pauline, 42, said: “Stewart has been celebrating the majority of February, this is a birthday we won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
“He’s had loads of treats already and also has a speedboat ride to look forward to.
“By the time it is my birthday in June we’ll probably still be celebrating Stewart’s.”
