Have you ever thought about how easy it can be to read a date incorrectly? How would you read 4/11/00? The year could be 2000, 1900, 1800, etc. You would probably assume that the month and day are April 11 – but they could also be November 4, especially if you are looking at a document from another country.
The best way to prevent confusion is to use the generally accepted genealogy format of 11 April 2000. The month can be abbreviated to three letters, but I prefer to spell it out to further ensure against errors. Think about Jan vs. Jun in the context of handwriting. If the “a” isn't closed, it could easily be misread as a “u” - but there is no way to confuse January and June.
If you're researching your family and find dates that leave you wondering about the month and day, here's what you can do. Knowing that months are limited to 1 through 12, look for dates where the first two segments are higher than 12. For example, with 28/3/00 you know that the first number is the day; with 3/28/00 you know that the first number is the month.
If neither of the first two segments are higher than 12, check other records above/below or before/after the record you're looking at. Chances are good that you'll find one with a number higher than 12 and then you'll know the format being used.
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