Even the best students skip class occasionally. (C’mon—you did it, too.) But regularly skipping school puts your teen at risk of failing or dropping out. Skipping school could also indicate a psychological or substance abuse problem. If you suspect that your teen is skipping school regularly, take the following steps:
- Find out what’s happening. You need to know three things: why your teen is skipping, how often he or she is doing it, and what your teen is doing outside of school. Kids sometimes skip school when something stressful or unpleasant is going on at school or at home. They also skip when they are unprepared for exams, bored, or testing their independence. Then again, some teens are simply partying with friends who are also skipping.
- Call the school and ask about absences. Check the absences on your child’s report card to make sure you can account for all of them. Ask his or her teachers if there are any unexcused absences.
- Ask your teen what’s going on in open-ended, neutral language, for example, “I understand you’ve been skipping school. We need to talk about it.” Or “You seem distracted and your grades are slipping. Can you tell me what’s going on or how you’re doing?”
- Tighten the leash. Let your teen know that you expect him or her to be in school and that you’ll be checking with the school regularly. Ask the school to alert you if your child is absent. Drive him or her to school if necessary.
- Schedule an appointment with your teen and the school guidance counselor if you think the situation is more serious or you need more support. You can discuss why your teen is skipping school, what kinds of help or resources are available to help, and how you can work with the school to make sure he or she gets the necessary education.