School avoidance: Parenting teens and tweens when your teen is missing school.

Ask Rachel anything The 'social contract' between families and schools has been broken during the pandemic, and ongoing absence of kids is a 'deep and concerning problem' according to Amanda Spielman, chief of the UK schools watchdog. Rates of school refusal and truanting are a huge problem in other countries too. Finding the right approach for dealing with it is crucial, because whatever the reason for missing school it takes a lot of fixing and is a symptom of something else that needs to be unpicked. RESOURCES: The printable anxiety iceberg sheet: https://phecanada.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/teach-resiliency/Iceberg.jpg How to make a self-soothe box: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/how-to-make-a-self-soothe-box/ A really good blog that works through steps you can take: https://medium.com/@ArthurCWoods/help-my-teenager-wont-return-to-school-d770203fcbac Book: The Ultimate Guide to Working with your School: The School Avoidance Masterclass for Parents,” Jane Demsky Can’t Not Won’t - Eliza Fricker, helping and understanding children who are unable to go to school. https://naomi-fisher.mykajabi.com/notfineatschool RESEARCH AND LINKS TO HELP: www.schoolrefusal.co.uk Parenting Tips 26: How to help your teen with friendship skills. Parenting Tips 19: What if you don't like your teen's friends? Parenting Tips 17: The lying teenager. Parenting Tips 16: Boy friendships. Parenting Tips 14: Anxiety. Parenting Tips 12: Bullying. Parenting Tips 10: Girls navigating friendship groups. Parenting Tips 5: The academic struggler. https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/school-education/truancy-other-school-problems/truancy-9-15-years https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/school-anxiety-and-refusal/#:~:text=About%20the%20term%20'school%20refusal,other%20professionals%20using%20this%20term. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534195/ https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/143/2/e20183648/37326/The-Link-Between-School-Attendance-and-Good-Health?searchresult=1?autologincheck=redirected https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/when-your-adult-child-breaks-your-heart/201709/understanding-school-refusal#:~:text=School%20refusal%20is%20different%20from%20truancy&text=Children%20who%20are%20truant%20from,can%20happen%20at%20any%20age. https://impactparents.com/blog/adhd/child-really-doesnt-care-school/ Support the show Please hit the follow button if you like the podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message. Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits. Find all the tips from the episode on Substack: My email [email protected] My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact me Instagram Facebook