Christopher A Kearney - Getting Your Child Back to School: A Parents Guide to Solving School Attendance Problems, Revised and Updated Edition

The information and strategies presented in this book are rich in providing parents with answers to many of their why and how questions. Parents will come away understanding the nature of their childs school refusal problem, the factors contributing to the problem, and effective strategies for returning their child to school in a positive and productive manner.Anne Marie Albano, PhD, ABPP, Director, Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders

Using his research background as well as his years of clinical experience, Dr. Kearney describes the variety of reasons that drive school refusal behavior in youth and then provides clear and effective solutions for each type of problem. Parents struggling mightily to get their child to go to and stay in school will welcome Dr. Kearneys sage advice.Patricia M. DiBartolo, PhD, Caroline L. Wall 27 Professor of Psychology, Smith College

Written by one of the leading experts in this area, this book is a must-read for parents of children who are reluctant or refuse to attend school.Cynthia G. Last, PhD, Author of Help for Worried Kids

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kearney, Christopher A., author.

Title: Getting your child back to school : a parents guide to solving school

attendance problems, Revised and Updated Edition / Christopher A. Kearney.

Other titles: Getting your child to say yes to school

Description: Revised and updated edition. | New York, NY :

Oxford University Press, 2021. | Revised edition of: Getting your child

to say yes to school. 2007 |

Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2020047324 (print) | LCCN 2020047325 (ebook) |

ISBN 9780197547496 (paperback) | ISBN 9780197547519 (epub) |

ISBN 9780197547526 (Digital-Online)

Subjects: LCSH: School phobia.

Classification: LCC RJ506.S33 K418 2021 (print) |

LCC RJ506.S33 (ebook) | DDC 618.92/8522dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047324

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047325

DOI: 10.1093/med-psych/9780197547496.001.0001

School attendance problems continue to be a serious challenge for parents and youth, especially in this day and age. Many kids are faced with intense academic and social challenges, systemic barriers to school attendance and graduation, and overcrowded and underfunded schools. In addition, at this writing, a pandemic continues to sweep the globe and cause massive disruptions to the educational process. Many kids have been forced to learn at home or engage in online learning or a hybrid approach that can be disjointed and unsettling. Extended absences from school, whether forced or not, can cause substantial distress and disruption to youth and their families. This new edition is a parent guide to solving common school attendance problems and challenges in different times. The edition covers not only school attendance problems during normal times but also suggestions as well for coping with challenges during extended periods of time when school is closed.

Jonathan has missed the last week of school! I cant seem to get him out of bed in the morning. I feel so frustrated. What can I do?

Ashlee has a lot of trouble going to school in the morning. She cries a lot and seems so unhappy. This is so stressful for all of us. How can we help our daughter?

I just found out that Reggie has been skipping some classes at school. I cant believe it! Why is he doing this? What happens now?

Will just seems to mope around, especially on Sunday nights. Hes always asking us to let him stay home. Im so confused. Should I let him stay home for a few days?

I can get Madison to go to school but only after a long argument every morning! Im so tired of this. What can we do to make the morning easier?

Valentina cries all the time at school and always wants me there. She hangs on to me at the playground as I try to drop her off. I feel so bad for her. Should I miss a few days of work and go to class with her?

Brett always seems to have stomachaches and headaches in the morning before school. He says he cant go. Should I make him go? Whats wrong?

Do any of these situations sound familiar to you? When a child has trouble attending school, or seems so unhappy about going to school, family members are often frustrated, distressed, shocked, confused, and angry. But thats understandable. We naturally expect our children to eat their dinner, play with friends, sleep at nightand go to school in the morning! If a child has trouble doing any of these things, then family tension builds, everyone argues, and you may start wondering: What do we do now? What is going to happen? How can I get my child back to school? All of these reactions are normal.

Having a child with trouble attending school is upsetting because we do not like for our kids to be distressed, and we worry what will happen if they dont receive their education. And, lets face it, we have work and other things to do! I know the rush in the morning and what can happen if a child does not want to leave the home. What makes trouble attending school even more upsetting is that the problem can be hard to understand and resolve. But be assured: You can get your child to school with less distress! The main purpose of this book is to cover the different aspects of this problem and give you the means to handle all kinds of school attendance problems.

School attendance problems refer to any difficulty attending school or remaining in classes for an entire day. Other terms, such as truancy or chronic absenteeism, are sometimes used when discussing attendance problems, but these terms are often defined differently depending on a certain area. I use the term school attendance problems because it includes all children who have trouble going to or being in school. In other words, your childs situation should be in this book!

A child may have different kinds of school attendance problems. A brief look at these problems is provided in . A longer look at these problems follows here. Think about the problems that seem to apply most to your child and place a check mark next to those that do.