Anxiety and family major factors in students skipping school, report finds

This problem has exploded because of the relaxed/child centred (self-managing, project and interest based teaching) teaching philosophies that are now in vogue, especially in primary and intermediate schools. Children need boundaries and guidance, and this is not happening.

teens anxious in other news water, wet!

Stop telling them they are anxious and have family problems and maybe it wont be an issue any more. This is another example to the people with the real anxiety transferring their issues to others.

The world is an anxiety-inducing place and its not doing kids any favours to shield them from it, instead of teaching them how to cope with it.

exactly, the labels just keep on coming

Overcrowded, open-plan classrooms and lots of kids with behavioural problems that teachers arent able to deal with. No one wants to go to school - staff and students!

Given the number of articles on this subject it must be becoming trendy to have a adolescent mental health issue but wagging school has always been a fun activity!

Its more the parents responsibility than the teachers. Supporting your childs teacher will go a long way to reducing their anxiety. If we heard less teacher bashing from parents maybe children would reflect them more and feel more relaxed about coming to school.

I agree with you re teachers problems. It seems teachers are expected to be defacto parents these days.

Sitting in a class with a high level of unaddressed anxiety and no help does not teach you to cope with it. It teaches you to hide it until it shows in other ways which can be more destructive than a few days off school.

A lot of parents with kids with ASD, ADHD etc end up keeping their kids home on days they are tired or grumpy for fear they will end up acting up and getting expelled. This of course means the kids lose a lot of school days and can end up behind or not able to maintain relationships with classmates and teachers. Our children to not choose to be challenging. They behave as well as they can given their abilities and the amount of stress placed on them. A bit more support, smaller classes, calmer classrooms and some understanding would go a long way to preventing many of the behavior problems everyone complains about. Most of us will problem children work very hard to help our children despite every door being slammed in our face when we try to get help, A lot of us end up homeschooling which just makes the problem less visable.

Sadly many children have a lot going on in their home life and their families are part of the problem not the solution. Schools and teachers are doing a huge amount to try and counterbalance this as best they can but this inevitably compromises their ability to focus on teaching ( negativity impacting other students ). Sadly the expression âit takes a village to raise a child ...❠has become a trendy at a time when communal responsibility and practical action is at an all time low. Part of the solution is harnessing the experience and wisdom of the wider community to support teachers.

Parents can do everything within their power but they are not at school with their children and they cannot force the teacher to use techniques proven to work for the child (and the teacher may not have time to do so anyway). And teachers do tend to think they know better than parents and doctors when it comes to children.

I am a teacher, and the 8 and 9 year old kids in my class have been learning all about mental heath and mindfulness this year. They have even come up with an amazing project Donate a Dollar Day that is happening next Wednesday, but they need you to help them in order to succeed. Please have a read of the following stuff.co.nz article on what they are doing and how they they need you to be part of it. https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/capital-day/106593463/lower-hutt-students-urge-people-to-donate-a-dollar-to-help-nearby-school?cid=facebook.post.106593463

I was anxious for the entire time I was at school. Addressing it may have been more helpful in the long run than ignoring it.

Im not sure if theres more anxiety now than when I was young, but Im super impressed with how my 10 yr old childs school is dealing with his anxiety (which he has had a good few days off for) and the support they are giving him and our family. This generation are finally learning tools that theyll be able to use to help themselves - eg meditation, learning about physiological responses and how to help yourself calm down, etc.