School. The dreaded six-letter word for many kids and teenagers. Educationquizzes.com ran a survey on whether or not students liked to go to school in March 2021. According to this, 70% of their 3,448 respondents said that they enjoyed going to school. This is not a bad percentage, but there is still that 30% who do not like school. What can parents do if their children refuse to go to school? Can they call the police if the child refuses to go to school?
Can I call the police if my child refuses to go to school?
Yes, but generally calling police is not recommended. In certain cases, you can call the police if your child refuses to go to school. In situations such as repeated and frequent absences with no valid excuse like a sickness or emergency, you can call the police to convince the child to go to school. Some children relent due to the fear of the authorities. Depending on the location, some police districts do not intervene in these matters. Instead, the school would contact you about the prolonged absence of your child and inform them of the repercussions of their refusal to go to school. If getting kicked out of school is not scary enough, there must be something deeper going on with your child.
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When can I call the Police if my child refuses to go to school?
It is primarily your responsibility to ensure your children attend school. If the refusal to attend school persists, this can be considered a crime called truancy. This is defined by Wikipedia as the “…intentional, unauthorized, and illegal absence from compulsory education.” Every school has its policies on attendance and what qualifies for truancy. If your child has been missing school for many days and without a valid reason, the school can alert the authorities of this and/or file charges of truancy. Many countries would persecute both you and your child for allowing this to happen. Other countries, like Canada and Russia, impose fines for truancy instead and do not impose jail time. A truant child is a serious matter you must address as parents. What could be done before resorting to the police?
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Steps to take before doing this as a last resort
If your child refuses to go to school, before calling the police, you can take a few steps that are below.
Step 1: Communication is key. You must be patient, understanding, and non-judgmental when speaking to your children. Actively listen to what’s bothering them, then acknowledge what they are feeling but not the action they are doing.
Step 2: support your child with their school life by helping with homework and rewarding them for going to school or good behavior in school.
Step 3: if there are underlying issues such as mental health or family issues that cause your child anxiety, seek professional help by consulting with a child psychologist or counselor.
Step 4: involve your child in setting clear expectations of what you expect from them. A suggestion would be to create a behavior contract outlining what is expected of the child and the consequences if they fail to fulfill the obligation.
It would be best if the school is aware of what is going on with your child to understand the situation and to get the school to support them when they are in school. Should your child continue to be resistant to talking with you or should they continue to disobey you, seeking professional help is recommended in order to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Most of the time, you just need to sit down with your children and have a good listen and talk. With everyone’s busy lifestyle, spending quality time with them is often neglected. Making an effort to hear their thoughts and know what is going on in their minds is necessary to avoid having to call the police when they refuse to go to school.
