Everything affects the people around you, are there any problems at home, school, or anywhere else your child is around? If they aren't comfortable around where they are they will look to ditch school, stay away from home or where ever else it will be. If you want to help your child you need to find out exactly whats bothering her and try and fix that. She may not want to tell you but you need to get it out it in the open before you will start seeing changes. You have to know the problem before you can fix it right? I used to skip school to do drugs with friends back in high school because I was bored of school. I didn't understand school was important because my parents didn't tell me.

Yeah your parents tell you school is important but whether they fully understand is another thing. If they really understand that if they don't do well in school then they will have a hard time getting a job or into the university of their choice then maybe they wouldn't skipping school and aiming for good grades instead of just a pass. Try and think back to when you were their age and did you really understand what the world was all about at that age? I doubt many do because they haven't been exposed to the real world before. This is probably why they don't take schooling seriously. I always said screw school I'd rather be having fun and doing drugs/drinking and worry about all that other things in life later when it comes around. I'm not saying your kids on drugs or doing bad things but if shes not in school what else is she doing?

Find out whats going through her head even if it causes heated arguments, You show you love your kids by paying attention to what they are going through not by letting them do what ever they like. You should try and build a close relationship to them that they can talk to you about anything instead of turning to someone else. That way you can spot potential problems your child might be having and possibly stop it before it does.

I hope things work out for you and your family. Good luck.

Most people when at school think they don't like it and it wont help them when they get older and in need of a job. Most people get jobs and all the time and work they done at school has not helped them get the job. You can get jobs all over the place now and not need any GCSE'S or anything from school. Just simply turn up for a interview and get the job. Ok i understand the bigger high paid jobs you do need qualifications and stuff but most of us dont end up like that.

Having said this its no excuse to skip school. As someone said where ur at school you hate it. Now after 7 or 8 years out of it i would like to go back lolz

Man I know what you mean I wish I could stay in school and get paid for it. Learning is so much fun and I enjoy it way more now then I ever did in my entire life. I guess what we learn in high school does seem boring and we don't see it really helping us out in the immediate time so we lose interest easily. Your right many people can get a job without any qualification but that job might not be very high paid or very secure. I've worked temp jobs and I hate them. No security, low pay and be treated like slaves. If you have an opportunity to do well why not take it? Most people don't have the drive but it doesn't mean they don't have the potential. I'm just saying just because theres jobs out there for you at mc donalds or KFC dosent mean you have to settle. Some people like you say don't care and are happy with where they are and I agree they have the right to do what ever they like. But if its your child who's skipping school you better do what you can to change that. They will thank you when they are older and understand why.

lol.. i'm just 21 ... i do remember my college times when i used to skip in school and in college. it's been great fun for me. hehehe.. i love that time. when i bunk from school and hang out with friends whole day wondering here and there .. well actally kids do that when they fed up with studies. or dont feel like studing. or no getting intrest in studies.. some times friends are tends to skip from school and sometimes you can't reject their proposal

Thank you all for your great replies, it helps to read others thoughts and get different perspectives, I have tried to talk to her and have asked her why, and her answer is just I DONT KNOW. Because I wanted to, OR because i didnt want to go. Becuase i wanted to go hang out with friends instead. But anyway i am trying to work on this. She still says she knows the imprtance of school and wants to go on to college and I am trying to help her with this the best I can. It has been a couple days now and I have been following her progress with this [rogram I signed up for its called the parent connect. And i can log into this everyday and see if she was absent from any classes or late to any classes and what home work she has from each of her classes. I sure wish I had known about thsi program ealier, may have prevented some of this sooner. Anyways thanks again for all your responses.

I did the same thing when I was younger, I went to school less than fifty percent of the time I was supposed to. I used to sit at home and watch tv, or play video games, or when my friends were also skipping school, we'd meet up and hang out. Like everyone else I wish I could go back in time and change what I did. Perhaps this is the tack you should take with your kids. Are there any friends or relatives that you have that the kids look up to or are good friends with? someone who can have a talk about how they regret not finishing school? It could help motivate them to keep going to school.

I dont know about overseas countries, but in Australia, high schools and primary schools track student absences, and generally a good reason has to be displayed why the student has been absent from school, considering primary school and "most" of the high school classes are compulsory according to law. Although, of course some students have been getting around it, some may have had lame attempts (eg forging parents signatures) or in some extreme cases some parents may not care for their kids at high school as much. The later is a shame, but personally the parents in the later should really be whacked in the head IMO. Considering, high school is fairly important for a kid's development and training into the work force/real life/etc.

This is because a child gets so much touched by the parents it doest want her or him to be sent far. so the child get restless all throughout.. they just hesitate to move to school. It would be better if the parents could take some time for their kids and sit with their kids in the kinner garden till they get used with the new surroundings.