Parents not to be blamed for truant behavior in kids

Parents are not necessarily at fault if their child plays truant and threatening them with legal action is not going to achieve anything, a new study has found.

Children from ‘good homes’ are just as likely as those from troubled homes to display truant behavior and miss school, the report said.

These findings are part of a report by the charity Family Lives that came after news that 64,000 British children skip school every day.

“Very often, persistent truants have parents who ensure they are up in the mornings, well fed for school and have nice clean and ironed uniforms,” the Daily Express quoted Anastasia de Waal, chairwoman of the charity as saying.

“They are sent off to school, but just don’t go,” she said.

De Waal said that bullying is often the reason behind kids skipping school.

The charity wants an end to the blame culture with schools offering support to parents who may not come forward because they are scared of being fined or jailed.