My daughter is very intelligent and does well with everything she sets her mind to. But this year she has started missing school.
I'm a single mum, I work full time so we moved just down the road from her school so she can walk to and from school. She did this brilliantly for years but this year she started being late, and eventually she stopped going at all. I'll get her up in the morning and by the time i leave for work she is showered, dressed, had breakfast and ready... despite that she never ends up going. I have to leave at 7.30am latest and don't get home until 5.30/6pm so I have no way to get her to school. She tells me confidently she will go to school that day, but then never does. I've asked her why, she has given every excuse from upset stomach because of her diet to anxiety. I think it's avoidance, but she won't see a doctor to rule out tummy issues and she claims she isn't avoiding school because of stress/ anxiety. She barely says a word to us any more and she has gone from a clean and tidy chatty girl to a bit of a slob. What can I do with a teenager that refuses to participate in life? I can't pick her up and carry her to appointments. Her father is lazy beyond words so his participation is out of the question, i have to work to support us and work has already given me freedoms that I can't keep asking for because I've already been formally reprimanded. I also suffered a work place injury last year that has put me in a precarious financial and employment situation. I'm passed breaking point myself because of the pressure work and insurance has put on me, and I've tried with her as much as I can but my contact with the school solved nothing, they offered no actual assistance but they call Every. Single. Day. I've stopped talking to them, I begged for help last time but she just said 'I feel for you'. I've spoken to my girl about how this will affect her future, asked her if anything was worrying her, asked what i can do to help her... she said there's nothing i can do. I've changed her diet, tried medication, supplements, online learning... i have no family that can help... the only solution I can see is finding a new job and moving somewhere really cheap, but I've just gone through a work over claim so that's going to make getting work in my sector really tough. I'm hoping someone will have a solution that i haven't thought of, maybe something that worked for you? I'm thinking about offering her a makeover to make her feel a bit more fresh and confident... hair cut and colour and new clothes... thinking it might prompt her to start going to show off and once she's actually going we can work on turning it into a habit?
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