Missing school -- even part of a day -- can have long-term effects on your child's academic achievement. Effects such as:
- Low grades. Students who arrive after class begins miss important elements of a lesson.
- Poor communication. Tardy students often miss hearing announcements and updates from the teacher. They also may miss hearing about homework assignments.
- Loss of valuable learning time for all. A student's late arrival affects more than the tardy student. It affects everyone in the classroom as the teacher takes a few minutes to get the student caught up.
If your child is frequently tardy:
- Monitor your child's sleep. If your child frequently oversleeps, then you may need to establish an earlier bedtime.
- Make mornings go smoothly. Give you child an alarm clock. If necessary put it across the room so your child will have to get up to turn it off. Allow plenty of time for using the bathroom, eating breakfast and gathering items for school.
- Ask for help. If family problems interfere with getting your child to class on time, make an appointment to talk with your child's teacher.