School absenteeism can set off troubling chain of events, pediatricians say
It's the middle of winter and thoughts of a holiday are tempting. Many parents may think that missing a day of school here and there is no big deal for a child, but pediatricians warn absences can add up quickly and seriously impact a child for life.
"As early as kindergarten, missing more school affects things like third-grade reading scores, third-grade math scores," said Dr. Mandy Allison, one of the authors of a U.S. policy statement. "What we also know is that missing school in younger grades leads to missing school in older grades, and missing school in older grades is linked to school dropout."
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