So much yes to this! My high schooler wanted to skip school on senior skip day. I told him that since he never misses school, I wouldn't fight it, but I also wouldn't lie to the school if they called about his absence. At that point, he said "all my friends get to take mental health days." I was surprised that so many of his peers were allowed to have mental health days.
I'm a pediatrician, and I've had parents say that their kids get one mental health day per quarter. What??? I want my kids to be in school, don't want them to fall behind, refuse to lie for them, and need them to learn how to show up on days when they're not feeling 100%. I worry they'll have a hard time holding down a job if they can't learn to show up when they're not feeing it.
(maybe I'm just a cranky gen-X'er who was traumatized by 100-hr wks in residency...)
I just wanted to say thank you for adding that important nuance at the end about legitimate reasons! I agree that for most kids, skipping as a compensatory strategy for EF skills that need some development, or for mild discomfort is definitely not helpful. But as you noted, there are times when there is a genuine, significant issue. By remembering to include that at the end, you help make everyone who reads your piece a bit more thoughtful and less likely to think about this in an excessively black and white way!
I am not sure I agree with this for all students. We have them all moving so fast and doing so much , that sometimes a person (us too) needs a slowdown. I was the kid who in high school was allowed to take a day even when I was not sick. But it is how I used it that made a difference. I was on the go, taking all the classes, pushing myself in the pool,. I needed to learn how to back off. So, when that point hit, maybe once a year, I stayed home. But, on these days, at some http://point.My
Sounds like a better solution would have been to structure your schedule in a way that was more sustainable and less likely to lead to periodic burnout. This is a skill we all need to learn and something def worth teaching teenagers. If you can’t reliably do it all, do less!
I guess we kind of did. We added a day off into it. I wholeheartedly agree with your point. But don’t see schools or Culture changing to allow that to happen anytime soon. So to me better to know you need a break and take it. For adults and kids! I guess my point is more this. Yes. Some kids are using the tag of a mental health day to avoid. And it is important to recognize that. . But not all. It is more helpful to me to be curious about why they need the day than to assume why.
So much yes to this! My high schooler wanted to skip school on senior skip day. I told him that since he never misses school, I wouldn't fight it, but I also wouldn't lie to the school if they called about his absence. At that point, he said "all my friends get to take mental health days." I was surprised that so many of his peers were allowed to have mental health days.
I'm a pediatrician, and I've had parents say that their kids get one mental health day per quarter. What??? I want my kids to be in school, don't want them to fall behind, refuse to lie for them, and need them to learn how to show up on days when they're not feeling 100%. I worry they'll have a hard time holding down a job if they can't learn to show up when they're not feeing it.
(maybe I'm just a cranky gen-X'er who was traumatized by 100-hr wks in residency...)
I came here to disagree based on the title. I left complete agreeing.
Yes!! We needed this article back in the 2021-2022 school year. That was a peak year for “mental health” days.
I just wanted to say thank you for adding that important nuance at the end about legitimate reasons! I agree that for most kids, skipping as a compensatory strategy for EF skills that need some development, or for mild discomfort is definitely not helpful. But as you noted, there are times when there is a genuine, significant issue. By remembering to include that at the end, you help make everyone who reads your piece a bit more thoughtful and less likely to think about this in an excessively black and white way!
I am not sure I agree with this for all students. We have them all moving so fast and doing so much , that sometimes a person (us too) needs a slowdown. I was the kid who in high school was allowed to take a day even when I was not sick. But it is how I used it that made a difference. I was on the go, taking all the classes, pushing myself in the pool,. I needed to learn how to back off. So, when that point hit, maybe once a year, I stayed home. But, on these days, at some http://point.My
Sounds like a better solution would have been to structure your schedule in a way that was more sustainable and less likely to lead to periodic burnout. This is a skill we all need to learn and something def worth teaching teenagers. If you can’t reliably do it all, do less!
I guess we kind of did. We added a day off into it. I wholeheartedly agree with your point. But don’t see schools or Culture changing to allow that to happen anytime soon. So to me better to know you need a break and take it. For adults and kids! I guess my point is more this. Yes. Some kids are using the tag of a mental health day to avoid. And it is important to recognize that. . But not all. It is more helpful to me to be curious about why they need the day than to assume why.