Mental health days off in HS?

[Anonymous]

They get so many days off now from school. Go to school when there is school.

[Anonymous]

"Mental health days" aren't really a thing. Find out what your school's criteria for absenses are. If your situation does not meet those criteria, then she needs to go to school.

[Anonymous]

My kid said she was :sick today.. she said her stomach hurts, she has no fewer and I don't know if she sick or not.

[Anonymous]

This week is the first week in how long and you are thinking about allowing your daughter to skip the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break as a "mental health day"? I am sorry but this is crazy. The kids have had how many 3-4 day weeks in the last two months and you think that she might need a 1 day week to rest?

Insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This week is the first full week in how long and you are thinking about allowing your daughter to skip the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break as a "mental health day"? I am sorry but this is crazy. The kids have had how many 3-4 day weeks in the last two months and you think that she might need a 1 day week to rest?

Insane.

Sorry, added the missing word.

[Anonymous]

Yikes! To be clear, OP, these are not "mental health days" - these are extended vacation days. You are training your DD to feel entitled to days off that are not deserved.

[Anonymous]

We have pulled DS from ES and MS early on long weekends when we are travelling but we check his schedule and make sure there isn't a test or quiz or something due in the classes he is missing. We normally wait until after lunch, so he misses one class and then advisory. It makes life easier, we can get on the road earlier and avoid traffic. We would not pull him early if he had anything do during those periods.

But your kid is going to have 3 days off during the week following a rash of weeks that were 4 days, some 3 days. Your kid can go to school the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. You can explain why she isn't staying home this year, but I would frame it as lots of 3-4 day weeks and a need to be in class when class is in session.

[Anonymous]

I think she should go but I’m not a fan of rewards based solely on attendance. Some children have legitimate ongoing health problems that cause them to miss school. They are not “worse students” than those that can be there all the time because they are perfectly healthy.

[Anonymous]

I give my kids one free day a semester. It’s their choice but it can’t be a test or project day. In that sense, I wouldn’t overthink this. They have to be responsible.

I’ll note that both of them take their free day way too early in the semester and then regret it later. But that’s their choice so they have to live with it.

[Anonymous]

We have never done “skip days” for DS, now 21, and neither have his best friends’ parents. Is school in session? Then you attend school.

I guess he worries about his “mental health” after 4 pm or something. I don’t know and I don’t care. Don’t raise your kids to lean into fragility. Demonstrate resilience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mental health days are for when you could use a day of rest and it would really help you in the long run. Skipping school around holidays is not for mental health. She should go to school.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mental health days are for when you could use a day of rest and it would really help you in the long run. Skipping school around holidays is not for mental health. She should go to school.

Agree. If your kid actually needed a mental health day, that’s fine. We support that once in a while. But that isn’t this. She needs to go to school on these days.

[Anonymous]

You can still take the day off even if your kid is in school. I think its weird to take extra days off for no reason, and yes, you've provided no reason. Its not for mental health. Its not even to do anything fun. Its not a good tradition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think she should go but I’m not a fan of rewards based solely on attendance. Some children have legitimate ongoing health problems that cause them to miss school. They are not “worse students” than those that can be there all the time because they are perfectly healthy.

I taught at the University level, the number of kids that blow off the day before a vacation start is really high. I gave pop quizzes on those days because I thought the kids that were choosing to be in class should see something for their attendance. The points are not much, most of the kids who are there are A students as it is and don't really need the points. We end up using the day as a review day and break when there are no more questions. I would give a full lecture if over half of the class was there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do allow mental health days when my kids have had an extended period where they’re super stressed or exhausted. When they reach their breaking point, they can have a day off to rejuvenate so they can return to school ready to give their best effort. They do not get to miss school just to extend holidays in high school.

Same