Samantha Graham Graham 1

Mrs. Storer

English III Honors, American Literature

26 November 2019

Give the Brain a Break

Kate Middleton once said, “A child's mental health is just as important as their physical

health and deserves the same quality of support.” In modern times, a child’s mental health is

often pushed aside and not cared for. Normally, if a child were sick, one would advise them to

stay away from school since they would not be able to work due to their illness. However, if a

child became stressed and overwhelmed, one would tell them to just “deal with it” and go to

class even though the adolescent may not be able to learn and concentrate. Unfortunately, the

fact that school systems do not see mental health issues as a valid reason to miss school is a

reason why parents do not let their kids stay home and reset. This is a problem in our society, but

if schools would see the issue, our world would improve. Schools should let children take days

off to focus on their mental health for these reasons: it improves the child’s school performance,

teaches them that it’s necessary to take care of their psychological well-being, and it potentially

saves them from future problems such as suicide.

If one were facing the troubles of mental illness, then it would inevitably be harder to

focus on the task at hand. Eventually, it would lower the child’s performance at school and

affect their grades. However, if they had one day to reset and have a simple break from all the

burdens, they will most likely come back to school feeling better. One mom tried this. Her

daughter seemed to be suffering from the troubles of school and sports. She noticed her lack of

energy and let her have the day off. She says, “It felt more important than forcing her to attend a
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full day of school and go to practice. It was one day that made a huge difference in her mental

well-being. The next morning, she was up at 6 a.m. and ready to face the day in ways she

wouldn’t have been had I made her attend school,” (Katie Bingham-Smith, “Sometimes

Teenagers Need A Mental Health Day Off, Too”). When given a break occasionally, adolescents

will come back recharged and ready to learn again. Students will have a better chance of

succeeding after they have had a break from their stress factors, which is why schools should let

children have mental health days. In an article about children's mental health, titled “Taking a

Mental Health Day Off from School: A Pediatrician-Mom’s Perspective” the author says that

stress levels are rising in adolescents as the years go by. Even after school, teens have projects,

practices, homework, and games. These days, the youth is busier, and most times, it can be hard

to find time to take a break. She says, “All kids are different, and some can handle more than

others. But as parents, we need to listen to our kids and know their limits. Studies have shown

that boredom and long periods of unscheduled time can spur creativity and out of the box

thinking, as well as reset the emotional needle. We ALL need, this―and the kids do, too.”

(Hansa Bhargava, MD, “Taking a Mental Health Day Off from School’). Once a child has

reached their limit, it can be extremely difficult to flourish. They may be slowed down by stress

and anxiety, and they will eventually lose their motivation to work. However, if school systems

allowed their students to have mental health days, teens would get a break occasionally, and

they would thrive once again with their studies, improving their overall performance. Luckily,

there are more benefits to mental health days than just sparking the child’s mind.

In today’s society, the topic of mental health is often looked down upon. When absent,

students are shown to generally lie about having an illness when really, they are suffering
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mentally. Unfortunately, there is a stigma when it comes to discussing someone’s psychological

well-being. Teens even find it hard when it comes to telling their parents that they are not

mentally okay. The fact that schools do not mention taking care of the mind does not help either.

However, if schools were to allow for mental health days to occur than the stigma could change.

Debbie Plotnick of Mental Health America says, “Acknowledging that students may be

experiencing a mental health issue and allowing them to be excused to tend to their mental health

encourages conversations with parents. It also allows for excused absences for appointments to

get the help they may need,” (Tim Walker, Stigma Buster:” Schools Look at Mental Health Days

for Students”). When schools highlight the importance of mental health by allowing students to

miss the days when needed, teens are reinforced that psychological well-being is crucial. The

stigma surrounding mental health is taken away, which is a good reason for school districts to

follow through and provide mental health as a valid reason for absence. Fortunately, two states

have already seen the problems and provided aid to the students. Oregon and Utah are the only

states to have a law passed that allows students to miss school due to mental illnesses. Teens in

those states since then have been flourishing in their environment. Mental health is not looked

down upon anymore when it comes to Oregon and Utah. One student says, “It tells me that my

mental health comes before my school health and if that means staying home for a day and

recuperating…that’s OK,” (Tim Walker, Stigma Buster:” Schools Look at Mental

Health Days for Students”). After seeing the importance of psychological well-being through

school, the student was taught that mental health matters. The stigma was taken away, and it

became easier to discuss the importance of being well mentally. If schools everywhere would do

the same, then students would be instructed that mental health is important. If teens were taught
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to take care of their minds by academies excusing the absences, then problems that occur

because of mental illnesses would be solved early on.

Suicide has become a wide-spread epidemic over the years, especially in teens.

Additionally, with the stigma of mental health being around, adolescents are having trouble

talking to their parents about the problems they are facing. The numbers are going up every day.

An article talks about this problem, saying “Last June, the Journal of the American Medical

Association published a study that found the teen suicide rate was at its highest level in

almost two decades. Analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control, the researchers

concluded that there were 47% more suicides in 2017 among young people aged 15-19 than they

were in 2000,” (Tom Walker, Stigma Buster:” Schools Look at Mental Health Days for

Students). With all the problems of school and life beating down on the average teen, suicide is

beginning to seem like the ultimate answer. If schools would change and let adolescents take a

break from school, life could potentially be saved. These future problems would disappear if

mental health days were given since they remind kids that mental health is serious, and it is

natural to ask for help. Another statistic states, “In Oregon, suicide is the second leading cause of

death among 10- to 34-year-olds. Nationally, suicide is at a 50-year high.” With suicide being at

its peak, it is surprising that schools do not do much about it. Teens should be able to confide in

their school counselors, but that is not the case either. Where are students supposed to turn when

their schools will not even let them miss a day due to their mental health? The academies should

let students have mental health days so that they can be able to avoid future problems. If the

absences were to be excused, teenagers would be able to see that their mental well-being is

important, and it should always be taken care of.

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The change would show that mental health is more important than work. Unfortunately, the

wanted change with the school systems is yet to be seen.

School is one of the leading causes of stress in teens: this has been known. The idea of

letting the kids have a break from school is practical, but unfortunately, schools do not see that.

Instead of letting adolescents miss school for mental health, they force them to go anyways. The

logical thing to do, however, is to let children have mental days off school because it betters their

work and increases their effort, it shows teens that mental health is important, and it prevents

future issues from occurring. Hopefully one day the academies will see the benefits of mental

health days and incorporate them into their school.

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Works Cited

1. “The Importance of Mental Health Days.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News

& World Report, health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/2017-07-24/the-

importance-of-mental-health-days.

2. Mmahoney. “EDITORIAL: Mental Health Days May Help Kids, Parents.” The Daily

Gazette, 7 Oct. 2019, dailygazette.com/article/2019/10/08/editorial-mental-health-days-

may-help-kids-parents.

3. “Should Kids Be Allowed to Take Mental Health Days?” Psychology Today, Sussex

Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-

do/201711/should-kids-be-allowed-take-mental-health-days.

4. “Taking a Mental Health Day Off from School: A Pediatrician-Mom's Perspective.”

HealthyChildren.org, www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-

wellness/Pages/Taking-Mental-Health-Day-Off-from-School.aspx.

5. TodayShow. “New Law Lets Students Take Mental Health Days as Excused Absences.”

TODAY.com, 23 July 2019, www.today.com/health/oregon-passes-law-letting-students-

take-mental-health-days-t159385.