We all have tough days, right? We don't want to get out of bed to go to work or tackle the day's chores. Sometimes, we need to relax. But that isn't just the case for adults. Kids can feel the emotional overload of school and activities and need a break, too. Noel LaPalomento feels that in her soul, so the mom allows her daughter one day a month to just stay home.
Noel posted a video on TikTok of her daughter, Giada, having a mental health day, and parents and teachers alike are here for it. Giada is only 6 years old and still getting used to full-time school as a first grader. So when she needs a little time to regroup, her mom lets her do it.
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Giada struggled with the transition into long school days.
It is hard when kids are expected to follow the rules, work hard, and sometimes stay quiet and stifle their energy. Giada had those issues in kindergarten, and Noel noticed.
"Last year, there [were] times she would literally come home from school, she'd be sleeping on the step before I could get her off, then she'd be sleeping in the hallway. It was like, the kid was a zombie," Noel told Good Morning America. "And then she comes home, and I don't even have time to spend with my kid. I'm making dinner, trying to do homework [with her], and then it's time for bed."
Giada is a good student, so Noel decided it was OK to give her a break now and then.
The mom added that Giada does all of her work. "It's not gonna hurt her," she said. Giada is her only child, and she loves to spend time with her. Plus, it gives them both a break from the routine and a chance to do something fun.
Giada is then ready to go back and face a new week, "to want to go to school rather than being in school five days a week, all day long," she told GMA.
Doctors agree that mental health for kids is just as important as it is for adults.
Kimberly Alexander, clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York City, told GMA that she sees no harm in letting kids have some time for a little self-care.
"Kids and teens, at times, will have moments where they need a break from school because they're under stress in a certain way or they're feeling overwhelmed in a certain way," she said.
But she said it is important to get to why the child needs to take a break and ensure that nothing serious is happening at school. If it is, it's essential to contact the school for help.
"Whether you decide to offer a child a mental health day or not, I think it's always going to be founded on a foundation of good communication and really spending … time to really hear their child's thoughts and validate how stressed they may feel at times," she told GMA.
Lots of TikTokers loved the idea.
People think that Noel is doing something great for Giada. The video has racked up 7 million views and 4,700 comments. Teachers think mental health is essential and praised the mom for taking it seriously.
"I'm a teacher and I'm SO HERE for this!" one commenter wrote. "Mental health and family over everything."
Another teacher agreed: "I'm a teacher and I'm not even mad about it. Especially if she's so little!! Mental health days are super important and let kids be kids! ."
Even teachers of littles are on board. "As a prek teacher I absolutely love this!" wrote another commenter. "Let kids be kids. A mental health day of happiness and a date with mommy sounds awesome ."
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Other parents said they let their kids take a break, too.
One mom said she does this, too. "I did similar with my daughter except I did it with every good report card she could pick a day to stay home & we'd have a family fun kind of day," she wrote.
It's not just moms. "My dad called it a 'snow day' even tho it was like 80 degrees ," another comment reads.
And some would've loved to have this kind of break themselves. "UGH I WISH MY MOM DID THIS SHE GETS MAD WHEN I STAY HOME FROM SCHOOL," a TikToker bemoaned.
Even TikTok superstar Elyse Myers got in on the discussion, writing: "A mental health day off would have done so much good for my hurting brain and heart when I was growing up. This is amazing!"
Giada, we think you have the coolest mom. These are days the two of you will cherish forever. Everyone always says it goes by in a blink. Trust us, it's true.
