"7.4% of children aged 3-17 (approximately 4.5 million) have a diagnosed behavior problem. 7.1% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.4 million) have diagnosed anxiety. 3.2% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 1.9 million) have diagnosed depression." - CDC.gov

More than 1 in 3 high school students had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, a 40 percent increase since 2009. In 2019, approximately 1 in 6 youth reported making a suicide plan in the past year, a 44% increase since 2009.            -CDC.gov

You're probably wondering why I'm including high school when my daughter is only 5! She's in kindergarten, it shouldn't matter! But it does. If left untreated your mental health can take a toll on you. I know it did for me. Growing up I knew something was wrong with my head, with me. I was too scared to speak up. I suffer from anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I think everyone deserves mental health days. Including small children. We as parents need to help them understand that; YES, it's okay to not feel okay! It's okay to not want to get out of bed. 

It's not uncommon for adults to take off when they're not having the best days. When our anxiety likes to starts bright eyed and bushy tailed. When our depression tell us that it's not okay to get out of bed. 

My anxiety will tell me that if I drive to the store I'll get into a wreck and flip my car and end up dead. My anxiety will tell me that if I leave someone will break into my house and take everything my husband and I have worked hard for. It's horrible and sounds silly, but it's the truth. 

Mental health is hard on adults, but what about the little kids? The kids who don't KNOW how to speak up? Who don't know how to explain what they're feeling. 

I think we should be able to give kids in school K-12 mental health days. Now I'm not saying just to sleep in, I'm saying when they just can't get up, when they cry because they're scared. They deserve it. Because if we had these days growing up maybe my mental health wouldn't be what it is now. Maybe I would be "normal". I hope I can get enough signatures to help change some minds. 

#MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealthDay