This podcast was created by North Central College students – Amanda Melton, Lauren Gardner, Annika Ebey, Emma Chipchak, & Natalie Perez – who interviewed Tammy Wynard, M.S., Associate Professor of Health Science; Program Director of the Trauma-Informed Practice Programs at North Central College.
In this episode, we teamed up with the Inside Out Club to dive into an essential new bill that gives students up to five excused mental health days each school year. We discuss what this means for students, how it could reduce stigma around mental health, and why it’s a step forward in supporting overall well-being in schools. Therefore, we created this episode to promote the usage of these mental health days and how to use them properly, including signs/symptoms your child needs a mental health day, when not to use a mental health day, and coping strategies for stress. Professor Tammy Wynard, an expert in health sciences and trauma-informed practices, joins us. She shares her thoughts on how mental health days can make a difference in supporting a child’s emotional well-being. This episode contains helpful advice, real-life stories, and tips to help parents better understand and support their kid’s mental health with confidence and compassion.
Additional Resources
- Olivia Takes a Mental Health Day: Helping Kids Verbalize Their Feelings and Reach Out for Support by Jasmin S. Searcy-Pate Ph.D
- https://www.forthealth.com/article/mental-health-day
- https://www.parents.com/health/mental/kids-need-access-to-mental-health-days/
- https://childmind.org/article/should-kids-take-mental-health-days/5.https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/recharge-with-planned-mental-health-day