MOLINE, Ill. — In 2020, mental-health-related emergency room visits in the U.S. for kids ages 5-11 jumped 24% compared to the year prior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those ages 12-17, visits went up by 31%.
As many kids across the Quad Cities head back into the classrooms for a new school year, students in Illinois have a new opportunity to take care of their mental health.
In January, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law giving public school students five mental health days each year. Under the law, a child may take a mental health day without a doctor's note. However, if a child takes two mental health days in a row, a school counselor is required to contact them.
The law also requires that students be allowed to make up any work they missed while they were out.
"I totally think that the mental health days is a great idea, and it should have been done a long time ago," Counselor Brandon Kutmas with Quad City Behavioral Associates said.
"Oftentimes, kids are held to a higher standard than adults are," Kutmas said. "It's frustrating, and it puts a tremendous amount of stress on these kids."
News 8's David Bohlman reached out to the Moline-Coal Valley, Rock Island-Milan, Galesburg Community Unit and Sherrard school districts to find out how students are utilizing these mental health days.
Moline-Coal Valley
In the Moline-Coal Valley School District, 726 students took at least one mental health day in the 2021-22 school year. That's about 10% of the student body. The district reported that 60 students took all five mental health days. About 6,400 students didn't take any mental health days.
Rock Island-Milan
In the Rock Island-Milan School District, 230 students took at least one mental health day. That is 3.75% of the student body. The district was unable to provide information on how many students took all 5 mental health days but reported that 5,970 students didn't take any mental health days. The district was unable to break down the number of mental health days taken by grade level.
Galesburg
In the Galesburg CUSD #205 School District, about 290 students took at least one mental health day. That equates to about 7.5% of the student body. There were 10 students who took all five mental health days, less than 1% of the student body. The district reported that 3,532 students didn't take any mental health days.
Sherrard
In the Sherrard School District, 212 out of 1,400 students took at least one mental health day. There were just four students who took all five mental health days. Approximately 1,190 students didn't take any mental health days.
The district was able to break down the number of mental health days taken by school level.
How to know if your child might need a mental health day:
If your child is acting out, irritable, has unexplained head or stomach aches, nightmares or withdrawing from friends and family, they could be experiencing stress or anxiety. Don't ignore these warning signs.
Parents are encouraged to address these behaviors calmly. Understand that children can't always identify their emotions, and it's important to help talk them through their emotions. Also, allow your student to take a break if it's needed, such as allowing your child time to play or relax after school before getting started on homework.
"They're young, they're supposed to be kids," Kutmas said. "They don't need to know how tough the world is ... Knowing this now doesn't make them better adults. Knowing that you're safe, knowing that you're loved, knowing that you're cared for now will help you be able to face those uncomfortable truths when you get older."
Kutmas said putting less pressure on things like grades and sports can help eliminate some of the stress that kids are dealing with.