Sometimes going to school is just too stressful. For some kids the stress comes from the hard work. They may have trouble understanding the concepts being taught. They may have a hard time understanding and completing the homework. For other kids, the stress comes from feeling alienated. Sometimes these kids are being teased and sometimes the kids just don't feel they belong.

Sometimes, as with the gifted, the kids not only feel alienated, they also have trouble coping with the daily repetition of information they already know. They are frustrated at not being able to learn something new, when their very souls long to fly and explore new information.

What do you do? You might do what some other parents of gifted children do: give your child a mental health day. That is a day on which you allow your child to stay home from school and learn. You could go to a local museum or to the library. Or you could simply allow your child to read that book on black holes he's been wanting to read or to build that bridge she's been wanting to build. A mental health day for a gifted child is a day on which he or she can once again let the mind soar and explore.

Have you ever given your child a "mental health" day? Take the poll and let us know!

Poll: Have you ever allowed your child to stay home from school as a break from the boredom and feeling of alienation at school?

• Yes
• No
• No, but I will!
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