HOLYOKE, Mass. - April vacation can be a time of rest and relaxation for many students and families. But being off school grounds for a week can also be difficult for the mental health of young people as well.

MiraVista Chief of Creative Strategy and Development Kimberley Lee says the break can be a great opportunity for both children and parents to have a mental reset.

"School vacation is a time that's set aside to allow children adolescents to just deescalate, take a breathe, recharge their batteries," said Lee. "And then go back to their lessons and to school."

Lee said some students can feel a heightened sense of anxiety from a lack of a social life during the week off due to being away from their peers.

She said the change of structure can also be hard to adjust to.

"During school weeks, kids get up at a certain time, they eat breakfast at a certain time, they know they have courses at a certain time," she said. "But for children who struggle without that structure, vacation can give them a sense of uncertainty."

Lee said parents, guardians, and caregivers should be checking in with young people often including vacation week  because it allows them to feel safe along with a sense of community.

"'How are you?' Just as easily as we do when we reach out to young people in our lives wanting to know how they're feeling physically," she said. "That communication, just that very simple question should be asked as frequently, and as easily when it comes to young people's emotional wellbeing."

Lee said MiraVista does provide in-patient behavioral health treatment services across the state for children between 13-17 as well as 18 if they're still in high school.