What To Do About Separation Anxiety In Children

by Inspiration4Living.com

Separation anxiety in children is more common than many people realize.

When a child has spent all of his or her young life with his or her mother or father, the first time or first few times that they are separated from them can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety.

There is often crying and little arms reaching for mommy or daddy, trying desperately to get them back to them. Some children never really endure separation anxiety, but for those that do, and for those that experience it to a severe degree, the repercussions through their life can be harmful.

So what can you do about separation anxiety in children who display more serious effects from it?

The first thing that you can do if you are the mother or father is to assure your child that the person whom they will be staying with, the person who will be taking care of them for a short time, is a safe person and will be looking after them just like their mom and dad do. It is not going to be enough to simply tell your child this right before you drop him or her off at the daycare center.

Tell your child that even though you have to go to work or wherever you need to be, they are still the most important thing in the world to you and that you will see them soon.

The next step that you can take when dealing with separation anxiety in children is to practice leaving them for short periods of time. You can have a relative or friend stay in the room with them while you leave. When they begin to cry, you want to avoid the urge to run back in there and tell them that everything’s alright. Instead, time your periods apart from your child.

In the beginning, you may do this for two minutes, for example. Each time you exit the room, you should notice that their crying becomes less severe and eventually it will cease altogether. When this happens, leave the room for longer periods of time. Eventually, when you practice this enough with your child, you will be able to leave them for an hour, two, or even more.

It helps if your child has a security blanket or if you have them stay in a room where they are very comfortable to begin with. Then you can try this technique in other rooms in the house.

If separation anxiety in children is so severe that they can’t ever calm down, cry so much and scream that they have trouble breathing, you will want to get ahead of this as quickly as possible and with the steps mentioned here.

Trying to ‘toughen’ them up by ignoring them will not only leave the person caring for them frustrated and wanting nothing to do with your child again, but you could cause emotional scars that could stay with them for the rest of their life.

Separation anxiety in children is common, so if your child has this anxiety, help him or her overcome their fear in a safe and comfortable environment.

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