Separation Anxiety in Children

Many parents are all too familiar with the cries of their child that seem to be impossible to calm and the child that clings to their leg when they are about to leave. The terrible twos are not the only dreaded stage of child development; this is what is commonly known as separation anxiety. "Separation anxiety is a developmental stage during which the child experiences anxiety when separated from the primary care giver…" (McPherson, 2004). Separation anxiety varies widely from child to child and most commonly occurs between the ages of eight months to two and a half. There are several different causes of separation anxiety, ways to manage separation anxiety to make it easier for both the child and the parent, and symptoms and warning signs to look out for that a child may exhibit. Certain warning signs that may be prevalent may sometimes indicate a deeper issue that may be caused from something other than separation anxiety. "Separation anxiety usually peaks between ten and eighteen months and fades by the age of two years. This anxiety may become greater at any age or may return in an older child…when other changes occur…" (Please Don't Go). Separation anxiety is normal and is part of healthy psychological development. Separation anxiety is generally caused when the child's caregiver, most frequently the mother, is out of sight from her child. Other factors that may contribute to separation anxiety are "tiredness, minor or major illness, changes in the household routine, family changes such as birth of a sibling, divorce, death or illness, [and/or] change in caregiver or routine at day care center" (Watkins, Brynes, and Peller, 2001). Children that cry when the parent is leaving tend to stop within two to four minutes after the parent is gone and return back to their regular routines.
There are many ways to handle the separation anxiety a child may be feeling. "It is important to handle separation anxiety properly so that your child will develop the

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