Simranjit Kaur

Mother of one, Master of Education with specialization in child-psychology. After becoming mother, I met with real me. I am now learning new concepts of parenting every fresh day and sharing my experiences with other mothers. I believe, one of the most important things that you, as a parent, should work on is - your child's psychology. Understanding the child-psychology will help you build stronger bonds and know them better.

Dear readers, let me start by saying that separation anxiety in babies is a common problem, but an alarming situation.

In most of the cases, it starts when your 8 and 12 months old baby have to deal with a separation from you. However, separation anxiety disappears as soon as your baby turns two. In certain cases, some children show the symptoms of separation anxiety even after this age. That is the stage of separation anxiety when you are supposed to be concerned about your baby’s physical and mental growth. In this article, we will learn more about separation anxiety.

In simpler terms, separation anxiety is all about the mood problems. According to the child-behavior experts, one-third of the children who suffer from separation anxiety are diagnosed with mental disorder.

ALSO READ – When The Child Refuses To Go To School

As discussed earlier, symptoms of separation anxiety occur when a child is separated from his/her parents or the caregiver. Separation from the parents is the main culprit triggering this problem.

1. Your baby will refuse to separate from you.
2. You will see him crying more than usual.
3. He will be rejecting activities associated with parental separation.
4. You can expect physical symptoms such as headaches and vomiting.
5. Your baby will show violent and rage behavior.
6. He will be refusing to go to school.
7. He will be performing poorly in the school.
8. He will be showing his inabilities in every possible manner regarding interacting with other children in a healthy way.
9. You will see him refusing from sleeping alone.
10. He will be reporting about constant nightmares.

Now, if you see at least three of the symptoms listed above, then your baby might be suffering from this problem called separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety can also cause family problems. Without any shadow of a doubt, it is obviously going to negatively affect a child’s emotional and social growth. Eventually, this is going to affect your baby’s harmonious development. Separation anxiety can affect the family environment in several ways:

1. Family activities may be limited due to kid’s negative behavior.
2. Parents who do not have enough free time can become frustrated by their child’s behavior.
3. The brothers of a child suffering from separation anxiety may become jealous because they receive excessive attention.

ALSO READ – How To Choose A Kindergarten For Your Child

I Don't Want to Go to School: Helping Children Cope with Separation Anxiety (Let's Talk Book)

₹3,855.00

Buy From Amazon

Psychotherapy is the most effective treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, in particular, can teach children various strategies to combat anxiety, including deep breathing and relaxation. In addition, you as a parent needs a few things to do to treat separation anxiety. As for parents, this variant has three phases:

Direct Interaction With Children

The first phase focuses on improving the quality of the relationship between you and your children. It involves emotional warmth, attention, and praise. These three things can immaculately strengthen the child’s sense of security.

Direct Interaction With Parents

The second phase is educating parents about the reasons why is your child behaving like an anxious kid? You need a psychotherapist, who can develop a scale of values that reveals the anxiety-triggering situation. In addition, he will be the one to tell you how you are supposed to reward your little-one when he shows positive reactions for any of the anxiety-triggering situation.

Do You Have Any Question? Speak To Our Expert

Interactions Directed By Parents

The third phase is when parents will have to start communicating directly with their children. This step helps them learn how to control the little ones when they do not behave properly.

Do not forget, to treat separation anxiety you need a specialist because you must treat this before it becomes major trouble. We advise you to not to overlook the treatment.