Child Separation Anxiety – Preschool

Helping Your Child Overcome Separation Anxiety in Preschool

Most children go through some level of separation anxiety, usually between the ages of 8 months to 2 years. Normally, the problem goes away on its own as the child matures but there are still numerous cases of separation anxiety in preschoolers or even older kids.

Sometimes, even kids who have outgrown separation anxiety by the time they are 2 or 3 may experience a relapse when they begin preschool. The main reason for this is because they are suddenly thrown into a whole new world with new people, new surroundings and new experiences, and they might feel overwhelmed by all the changes. The risk of child separation anxiety in preschool is made even worse when the parent or guardian attempts to leave the child in the care of the preschool teachers.

Most Effective Remedies

There is no magical cure that can instantly stop or completely prevent separation anxiety in children, although there are definitely several techniques that you can try that may work very well. The best way to go about it is to familiarize the child with the school environment some time before he actually has to go to school. Take him to see his future school a few times so that he can see what goes on. In fact, seeing the children happily playing and doing various activities in the school usually entices young kids to join in, so he will become excited instead of scared about going to school himself.

Another effective way of preventing separation anxiety in preschool children, is to introduce your child to his future teacher a few days before classes begin. Most preschools allow such orientation sessions because these introductions can build the child’s trust in the teacher, and will definitely make it easier for everybody when it’s time to leave the child during the first day of school. Once classes do start, always make sure that you are waiting outside the door when it’s time for the kids to go home. This will reassure your child that you will always be there after school, hence he won’t feel so anxious about being away from you for a couple of hours.

Finally, it also helps reduce separation anxiety in school if your child has had a lot of practice interacting with different people. Therefore, you should take every opportunity to introduce him to people, particularly children that are around his age. By doing this, you can make him feel more comfortable when he is suddenly surrounded by new faces in school, and he won’t feel nervous or anxious about it at all.