May 23, 2013

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Weekly Family Features

Separation anxiety tips for parents of school children

There are plenty of kids who don’t enjoy school, but for some primary school children the issue can be due to stress and anxiety over being separated from their parents. There’s always at least one child in every class who suffers from separation anxiety – and it’s distressing for all concerned. How many parents have finally managed to extricate themselves from their howling child, only to fall in a heap themselves when they reach the car?

Primary school children who regularly get distressed when being left at school are often classified as having separation anxiety disorder. This can sound serious, but in nearly all cases, the child will improve over time – with the occasional relapse.

It’s natural for your young child to feel anxious when you say goodbye. Although it can be difficult, separation anxiety is a normal stage of development. With understanding, patience, and coping strategies, it can be relieved—and should fade as your child gets older.

There’s lots of advice out there on how to deal with it – but understanding your child and working on some commonsense strategies to deal with it is sometimes the best approach.