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Is Your Child Too Clingy Lately? Watch Out Signs For Separation Anxiety

You can spot separation anxiety in your toddler when they cry the moment you leave the room or cling to you in unfamiliar situations

Written by Kashish Sharma | Updated : November 16, 2022 11:14 AM IST

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Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is very common in babies. It is a normal stage of development for most children. The condition is characterized by an intense fear that a child might experience while separating from a caregiver or parent. There is a phase of childhood where you can see the child becoming all clingy and might show distress when pulled away from loved ones. Sometimes this phase can stretch to an unhealthy timeline and might interfere with age-appropriate behaviour. When this fear affects a child who is over 6 years of age and might last for more than four weeks, then this condition might be termed separation anxiety disorder.

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Dawn Of Object Permanence

The phenomenon in children might begin with the concept of object permanence where a 12-month-old child begins to understand that things and people continue to exist even if you can’t see or hear them at the moment. At this stage, the child develops the awareness that its caregiver or parent exists permanently and losing them from sight can put it in psychological distress. Also Read - How Can Parents Deal With Childhood Separation Anxiety?

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Ending Up In Physical Symptoms

You can spot separation anxiety in your toddler when they cry the moment you leave the room, they can be seen clinging to you in unfamiliar conditions, they fear strangers and prefer one caregiver over another. These children sometimes might have a fear of being abducted or lost in a crowd. Sometimes the fear can be intense enough to cause physical symptoms such as headache and vomiting right before leaving for school.

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Overprotective Parents?

Among the many reasons that your child might develop separation anxiety are a traumatic episode in the child’s life such as a long stay in the hospital, the death of a loved one or even a pet, overprotective parents, excessive fear of losing a loved one, other psychological conditions like agoraphobia, panic attacks and others. Also Read - Separation Anxiety In Your Child: A Doctor Tells Signs, Causes And Ways To Cope

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Adults Get Affected Too

Sometimes separation anxiety can go on to extend up to adulthood if not tackled at the early stages of life. In adulthood, the anxiety might manifest in symptoms such as fearing something bad might happen to loved ones, fear of being left out in the cold, fearing your loved one getting injured when away from you, getting panic attacks on separation, and others.