Seperation Anxiety to the Extreme

In the month of September, we have been battling probably what I would consider to be one of the most difficult tasks a parent has to navigate through: Separation anxiety. Up to now, Ava has been fine when we leave her at school or at church, however recently that has dramatically changed.


Upon returning from our vacation, she refuses to go anywhere without using words like, "don't leave me, mommy" or "don't go to work, daddy". Those words are enough to break our hearts and quit our jobs. However, it’s not only the words that make it difficult - it's the actions that accompany those words. It's the throwing herself on the floor, screaming and wailing for extended periods of time when we walk out of her classroom that is enough to cause us to want to run in and rescue her. It's seriously so hard to leave her in moments like those.

What's the answer? How do we fix it? I'm not sure. I do know it's improved since we've been more proactive at speaking to her about leaving her in the class - talking about what we'll do when we get inside. That seems to help. In fact, the last four attempts to drop her off have been successful - so we're praying it sticks. I just wish there was a parenting manual in times like this to turn to and see what three step process would fix it. Unfortunately, there’s not.