I think most parents have done this at one point or another... Do not worry! It is not completely traumatizing and damaging to sneak off, but from a developmental and parental stand-point, it is MORE effective to address the issue and teach your child how to handle separation (rather than delaying the inevitable). It is true, however, that sneaking off may increase anxiety, or prolong the period of separation anxiety for your child.
I would like to mention simple techniques for parents and teachers to deal with Separation anxiety if it is mild.
ReplyDeleteChanges in parenting techniques. Parents should be more understanding , patient and help the children over come their anxiety. The best place to get them detached confidently is the cooperative, a normal place where the children love to go with their parents. The alleys of the co-operative(Jamiya) can be used for the gradual detachment.
Simple techniques for the classroom :
Allow any primary caregiver: mother , father or maid to stay in school for week to let the child settle down in the new environment of school . The duration can be reduced gradually within that week along with the gradual increasing the distance.
Pair him with one or two colleagues with whom he/she feels comfortable.
Positively encourage him and award on every small achievement.
Ignore the physical complains and try to distract or ignore
Children with severe Separation anxiety exhibiting physical complains should be immediately referred to child psychologist.
Thank you for the great advice! You are a few steps ahead of us. As was mentioned in the first post, I will follow-up soon with a post about the techniques that will help deal with separation anxiety. I will not be mentioning anything about the class room, so your advice is definitely helpful...
ReplyDelete