Parenting Tip: Separation Anxiety

We've all had the experience of leaving our babies when they are not very happy to say goodbye to us. So we want to talk about separation anxiety, a perfectly developmentally normal stage that most babies go through starting around eight or nine months. This is the time when object permanence comes into play. They realize that when you aren't in their sight, you still exist in the world, but you're not with them anymore. So it's very tempting when your baby is distracted and playing and you need to leave to just creep out the back. However, if you do that, then babies start getting nervous anytime they're not seeing you, thinking maybe you've snuck out and you're not there. So it actually makes separation anxiety worse.

So what we would recommend instead is just to confidently narrate what is going on, “Mama's going to leave for an hour. You're going to be here with Grandma, and then I'll be back. Because what's the special thing about mamas? They always come back.”