Treatment:

No treatment is necessary for ordinary separation anxiety.

Parents can help their infant or toddler learn to adjust to their absence by letting trusted caregivers babysit the child. This helps the child learn to trust and bond with other adults and understand that their parents will return.

If medical procedures are needed while a child is in this stage, it is helpful for a parent to go with the child whenever possible. When a parent cannot come with the child, exposing the child to the situation beforehand is helpful; for example, visiting the doctor's office before a test. When this is not possible, the child may display severe anxiety by crying, resisting treatment, begging, and screaming.

Some hospitals provide Child Life specialists who can explain procedures and medical conditions to children of all ages. If your child is particularly anxious and needs significant medical care, it may help to ask your health care provider about such services.

When separation from parents is necessary, but exposing the child to it beforehand is not possible (such as for surgical treatment), many physicians will recommend the child take mild sedating or tranquilizing medications to help reduce the trauma.

Explain the situation and experience to the child and assure him or her that a parent is waiting, and specifically, where the parent is waiting.

For older children who have not outgrown separation anxiety within the normal developmental timetable or who have regressed to it under stress, effective treatments may include:

• Anti-anxiety medications
• Changes in parenting techniques
• Counseling for the parents and child

Treatment for severe cases may include:

• Family education
• Family therapy
• Individual psychotherapy

Expectations (prognosis):

Young children with symptoms that improve after age 2 are normal, even if some anxiety comes back later during stress. When separation anxiety occurs in adolescence, it may signal the development of an anxiety disorder.

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if your child has significant separation anxiety after age 2.