Separation Anxiety

Each morning, nearly as soon as he wakes up, Robby begins complaining and fretting about school. By the time he is getting dressed, he is fighting back tears. During the drive to school I am berated with the looping chorus of, "I really don't want to go to school. I'm going to miss you. I want to stay home." He clings tightly to me and cries when we walk into the classroom.  Needless to say, I am at my wits end and I'm not sure how to proceed!

Going to school is, of course, not optional. He has to go regardless of the pleas to stay home and the tears streaming down his little cheeks. I just wish that he would handle the transition with more grace.

I would be more concerned about the classroom if each of my drop-in visits hadn't revealed my little boy happily playing with his classmates. His teacher reports that he is both popular and doing well with his work. Robby is full of stories and all smiles each afternoon when I pick him up, even remarking that school was fun and claiming to be excited about going back the next day. Of course, by the time we are getting ready for another school day, the tears and drama return.

Robby's issue is not with school but lies with his separating from me. I love that he enjoys spending time with me, but I am beginning to wonder if his attachment is becoming detrimental. I thought I was doing the best thing for him by keeping him home instead of enrolling him in daycare. Now I feel guilty, thinking that I damaged him.

I knew that the transition to full day school would be hard, but I never expected his adjustment to be this difficult. I keep telling myself that it will get better, and hoping that one morning he will simply forget to cry when I drop him off. In the meantime I will continue to downplay our goodbyes and focus on the positive things that he likes about school, like his two recesses, the engineer table, and snack time.