Separation anxiety disorder is characterized by extreme fear and anxiety often exhibited by infants when they have to face a stranger other than their parents, family members and caretakers. They show their anxiety and tension by crying as loud as they can. They don’t stop crying until the stranger disappears from their sight. Some children keep on crying for long time which can be very harmful sign for them. Whenever they have to face an unfamiliar person or place other than their familiar persons and homes they start crying badly. We often see that sometimes infants feel uncomfortable at specific places or houses and start crying by visiting them. In such cases a child keeps crying until he gets out of that particular place completely.

Development of Separation Anxiety Disorder

Such strong belonging or attachment with people, objects and places develops at the age of 7 or 8 months and subsides at the age of almost three years. According to American Academy of Pediatrics it takes two years to subside such strong attachments with certain things, persons and places. This disorder of separation anxiety is somehow related to the concept of ‘object permanence’ in which infants take everything as an object present in their surrounding including their toys, parents and various objects present in their room. They develops strong attachment with these objects and whenever these objects get out of their sight they start crying badly in the extreme fear and feeling of losing them forever.

Impact of Separation Anxiety Disorder on Child’s Abilities

It is separation anxiety disorder due to which children often show resistance to go to school and to develop friendships with their class mates. They don’t want to go beyond a specific set of people come within their personal life circle and don’t want to add or delete anybody else. In such situation children suffering from separation anxiety disorder don’t take interest in their studies, don’t make friends and can’t express their problem to anyone expect the people they are attached with. Such children often show problems in learning, taking, playing, speaking, expressing and memorizing. Separation anxiety disorder also disturbs their cognitive and communication skills and causes long term impact on their learning abilities and normal personality development.

Factors behind Separation Anxiety Disorder

Though 4% to 5% infants suffer from separation anxiety disorder but its severity depends upon various factors including child’s nature, his attachment to his parents and parent’s ability to handle him after the child is separated from his caretaker because the most distressing moment for such child is the separation time from their caretaker. In some cases child dose not accept the reality and insists to live with his caretaker forever. In such situation parents can play an important role to get them back to normal life happiness but when parents failed to develop a relationship between their child and them, separation anxiety disorder takes serious form and hampers children development process badly. So if you are also a parent of one or more children then take out some time for your child as well and spend few hours with them rather than leaving them with caretaker all the time. It will certainly keep you from facing such teasing situation of your lovely child when time for separation from their caretaker will approach.