As a parent separation anxiety in your child is a stressful and exhausting experience that limits both the child’s development and their parent’s freedom in their daily life. It can be helped.

I remember the first day my children went to school. It was a big day not only for them but also for us as parents seeing our child moving into their next phase of growing up. A pang of sadness coupled with the joy at seeing them growing up and looking so smart in their school uniforms.

You take them to their class get them settled in and bid them farewell. And they are off immersing themselves with their new surroundings.

Most children do not find this too traumatic. However, there are some children who not only find this day, but every day very difficult when it comes to their parent leaving them so they can attend their class. Some get upset and teary, whilst others become more emotional, anxious and cling ferociously to the parent to stop them from leaving.

This tendency to cling may have been seen from their infancy, as the infant refuses to let their mother out of their sight. They would howl and demand that they are always present forcing the mother to perform all their daily activities in the vicinity of their child.

Night-time is another difficult period, when they have to be put to sleep. Mothers have told me they have had to lie next to their child soothing them to sleep or having to rest their hand on their face to feel their mother’s presence before going to sleep. If they wake in the night, they would scream out until a parent can calm them back to sleep again. With some children, this might happen a number of times a night. This is exhausting.

As a parent, does this happen to your child? It is stressful and exhausting, both for the parents and the concerned child.

I have treated many children over the years demonstrating this type of behaviour (See: my page on Successfully Treated Children’s Cases). Homeopathy is excellent in helping these children resolve this anxiety so that they are able to grow into more confident and independent individuals.

Here are some examples of children who came to me whose behaviour improved with homeopathic treatment:

1. I have had some children whose parents would tell me their child’s behaviour starts to change even before leaving home. They know they are going to school and start becoming agitated and upset. The arguments start, with the child refusing to get ready or do what is required to get them to school. Bribes, talking, bargaining, and finally punishments ensue to eventually get them off to school for an activity that should come easily and naturally to those children.

2. I’ve had other children where it becomes a challenge when trying to get them into the car as they hold onto anything to stop their mother taking them to school. At school they can cause quite a scene yelling, screaming, and even hitting out to stop the parent from leaving. Parents tell me how they have to stay for lengthy periods in the class until the child finally feels comfortable enough to allow the parent to leave.

3. I have had mothers come to me saying that they can’t even go to the bathroom without their child coming with them because they can’t be left alone.

4. I have also had mothers bring in their babies and infants who refuse to let the mother out of their sight. They need to be carried all the time, or the mother can’t leave their child with anybody else to look after because the child has a tantrum, or the child needs the mother around to play with them all the time otherwise they become upset.

5. I had a mother bring her four-month infant for treatment because the child would every night and for periods during the day scream as though it had colic. All examinations revealed nothing and the doctors told the parents they would just have to put up with it. This was extremely distressing for the parents, as this would continue for hours every night. The child also wouldn’t let her mother out of her sight, an added stress to an already stressful household. Lastly, the child wouldn’t let strangers even look at her without crying. All this changed after she started treatment. Her colicky screaming gradually stopped, she became OK playing on her own and started accepting strangers (mum’s friends) interact with her without any worries.

Does this happen to you? Do you have a child with separation anxiety?

Homeopathy has a lot to offer in helping these children reduce their fears of separation. As illustrated, each child has their own way of trying to cope with the insecurity that comes with their parent leaving them. From a homeopathic case taking perspective, understanding how your child behaves in these circumstances helps to provide the detail to make the appropriate choice of medicine. Other aspects about their nature and temperament are understood to help further individualise their particular way of seeing the world.

Apart from this particular fear, they may also have other fears or worries that trouble them or they might have physical ailments that they also suffer with such as allergies, frequent respiratory conditions or nightmares. All these symptoms are taken into consideration and a single medicine is given to help the whole child. As they start to improve, not only will their anxiety improve but also their physical health as well.

From my experience, I have seen lots of these children with separation anxiety over the years get better. It is so good to hear the comments from the parent that life is a lot easier now that they do not have such a struggle separating from their child as before. Homeopathy is so wonderful for kid’s wellbeing and for parent’s sanity!

So if you have a child with separation anxiety or anxieties in general, or know of a parent whose child is like this, please call me on 0412 231 332 to see how I might be able to help.