​Raising kids is a high-stakes responsibility, and in this age of social media and easy access to information about anything and everything, parents are easily overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and inadequacy. As a sleep consultant, I see this all the time from parents whose babies aren’t sleeping well.

One of the other major contributors to the, “I’m doing something wrong,” sensation is separation anxiety; that oh-so-challenging part of a child’s life when they start to completely flip their lids whenever Mom’s not around.

The thought process, it would appear is one of...

• Mommy’s not in the room.
• Therefore, Mommy is somewhere else.
• I would prefer to be there with her.
• Make that happen, or mark my words, I am going to lose my marbles, like BIG TIME! It's those meltdowns that leave us, as parents, to wonder, “Am I doing something wrong?

​After all, a well-adjusted child should probably feel reasonably safe when they’re separated from their parents for a little while, shouldn’t they? I mean, Sally from the office says her baby is perfectly content being left with her sitter, even overnight. And that one mom in your Facebook group said that her baby will happily play by herself for hours at a time, and actually takes her toys to her room occasionally in order to get a little ‘me’ time.”

Two things to keep in mind.

​First, never compare yourself, or your child, to the mothers and babies described in the parenting groups on social media. Much like everything else on Facebook and Instagram, these experiences are almost always a tiny snippet in a moment of time that people post to keep up with other peoples moments in time. 

And second, separation anxiety is completely normal, expected, and a sign of a healthy attachment between parent and child.

So what is separation anxiety, exactly.....