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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>1 Yo With Anxiety...How Can I Help Him?
SilverSabre25 06:03 AM 03-02-2011
I have a 16 mo boy who I think has a bit of anxiety trouble. "A bit" is actually understating the problem quite a bit.

The biggest issue right now is that he panics--out and out hysterical PANIC--if he is separated from me. For example...he does this if I put him in his seat at the table and then step out of his sight (like to go grab something from the room next door or go to the bathroom or something). He does it if I am on the other side of a baby gate from him--our playroom is separated into two halves by a superyard and if I step onto the other side, he panics. Some days are worse than others, when I can't even step to the fridge across the kitchen, or get up from the table with him panicking. When I stand up to do anything, he drops what he's doing and stands to follow me.

He doesn't mind going down for his nap.

He is VERY attached to his lovey--after months of intense work, his mom and I together have gotten him to accept being apart from it to eat, to have a diaper change, or to go up/down the steps. Things with the lovey had gotten bad enough that he wouldn't let go of it even to eat. He went a couple days without eating, just clutching his lovey--and that's when DCM and I said "enough!". He still doesn't play much, preferring to sit and hold the lovey. He will drop it occasionally and toddle off to play, but zooms right back to it within a minute or two.

What are some steps I can take to help him? He's my slowest eater and it is VERY hard on me that I can't step out of the kitchen for even a split second, or even away from the table, for the 15+ minutes it takes him to eat. It is hard on everyone when he freaks because I stepped across a gate for a short time. And it is hard on my bladder when he panics because I have to pee (which is a very common occurrence during the day owing to the 27 weeks pregnant that I am and the 100 oz of water I have to drink/day).
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Michael 08:08 AM 03-02-2011
Some earlier threads on Anxiety: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=anxiety

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...ration+anxiety
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Tags:anxiety, panic attack, separation anxiety, transitioning
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