Sibling separation anxiety

[admsfam]

My 5 year old just began kindergarten 3 days a week leaving his 3 year old brother home or at daycare without him. My 3 year old is showing some interesting behavioral issues. He has been angry and aggressive at daycare, distracted at home, and constantly asking about his brother. He knows he is at school, but he also picks up on the things his brother tells him about school and discusses those things in his absence. I am concerned that this separation, though normal, may be affecting him negatively and I am wondering if there is any way to help him adjust to the changes.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

This will all be fine - give it some time. You can imagine how disconcerting it can be to a young child to suddenly have a sibling sort of disappear for stretches of time. This is hard for a young child to understand, primarily because the young child has no framework for what has happened. Be sure that the daycare setting sets limits around the aggressive behavior. Otherwise, be alert to questions your three-year-old might have about his brother and his whereabouts. Have you shown him the school where his brother attends? If you haven't already done so, let him come along a couple of times so he can see where his brother is. If you've already done these things, you've pretty much done what you can. Be patient - he's just reacting to a significant change in the environment, and he'll adapt.