separation anxiety

[sallisims]

my 5 year old grandson seems to have suddenly developed separation anxiety....he has had learning problems from birth and could not speak till he was 4 but seems to be catching up now...since he went back to school after the christmas hols he has screamed and cried on being left there in the morning and during the day at school he bursts into tears and says he wants his mummy and daddy...he is so distraut it is heatbreaking.....he has even started to cry for his mum and dad when he is with me and i have been looking after him since he was 8 months old.......so any ideas on how i can help him get back to being the happy little carefree boy he was a couple of weeks ago.

[jdtm]

If your grandchild suffers from anxiety (whether severe or mild), what you are seeing is very common.  Children with anxiety issues usually find that after a break - whether Christmas, Easter, summer or even a three-day week-end - great difficulty in getting back into the "school" routine.  They have gone from a relaxing and safe time at home to a more stressful and perceived unsafe time at school.  Just be patient - treat his going to school as a very normal thing and try not to give attention to his fear issues.  I'm assuming that he does well in the classroom after a short time of arriving at school.  Hope this helps ....

[margypops]

I am wondering if he had a new teacher or anything has happened in his life that is differant and would cause anxiety, you say it is sudden so look to anthing new , family siblings ,Loss, how does he get on at school, have you spoken to his teacher for feedback from her.