A mutually supportive and diverse community in today’s complex milieu dictates the need for parents to seek care for their children outside of the home. For young children, as well as their parents, the experience of a child entering school for the first time is overwhelming.  The combination of; a new environment, new materials, new people, and new demands placed upon children is overpowering. Due to this, many children may have difficulty adapting to their new environment and forming attachments to the new adults in their lives. At the BMCC Early Childhood Center we are cognizant of this, and seek to help children cope during this time, by assisting parents with their understanding of attachment, and the needs of their children.  “Attachment is considered to be: the strong, affectional bind we feel for special people in our lives that lead us to feel pleasure and joy as we interact with them and to be comforted by their nearness in times of stress” (Berk 1998) A securely attached child, will have an optimistic and balanced life, and will most often contribute positively to the world.

In addition, well known psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud stated   “a child’s emotional ties to his or her parent are the foundation for later relationships.” The simplest way to deal with separation anxiety for children is to understand the child’s need for consistency, reassurance, and support during this new experience.