Daughter Having Seperation Anxiety at School

L.- EXACTLY what happened with my son. I was feeling sooooo guilty, I was crying myself over it. It was at the two month point when I really began to worry. All of a sudden, it was as if a switch was thrown and it was all over. Give her a few more weeks. She is just adjusting to the changes. Try getting info on specific things that she did and enjoyed. (e.g., she was having a great time going down the slide or did something special in circle time, etc.). Make sure in the morning while getting ready for school to talk about those things casually to remind her of the good time she had. Sympathize with her fear and tell her someday really soon she wont feel so alone and scared. Dont forget, she probably is still finding her place with the other kids and trying to make friends. Give her lots of big kisses at the end of the day and tell her how proud you are that she was able to overcome her fears and have a good day. She'll be fine soon! (I echo the words on "The Kissing Hand" - great book!!)

Give her a picture of your husband and yourself that she can carry with her to school. Tell her she can look at it anytime she's feeling a bit down. Maybe summer camp will make her feel better, it's more a playtime experience, more spontaneous than the structured environment of school. Good luck.

This behavior was never a problem with our kids, but I have know parents who had this dilemma. Some of them let their child take a photo of them to school with them. Tuck it in a pocket of their backpack somewhere. When they are missing you, they can take out the photo. An alternative idea, is to take a "lovey" with her to school, also in her backpack. She doesn't have to take the items out, unless she wants. Sometimes knowing they are there is all they need. Or you can give the "lovey" a big hug before putting it in her backpack, and then if she needs a hug from you, the "lovey" will give it to her FOR you.
HTH

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

It's been a long time since I've read the book but I think the idea was that the mommy kissed in inside of the child's hand so the kiss was there when she needed it. Read that book to her and see if that would work for her to have that kiss in her hand when she misses you.

In the meantime, be thankful that she is verbal and lets you know what's wrong. It sounds like there is nothing harmful happening to her at school. She just misses you, which is OK!

I know exactly what you're going through! My son is doing the exact same thing but he hasn't moved schools. I believe when there is change in their lives (he is potty training, he has a new cousin, etc.) they tend to do such things. I am taking my son to the doctor next week to find a child psychologist to help him "play" work out whatever issue he is dealing with. I just wanted to respond to let you know that someone else is dealing with the same issue and I am hoping some "play" therapy will help!

The Kissing Hand is a great book as someone else already said. Every year the Kindergarten teachers at the school I work at read it to their kids. There are also a lot of cute/fun activites you can google that have to do with the book. Some of which you can do with your daughter on a Sunday (or day before school)