Nearly 4 Year Old with Separation Anxiety Who Has Previously Been Fine

This is a classic sign of strep infection when it presents without the typical sore throat. I would take her to the doctor IMMEDIATELY and get the rapid test PLUS a 72 hour culture (that is the gold standard.) Rapids often give a false negative, especially if she is particularly sensitive to strep.

For more information on atypical strep presentation (PANDAS) you can contact me or see this page:
http://www.webpediatrics.com/pandas.html (Scroll down to the green box)

If strep tests come back negative, I would also do a test for UTI.

It's possible that she had a negative experience in class too, but if she's clingy at home too, that is probably not the case.

My gutt is yelling at me right now. Talk to her. Perhaps something or someone has happened to her. Don't ask her specifics but ask her things like why and see if you can get her to articulate what she is experiencing. Perhaps there is a new person in her circle that has harmed her in some way and she doesn't have the sophistication to articulate that to you but can show you through her actions that something isn't right.

We're going through this with our 3.5 yr old.

My best friend is a child psychologist, and I was talking to her about it.
She said that it is typically some kind of routine change that sets it off, even if it's nothing major. For us, it was a day that I had to leave DS at a daycare, instead of with his nanny. That seemed enough to kick things into high gear.

Best suggestions for helping were to be consistent in how you leave, and leave quickly - no coddling, hugging, etc...
Just say I love you and I'll come back X to get you.

She also suggested making a chart of daily activities. List everything you'll do in a day, no matter how benign, so that she can associate order (she doesn't understand the concept of time or "later" yet).
We make a check list of everything, and let him check it off as the day goes on, talking through what's left. If he can put it in order in his head, he knows when we'll come back.
Ex:
1. Eat breakfast
2. Play with x
3. Go to store
4. Have a snack

All the way down the list. Ask the preschool to help with the check offs throughout the day.
That's helped us quite a bit....although we're still in it. Just not as bad as when it started.

I would look at this as there is a reason that this is happening. Something has happened/changed/whatever, that is making her upset. Figuring out what it is can be difficult, but you can do it. And even though she might have been fine with something for awhile, for example, going to preschool for 1 1/2 years, doesn't mean that the problem is not there (not saying that it is, just using this as an example). She is older now so she may notice more, or things have been building up for awhile and now it is showing up as this behavior. Maybe there is a new kid in the class that is unsettling for some reason. I definitely would ask all teachers (school, ballet, etc.) if they have noticed anything. I would also talk to your daughter to see if she can explain why she might be afraid of you leaving. She might not be able to express it to you, but it is worth trying. You also can reassure her that you will return. Because she is older now, she notices more, so it might be that she overheard something and that made her worry about you.

When you drop her off at places, I would reassure her that you will return and when. I disagree with not coddling her at these times. Clearly she is upset and needs help in dealing with something. She isn't' trying to manipulate you, she is reaching out for help. I would plan to get places a few minutes early and then tell her that you will stay for a few minutes until she is comfortable. Right now she needs to know that you will be there for her when she needs you.

We went through this with DS at about 3 1/2. For him, I think he was turning into the "hurried child" although most of the things he was doing were by his choice...soccer, trips to the children's museum, etc. (He is in preschool 3 days a week due to our work schedules.) He stopped wanting to go anywhere. Thankfully, he could articulate, "I just want to say home."

We pulled back on everything except preschool for about a month. When the park district classes ended, we did not sign up for anything else. When he said he didn't want to go to the children's museum, we stayed home. After about a month, he was back to his usual self, social and without a lot of anxiety. We recently transitioned to a new preschool and the transition has been painless for us all.

I also agree with the previous post about a quick set routine for drop off. Ours is "one hug, one kiss, I love you, See you later."