Many parents go through a period of grieving as their child grows from baby to child. It may seem like just yesterday your child was a tiny, cuddling, dependent infant. Now you wake up one morning and there is a child in the crib! It is perfectly OK to mourn the loss of infancy while you are welcoming your toddler. It is also important to be aware of all of your feelings about your child's growing up. Separation can be particularly hard for parents for lots of reasons. Identifying how you are feeling and why might help you and help your child manage this time of growth and change.
Take a few minutes to reflect on how you have been feeling about your child's growing independence and separation from you. Invite your partner to do the same.
What good feelings do you have about your child's growing independence?
What is hard about your toddler's growing independence? What are your worries or concerns?
Is it hard for you to separate from your toddler (to go to work, take a trip, run errands)?
Why do you think it's hard? What feelings do separations trigger in you?
Have you tried strategies to help separations go more smoothly? What works? What gets in the way?
Where could you go to get help with separations that are difficult?
Adapted from Healthy Steps. Edited and Compiled by the Center for Promotion of Child Development Through Primary Care 2011
