Separation anxiety hits hard at bedtime. Keep routines consistent and avoid new habits that make it worse. Simple strategies help your infant feel secure when you leave the room.
Separation anxiety hits hard at bedtime. Keep routines consistent and avoid new habits that make it worse. Simple strategies help your infant feel secure when you leave the room.
Separation anxiety can start as early as six months. It often does peak around eight months. And nighttime can be a time where we see it really get hard. Why? Because this is a time where we're separated from our child for often, the longest part of the day. So what do you do? Number one, make sure you have a very consistent bedtime routine. Number two, try not to rush that bedtime routine. You want this to be a time of connection. Number three, check yourself. If you're stressed, you're like, I know what's gonna happen. I'm gonna lay him down. He's gonna lose it. They can feel that, right? So nice. Number four, we're not going to start any new habits, right? I know right now it's like, okay, I'm just going to stay with him until he's completely asleep, or I'm going to rock him to sleep so I don't have to see him get all upset. Okay? Those new habits can often make what's just a short little bump in the road turn into, like, a huge sleep problem. So the more consistent you are, the easier it is. Finally, don't sneak away when they wake up and you're not there. That can actually increase the anxiety. If you want to learn more about separation anxiety, if you need more tips to help, I got you.
