You can overcome this separation anxiety by making sure to take time
together with your child outside of school, in regular, planned
activities. Develop an after-school routine that your child will look
forward to. When you pick up the child after school, take a few moments
to talk about the school day, and let him or her tell you about some of
the fun and interesting things they did in class.
You will also quickly discover, much to your chagrin, that this is the
age when a child learns how to whine.
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Children of all ages want the
attention of their parents, and they will do what they can to get it.
Whining is hard to ignore and annoying, and it usually works. Trying to
just ignore it will just result in frustration for both parent and
child, so the best alternative is to first, present the child with
alternative ways of getting your attention, and second, make sure that
you are giving your child enough attention so that whining is not
necessary. That's not to say that you need to devote constant attention
to your child to the detriment of your other activities, but take the
whining as a signal that maybe you are not giving enough attention and
have started to take the child for granted. The novelty of the cute
little baby is gone. Has your young grade schooler become a piece of
furniture to you? A noise somewhat akin to an annoying television
commercial? It happens to the best of us. Take time to enjoy your
child, spend time together, and enjoy routine activities together, and
the whining will more than likely disappear.
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