Help me help my great nephew.?

My great nephew is really attached to my niece. He is almost 5 years old and seems to have separation anxiety when he goes to day care. She enrolled him this year and he went about 4 times but now the director states that he will not be able to go anymore because he acts like he is ready to cry at the drop of a hat. This was not a "real" center just a home sittter with just 3 other kids(smaller thatn him) The whole purpose was to get him used to being away from mom and prepare him for the first year of school next fall. Can anyone out there help me to help her and ease the sadness this youg boy faces?

Answers:
There is a wonderful book the CWLA publishes called "The Kissing Hand" about Chester Racoon going away to school, and how he and his mom deal with it. I love helping kids cope with new and difficult situations through stories. Check out such resources at your local library.

Encourage your neice to continue to leave him, with trusted and caring adults for increasing amounts of time. When parting she should always be firm, but caring, confident and matter of fact. Tell him she is leaving, how long (in his favorite tv show time, for example I'll be gone for as long as it takes to watch 3 Sponge Bob show's means 1 1/2 hours), and an assurance that she will be back for him. If he cries when she leaves, she does not need to respond to it, but allow the caregiver to comfort and distract him. (And if she is upset, she needs to get away from him to deal with it, not let him see her and reinforce his fear!) Sometimes it helps if he is leaving her (a caregiver picks him up to take him on an outing or adventure). This is a fairly common issue and will probably not be as big a deal as you are afraid of!

I suggest a REAL preschool. It will help him transition into kindergarten.

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Help me help my great nephew.?

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