In early September I posted this picture on Facebook. I’m sure some of you were wondering how to respond, and indeed I didn’t expect anyone to! (Don’t worry, Dad’s fine, now!)
The Separation-Anxiety Inducing Situation
In the midst of the first days of school, my dad was in the hospital for minor surgery. Since he is by himself now, I went to help him out. This required me to be away from my boys, overnight, for more days than they wanted…especially Sweet Pea.
Poor Sweet Pea has really had a rough start to this school year, which you’ve read about here, and my being away didn’t help things. Instead of letting the boys dwell on Grandpa and missing me, Hubby decided to make it a boys’ weekend!
What Helped
There were two major things that helped make our time apart easier. FaceTime, which we figured out on the fly…and grand adventures! (This is not a sponsored post, just a mention of a tool our family found helpful in dealing with separation anxiety while I was away.)
FaceTime made the miles between Sweet Pea and I feel (almost) like nothing. I thought it wouldn’t make that much of a difference to him since I was still only on a screen, but Hubby said it helped both of the boys to just see me, and later see Grandpa up and walking around at home! Now, if only they did FaceTime between student and parent, maybe Sweet Pea might have an easier time while he’s at school. Nah!
The Fun Along the Erie Canal
Here are a few pictures from one of their awesome day-dates with Hubby!
All ready for a bike ride along the Erie Canal
This stretch of the Erie Canal has great bike paths! (Fairport, NY)
The timing couldn’t have been better for catching the train crossing!
Daddy gets bonus points for taking the boys out for lunch and Gelato! It looks like Hubby might be singing “Low bridge, everybody down. Low bridge, ‘cuz we’re comin’ to a town.” A song about the Erie Canal that just about every 4th grader in New York State learns!
And who is up for more bike riding?!
Even though it was hard for Sweet Pea, my little separation-anxiety-prone boy to be apart from me for four days, he handled it like a champ. Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun?!
Thinking it over, I think Hubby’s patience, support and distractions, as well as the opportunity to visually connect over FaceTime truly helped relieve some of his anxiety, and these might be tactics worth trying with your child when you have to be separated for more than a day.
Action:
Is your child dealing with some separation-anxiety issues? You can read about one of our early school day experiences this year here.
Do you have any tried-and-true ideas for us to share and share with others?
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