Everyone tells you separation anxiety is normal and your child will grow out of it. But what if they don't? What if the "good behavior" everyone's praising is actually your child's nervous system shutting down to survive? Here's what's really happening underneath separation struggles from infancy through school age and the stage-by-stage method that builds genuine capacity instead of forced compliance.

If your child loses it when it’s time to turn off screens or leave a playdate, it’s not bad behavior—it’s a brain under stress. Here’s what most parenting advice misses about transitions, and what actually helps.