2 Easy DIYs To Help With Separation Anxiety

#thelittleone recently finished his time at daycare, just in time to start UPK at a new school. This transition meant new classmates, new teachers, a new routine, and a new environment – that’s A LOT of change for anyone, especially a little guy. I put together a few easy DIYs the week before school started, to help with separation anxiety – which #thelittleone is notorious for. (He’s a total mama’s boy!) Today I’m sharing those ideas, which come in handy during the back to school season, but can also be useful for other transition times.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

EASY DIYS TO HELP WITH SEPARATION ANXIETY

Photo Key Chain To Help With Separation Anxiety

I made two of these for #thelittleone, and he absolutely loved them!

Materials: 

• Printed photos.
  • You can choose the format and size you want.
    • Ours is pretty small, about the size of a credit card, so it won’t be too distracting in the classroom.
    • I included #thelittleone with everyone in our household, so he’s reminded of all the support he has.
• Laminating sheets.
  • We don’t have a laminator, so I always use the self-seal kind.
• Scissors.
• Hole punch.
  • We used a star one we had on hand, but a simple circle works well too.
• Key chain, lanyard, or carabiner clip, for attaching to backpacks, jackets, belt loops, etc.

Directions: 

1. First assemble all the necessary supplies.
2. Second, cut your printed photos down to the size you want.
   
3. Third, laminate the photo.
   
4. Next, use the scissors to cut out the laminated photo.
   
5. Add a hole to the top of the laminated photo.
   
6. Attach the photo to the clip you have chosen to use.
   
7. Attach new key chain to your child’s backpack, jacket, belt loop, or simply tuck it into their pocket.
   
8. Be sure to explain to your kiddo that the photo is a reminder of how much you love them, and that they can peek at it if they’re feeling a little nervous during their time away from you.
   

Special Shirt To Help With Separation Anxiety

I put together 2 shirts for my kiddo, since I knew the first few days at his new school were likely to be a bit frightening for him.

Materials

• Iron on patches.
  • Choose some that have inspiring, positive messages – fearless, awesome, etc. – so your child will have a constant reminder of their strength when wearing their custom shirt.
  • You can grab the sew-on kind if you prefer, but I was not about sewing the week before school started!
    
• T-shirt.
• Iron.
• Towel.
• Ironing board, or similar safe surface to work on.

Directions: 

1. Assemble all necessary supplies.
2. Shirts will be most successful if they are washed and dried prior to applying patches, but it’s not strictly necessary.
3. Set iron to ‘cotton’ setting.
4. With shirt right-side-out, position patch where you would like it on the shirt.
   
5. Place a thin towel over the patch, and use the iron to press the patch into place.
   1. You’re not trying to completely stick the patch down during this step. The goal is to secure it in place long enough to get to step 6.
      
6. Flip the shirt inside out, and press the patch from the back with the iron.
   1. This is the step where you want to be sure the patch is well adhered to the shirt.
7. Allow the patch to cool, and flip the shirt right-side-out.
8. Dress your kiddo for their big day, and be sure to remind them exactly what their patch means. For #thelittleone, I told him if he felt nervous, he could look at his patch and remember he is fearless, and it really did seem to help!
   

*** If the instructions on your patch package differ from those listed here, defer to the package instructions. ***

Have your kids experienced nerves like mine? Share your tips to help with separation anxiety in the comments below!