
This topical guide will introduce you to important books, videos, and information resources available from the EI Clearinghouse and other sources. Contact us via online form or by phone (1-877-275-3227) to request a resource listed below (or ask your local public librarian). Note that some videos may be viewed online, and journal titles will take you to the publisher’s homepage.
EIC Resources
Tip Sheets:
- How I Feel
A parent-friendly tip sheet created by the Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse. - Separation Anxiety and Children with Special Needs
Books for Parents
- Anxiety Relief for Kids by Flynn Bridget Walker & Michael A. Tompkins
- Attached at the Heart: 8 Proven Parenting Principals for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children by Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker
- Everyday Goodbyes: Starting School and Early Care: A Guide to the Separation Process by Nancy Balaban
- How to Parent Your Anxious Toddler by Natasha Daniels
- The Attachment Connection: Parenting a Secure and Confident Child Using the Science of Attachment Theory by Ruth Newton
- The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start by Brenda Nixon
- The happiest toddler on the block: how to eliminate tantrums and raise a patient, respectful and cooperative one- to four-year-old by Harvey Karp
- The Simple Guide to Attachment Difficulties in Children by Betsy De Thierry, et al.
- Touchpoints Birth to Three: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development by T. Berry Brazelton
- “Don’t Get So Upset!”: Help Young Children Manage Their Feelings by Understanding Your Own: A Guide for Caregivers by Tamar Jacobson
Books for Children
- Bye-Bye Time by Elizabeth Verdick
- Facing Mighty Fears About Being Apart From Parents by Dawn Huebner
- I Go to Child Care by Jillian Ritter
- Mama’s Gloves by Mike Huber
Detailed borrowing information for these books can be found below.
EIC Library Items
- Book
- Electronic
Written by a psychologist and expert in childhood anxiety, this book offers proven effective cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure skills you can use at home, in social settings, or anywhere anxiety takes hold.
- Book
This book, by the founders of Attached Parenting International, is a comprehensive look at attachment parenting, from an overview of attachment theory and child development research to strategies for everyday situations.
- Book
This book teaches transition rituals and self-soothing techniques to help children manage separation anxiety.
- Book
In this book, Balaban helps parents and teachers understand why children can take time to adjust to separation and what they can do to ease transitions.
- Book
Filled with practical tips and fun facts, this book eases over-size fears about being apart from parents, helping young children who struggle with separation anxiety.
- Book
This book demystifies the difficult behaviors of anxious toddlers, offering tried-and-tested practical solutions to common parenting dilemmas. Each chapter provides a real life example and new and effective parenting approaches to help parents tackle everyday difficulties and build up their child’s resilience, independence, and coping mechanisms.
- Book
This children’s book helps young children be better prepared for child care.
- Book
- Electronic
This children’s book tells the story of Esteban and how he manages his separation anxiety while at school, knowing that his mother always comes back.
- Video
This program shows how preschoolers learn to play cooperatively, make friends and express emotions.
Video Duration: 23 min
- Book
- Electronic
This book shows how paying attention to the emotional needs of your child, particularly during the first five years of development, can help him or her grow up happy, secure, and confident.
- Book
This all-purpose book provides parents with advice on how to encourage healthy development in many areas, including attachment and separation.
- Book
- Electronic
This book explains how tantrums in toddlers are normal but avoidable, what leads to temper tantrums, how to communicate effectively with toddlers, and how to reduce tantrums.
- Book
- Electronic
This text offers parents advice on numerous topics related to emotional and behavioral development in infants and toddlers.
- Video
This video, part of the I am Your Child Video Series with host Ray Romano, provides information on how fathering begins even before birth, how dads can connect with their children right from the start, what fathers can do to foster a close relationships with their children even when they live miles apart and how fathers can overcome the challenges of parenting under special circumstances, like separation and divorce.
Video Duration: 30 min
- Book
This text offers parents advice on numerous topics related to emotional and behavioral development in infants and toddlers.
- Book
This book shows caregivers how to get in touch with their own emotions so they can better help children with theirs. Information includes emotional development, early childhood behavior management strategies, and self-reflection.
Web Resources
This article presents ways that parents can help children at different ages and stages to manage their fears, including separation.
This article provides an overview of attachment theory and how it relates to separation anxiety, bonding, and development.
This article describes how peekaboo games can be used with toddlers and in play-group settings to support development and autonomy.
Interactive online module about attachment and babies.
This article from the American Academy of Pediatrics provides facts on separation anxiety and tips to improve transitions for young children.
It is often hard for a parent or other loved one to leave a young child who cries and clings. The child is experiencing separation anxiety. Children may not understand when loved ones will be back.
The Mayo Clinic Web site provides a summary of the causes of separation anxiety and what parents can do to ease this feeling in children.
A normal sign of a secure attachment, reflecting that the child understands and cares about caregiver presence.

