S3E8 – When Kids Won’t Sleep Alone or Panic at School Drop-Off: A Parent’s Guide to Separation Anxiety

Oct 17, 2025

In this episode, I answer a listener question from Ellie, a mom navigating separation anxiety with her 9- and 7-year-old children. We unpack the root of separation anxiety—how it’s often more about a child’s internal anxiety than the separation itself—and discuss the natural coping strategies kids develop in response. I also touch on the connection between anxiety and control, and how those patterns form over time.

If you’re seeing signs of anxiety in your kids, this episode will help you understand how those patterns develop, how therapy can help, and why what your child believes about their world and themselves is more powerful than anything you can tell them. We also discuss the role your own healing journey plays in shaping a safe emotional environment for your children.

Ask Me Questions: Call ‪(813) 812-5525‬, or email: [email protected]
My Book: Device Detox: A Parent’s Guide To Reducing Usage, Preventing Tantrums, And Raising Happier Kids – https://a.co/d/bThnKH9
Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapyparenting.com/
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My Podcast Partner, Gabb Wireless: https://www.playtherapyparenting.com/gabb/

Common Play Therapy References:
Cochran, N., Nordling, W., & Cochran, J. (2010). Child-Centered Play Therapy (1st ed.). Wiley.
VanFleet, R., Sywulak, A. E., & Sniscak, C. C. (2010). Child-centered play therapy. Guilford Press.
Landreth, G.L. (2023). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (4th ed.). Routledge.
Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R. (2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual: A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Benedict, Helen. Themes in Play Therapy. Used with permission to Heartland Play Therapy Institute.

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“Dr. Brenna Hicks does an excellent job of sketching the problem, but the book shines brightest when Dr. Hicks offers a suite of practical, evidence-based strategies for coping with screen overuse in children. A valuable book that deserves to be read by parents everywhere.”

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