Anxiety is a form of stress and is not uncommon among children.  About 5% of Canada's household population suffers from an anxiety disorder, and approximately 10-20% of youth have a mental illness or disorder (Fast Facts about Mental Illness, n.d.).  Anxiety typically comes from the fear of what might happen when children are in a unfamiliar situation, be it a new place or with new people, it is a worry that they are not safe.  There are four main symptoms categories for childhood anxiety: physical responses, thoughts, emotions, and behaviour.

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Childhood anxiety encompasses several different mental disorders:

• Separation Anxiety Disorder

• Social Anxiety Disorder

• Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Panic Disorder

• Phobias

• Selective Mutism

• Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia

• Hoarding Disorder (HD)

• Health Anxiety

        Anxiety is an excessive fear of being left by or leaving a primary caregiver.  In children under the age of 3, it is common for them to feel anxiety when left alone in a new place.  This has is a healthy sign as it shows the child has formed a secure attachment to the caregiver based on attachement theory.  However, when this fear is extreme and persists through kindergarten and grade school years, it is classified as an ambivalent attachment style and can develop into separation anxiety disorder.

      Attachment Theory was developed by Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby and tested in Mary Ainsowrth's Strange Situation in 1969.  In the strange situation, children between 12 and 18 months were rbought into an empty playroom with their caregiver.  Then the child's behaviour was observed when a stranger was introduced to the room and again after a few minutes when the caregiver left the child in the room alone with the strange.  Finally, the child's behaviour was observed when the caregiver returned.  Based on the strange situation, there are three attachment styles: secure, ambivalent and avoidant.  

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Here is a video of the secure attachment in the Strange Situation which will explain it a little more in-depth and show you the reaction: