When do babies get stranger anxiety
Greet them warmly with positive body language — smiles, relaxed posture, eye contact and a happy voice. Can I have one too? Just tell them that your child is learning to be around strangers. Here are some tips to help with independence : Let your child do things for herself, like feeding herself, exploring new play environments and entertaining herself with toys. Give your child lots of new experiences and introduce him to new faces. Try not to rush in to solve problems, and give your child a chance to work out solutions for herself.
Encourage your child to be responsible for some simple family chores — for example, putting things in the supermarket trolley, checking the letterbox or setting the table. Help your child learn to settle for sleep away from home. Talk to your toddler about what you're going to do when you see them again so they have something to look forward to with you. For example, you could say: "When Mummy comes back to pick you up, we'll go to the shop together to get food for dinner.
It may comfort your baby to have something they identify with you — like a scarf with your scent on or a favourite toy — close by. This may reassure them while you are away. When you leave your baby, however sad or worried you may be feeling, smile and wave goodbye confidently and happily, otherwise they will pick up on your tension. By giving your baby experience of saying goodbye then having happy reunions, you are teaching them an important life lesson.
Until that happens, it's important your baby's anxiety doesn't stop them getting the most from new experiences like socialising and learning at nursery. And it shouldn't stop you going to work. Page last reviewed: 31 August Next review due: 31 August Separation anxiety. You can reinforce her sense of identity by playing mirror games. Or make faces and verbally label the emotions you are conveying.
Before, you could count on her to be relatively compliant as long as she was comfortable. But even after she understands the word, she may touch anyway. Just wait—this is only a forerunner of power struggles to come. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Skip Ribbon Commands. Skip to main content. Turn off Animations.
Turn on Animations. Our Sponsors Log in Register. Log in Register. Ages and Stages. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're reading. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. In the past, you might have handed over your infant to just about anyone who wanted to hold her. But now your once social child has started taking a pass on pass-the-baby. What gives? When your little one was younger, she was a lot less picky about who she hung out with.
Everyone else — possibly even the grandparents she once adored — can take a back seat, preferably from her perspective as far away as possible. Stranger anxiety is a normal emotional phase that occurs when your child cries or becomes distressed when an unknown person approaches or attempts to hold her. By the time they're 6 months old, babies begin to know whether someone is a stranger, and by 9 months, little ones may be afraid of strangers or clingy with caregivers.
Stranger anxiety commonly starts around 8 or 9 months of age, though how long it lingers and how upset your baby gets can vary a great deal.