What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart
Can kids feel brave when they’re apart from loved ones? Yes—and this workbook helps them soar with confidence!
Being away from parents, caregivers, or familiar places can feel scary. Whether it’s going to school, a sleepover, or just saying goodbye, separation anxiety can make everyday moments feel overwhelming. But kids don’t have to stay grounded by fear—they can learn to lift off with courage.
What to Do When You Don’t Want to Be Apart is an interactive guide that helps kids understand separation anxiety and discover tools to feel safe and strong. With engaging activities, colorful illustrations, and expert strategies, this workbook empowers kids to become the confident pilots of their own emotional journeys.
Whether your child is nervous about school drop-off or anxious when you’re out of sight, this book offers a safe space to explore those feelings—and helps them take flight with confidence.
Key features:
- perfect for kids ages 6–12 who struggle with separation anxiety or fear of being alone
- uses proven cognitive-behavioral techniques to help kids manage anxious thoughts and build independence
- encourages emotional awareness and bravery through fun, hands-on exercises
- includes a supportive guide for parents and caregivers to help children feel secure and supported
- part of the trusted What-to-Do Guides for Kids series—used by parents, educators, and therapists for over 20 years
- created by Magination Press, the children’s imprint of APA—leaders in children’s mental health and well-being
Kristen Lavallee, PhD, is a developmental and school psychologist, and has worked with children in the U.S. and Switzerland. She has coauthored empirical studies and a book chapter on treatment for separation anxiety, and is managing editor of the scientific journal European Psychologist. She lives with her family in Providence, RI.
Silvia Schneider, Dr. rer. nat., is a professor of child clinical psychology at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. She has conducted several studies on childhood separation anxiety disorder (SAD), and authored a treatment manual in German for SAD.
Janet McDonnell is a writer and illustrator living in the calm outskirts of the Windy City. Her characters populate many books and magazines for children.
My son struggles with separation anxiety, so I was excited to read this book with him. From the very first pages, he found the book appealing.... Reading this book made him feel hopeful and empowered. We both recommend it.
—Tulsa Book Review
Lavallee and Schneider bring together their collective wisdom in this interactive self-help book for parents and their young children who have separation concerns and anxiety. Separation anxiety prevents many children from enjoying their friends, families, and school. Using the metaphor of flying in a hot air balloon and based on their lifelong clinical research, they provide specific exercises and strategies based on established cognitive-behavioral principles for helping children overcome excessive separation anxiety. It clearly explains—in an engaging story format—the steps parents and children can take to overcome such anxieties and to lead a worry-free life. This is a practical 'what-to-do' book that will benefit many parents and their children. It is a book that will be welcome not only by parents but by clinicians who are looking for such materials to provide families.
—Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD
Director Child Study Center, Virginia Tech
What to Do When You Don’t Want to Be Apart offers a nonjudgmental approach to getting a handle on kids’ separation anxiety with the ultimate goal of leading a richer life.
—Midwest Book Review
