News of parental separation rarely comes as a surprise to early years practitioners, who often pick up on 'warning signals' well before a formal announcement is made. Even very young children can be highly sensitive to tension at home, which can trigger noticeable changes in their behaviour patterns.
'Some children get clingy and need lots of cuddles, some just seem sad. Others misbehave in order to get attention,' says Bridget Crane, owner of Little Angels Day Nursery in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
Regression is also common, says Karen Woodall, director of the Centre for Separated Families, a national charity that supports those affected by family separation. 'Children under five show their grief through separation anxiety, clinging to the parent who drops them off, crying for no apparent reason and returning to previous developmental stages,' she says.
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