Observing a pre-school group of 2-year-old's, I saw a wonderful example of separation contagion. This refers to a group with one or two children who are having a particularly hard time separating from parent or care-giver. The crying and upset that ensues sets off a similar response in the other children until almost the entire group is coming apart.The reason the upset behavior is catching is that many of the children are on the cusp of managing their own separation. Their own feelings [...]
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