Despite the abundance of research on attachment and on the effects of separation, very little research examines the actual processes of separation occurring daily when mothers leave their children (age 6-18 months) in out-of-home group care. In the current study, this everyday process of separation was observed for three months…

The leavetakings and reunions of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their parents were observed as 56 children were dropped off and picked up at nursery school. During the pilot phase of the study, shorthand running records were made of the behaviors of each child and his or her parent for all of their leavetaking and reunion episodes. From 100…