My dd is afraid to be alone

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Both of my dds, ages 8 and 10, are afraid to be alone. The 8-yr-old won't even go to the bathroom alone.

Even though they have their own bedroom, they sleep in my room. I gave up. One sleeps in my bed and one sleeps on a mattress on the floor. They have a room with a brand new bunkbed. Neither would sleep on top. They're scared to be alone in their room or at all, so they follow me like my shadow.

It's aggravating. I need space. They open the bathrrom door when I'm in there! Aren't they a little old for separation anxiety?

Are other people's kids like this?

I am like that, not as bad though. When I am with my grandma or any of my really close friends. I'm glued to them. I will go places alone if I HAVE to but generally I beg them to come with me. I hate being alone so much >.<. I'm so paranoid I think anything bad can happen when I am alone.

I have an 18 year old son never diagnosed with an ASD (but maybe should be) he still has seperation anxiety. Not so bad that he opens the bathroom door still, but will call me at my friends house which is only approx 6 houses away, I could only be gone for 10 minutes and he wants to know when I'll be home. He will sit on one couch I will be on the other, both watching tv and he will do annoying things like reach out to poke me or want to high five me (its a reasurance thing I think). I cant go any where without him having to know how long I will be or calling me or both (mostly both). School was a night mare so bad we had to change schools when he was younger, he would cry all day and make himself sick, the school were not simpathetic at all (even told me to smack him).

Put a lock on the bathroom door and talk to them threw the door till they get used to the idea your still there.
Try sleeping in their room with them to get them used to it. maybe there is something in there that they are scared of. I used to let my oldest fall asleep in my bed then move him. He would wake up in his own room and eventually realised it wasn't so bad, then I too had to do the pretending to fall asleep in his room till he got used to actually staying all night in his own room.

Thanks for the replies. That's interesting.

I have gone to great lengths to make them comfortable in their room. I got them posters, but none could have faces, even drawn puppy faces, because my dd is afraid of pictures of faces. I got a big, heavy tapestry to put over the window so that nobody could see in. I just spruced it up. My kids are scared of vents and I covered the vents in their room and the bathroom (these vents are old and don't work now) with posters. I closed the closet. I put a TV in there so that they could have noise to fall asleep to.

Nope. Too scary.

So, I said that I would take that room and they could share mine.

Nope. They wanted to sleep in there with me!

In a few years, they'll be adult sized. And we'll all be sleeping together. I swear, if they get married someday, that's where I draw the line!

Mine is the same. I have to be in his view at all times--he's afraid of his own shadow.

Mine goes in his pants. I am trying to teach him the toilet is for pooping and peeing. But, he still doesn't understand. He is 7 years old now.

When you say they are afraid to be alone, is that really what you mean or are they afraid to be away from you. How are they when they are together without you? My son (As is fine if his 5yo brother is with him. Up until he was 6 he was fine alone. I attribute it to his intellectually advanced age but his reduced level of social maturity. He knows a lot about the world and that there are real risks that it presents but has not yet developed the level of self-assurance that he can “deal” with it alone. Not sure why he thinks his 5yo brother helps but I think it is because he is NT and can “translate” for him.

bookwormde