Children with BI are at a higher risk for developing a mental disorder, particularly anxiety disorders, than children without BI.Separation anxiety is normal in young children, until they age 3–4 years, when children are left in a daycare or preschool, away from their parent or primary caregiver.To be diagnosed with SAD, one must display at least three of the following criteria:

Recurrent excessive distress when anticipating or experiencing separation from home or from major attachment figures
Persistent and excessive worry about losing major attachment figures or about possible harm to them, such as illness, injury, disasters, or death
Persistent and excessive worry about experiencing an untoward event (e.g., getting lost, being kidnapped, having an accident, becoming ill) that causes separation from a major attachment figure
Persistent reluctance or refusal to go out, away from home, to school, to work, or elsewhere because of fear of separation
Persistent and excessive fear of or reluctance about being alone or without major attachment figures at home or in other settings
Persistent reluctance or refusal to sleep away from home or to go to sleep without being near a major attachment figure
Repeated nightmares involving the theme of separation
Repeated complaints of physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomachaches, nausea, vomiting) when separation from major attachment figures occurs or is anticipated

Classification
Separation anxiety is common for infants between the ages of eight and fourteen months and occurs as infants begin to understand their own selfhood—or understand that they are separate persons from their primary caregiver.
Medication prescribed for adults from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are often used and have been reported to show positive results for children and adolescents with SAD.There are mixed results regarding the benefits of using tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), which includes imipramine and clomipramine. One study suggested that imipramine is helpful for children with "school phobia," who also had an underlying diagnosis of SAD. However, other studies have also shown that imipramine and clomipramine had the same effect of children who were treated with the medication and placebo. The most promising medication is the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in adults and children. Several studies have shown that patients treated with fluvoxamine were significantly better than those treated with placebo. They showed decreasing anxiety symptoms with short-term and long-term use of the medication. Prognosis
Discomfort from separations in children from ages 8 to 14 months is normal. Children oftentimes get nervous or afraid of unfamiliar people and places but if the behavior still occurs after the age of six and if it lasts longer than four weeks, the child might have separation anxiety disorder. About 4% of children have the disorder. Separation anxiety disorder is very treatable especially when caught early on with medication and behavioral therapies. Helping children with separation anxiety to identify the circumstances that elicit their anxiety (upcoming separation events) is important. A childs ability to tolerate separations should gradually increase over time when he or she is gradually exposed to the feared events.