When mom or dad have to be away from the home for a period of time i.e. a hospital stay or a work trip out of town this can cause a lot of stress and anxiety in a child and may not always show up in an obvious fashion. As parents, we may assume that our child is fine with the situation if there are no unusual behaviours such as an increase in temper tantrums or bad dreams. We need to be aware of the little things that may be an indicator of stress such as small mood changes, change in eating or sleeping pattern, increased whininess