A study examined how maternal separation anxiety contributes to the mother's departure actions and how those behaviors affect the child during separation. Subjects were 40 mothers and their toddlers, age 15 to 24 months, who were observed before and during separation. After completing the Maternal Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, mothers were provided with information designed to heighten or diminish their anxiety while departing. Results indicated that mothers separated differently depending on whether or not they used day care centers, but their preparations did not influence children's separation distress. Instead, children's separation distress varied with day care use and mothers' anxiety. Day care center children whose mothers experienced diminished anxiety and alternate care children whose mothers tested with low maternal separation anxiety showed less distress during separation than other children. Results suggest that day care center efforts to lower the anxiety for the departing mother might improve the child's adaptation to separation. (MDM)