Anna and Jessica had been next-door neighbors and best friends for three years. Practically attached at the hip, the seven-year-olds did everything together—riding bikes, playing dress up, and climbing around on Jessica's jungle gym. But a few months before the girls started third grade, Jessica's father announced that his company was relocating him to the opposite side of the country.

"Anna was so upset the day Jessica's family packed up the moving truck and said goodbye," her mom Becky recalls. "She was practically inconsolable for the next couple of weeks. I kept trying to reassure her that she could still keep in touch with Jessica, but she kept saying it wouldn't be the same." To add insult to injury, the childless couple who moved into Jessica's house a few months later got rid of Anna and Jessica's beloved jungle gym.

Childhood friendships: More than meets the eye

Parents often don't realize just how important and powerful childhood friendships can be. When a friend becomes a mainstay in your child's life, it can be extremely upsetting to him when that friend is suddenly absent.

"Children can experience a great sense of loss and may grieve over the loss of a friend or relationship," says Linda Peterman, a licensed mental health counselor in Tampa, Florida. "The child may feel lost, like a piece of them is missing. They may feel empty and that nobody else will ever understand them or love them in the same way. A child may also feel that this friend will never be replaced and life will never be the same."

The older the child, the greater the loss

Although a child of any age will most likely experience some level of sadness when a good friend moves away, psychologists say that older children are more likely to suffer greatly from such a change. Because children less than five or six years of age are just beginning to form and understand friendships, a four-year-old may not even notice when a friend moves away.