This study examined techniques which facilitate children's separation from their mothers and their move into a novel situation. Subjects were 32 male and 32 female 40- to 48-month-old children. Some children were visited in their homes the night before the experiment. Subjects remained with their mothers in a waiting room for 10 minutes. A stranger then entered the room and interacted with the child for 10, 1, or 0 minutes. Half of the children were greeted abruptly by the stranger, while the rest were approached gradually. Mothers then left the children and strangers, and after 5 minutes, the door was opened, allowing children to leave if they were so inclined. Results showed that the children who were visited the night before, and who were approached abruptly by the stranger, remained in the room with the stranger longest. Those children who were visited the night before and were approached gradually, left the room with the stranger quickest. Of the remaining children who were approached abruptly by the stranger, those who had longer prior interactions with the stranger remained in the room longest. With the gradual approach, less preparatory time with the stranger resulted in children's remaining longer in the room. A "matter-of-fact" approach to children combined with rapport-building interactions may be the best facilitator of children remaining in strange situations. Contains seven references. (JW)