Is the glass half full, or half empty?

Have you ever experienced this? Recently a mom and I were talking about our children. We were talking about getting our kids to sleep, and what a trial that can be. I mentioned that my DD had started getting out of bed everynight after we put her to bed and that I've started just telling her to get her tush back in bed. I try not to make it a big deal. I don't go the whole "Oh sweetie what's wrong?" routine, because I know what's wrong...she thinks she's missing something, and she doesn't want to. Then she lays there and thinks about how she can't sleep, then she starts thinking about how scary the dark is, etc., etc., etc.. However, short of having her sleep with us forever, I feel like it's just something she has to get through. We've been through, and still go through, the whole "I'm scared" thing too, and while I definitely empathize (I had those same fears of the boogeyman at night), I don't believe there's anything I can do about it, and that paying it too much attention just makes it a bigger and longer lasting problem. Sometimes my daughter lays in bed after we put her to bed, even as long as an hour, but I figure everyone has trouble falling asleep sometimes, and I think it's important to not act like it's a big deal, make sure she's all right, and let her get herself to sleep. This mom said Oh, I could never do that with my child, he has serious anxiety issues. We could never just let him deal with it. Now, I just don't understand this. In the interest of full-disclosure, I really don't understand labeling a 5 year old child as having "anxiety issues". I feel like this sets her child up to think of themselves as being flawed--less capable than other children. When did we stop thinking OK, my child is a little more needy than so and so's child, but so what? Now we label everything. There's a child in my child's class who has mild sensory issues. What this translates to is that NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO UPSET THIS CHILD. He must have his own way at all times. He must not be expected to adapt to the classroom, the classroom must adapt to him. If there is anything going on, his mom stresses to no end about how to handle it, working her schedule out so she can attend all birthday parties with him, any field trip with him, anything and everything. Here's my concern...what message is she sending to her child. Certainly not that things upset him more than other kids, but that he can handle it, here are his coping mechanisms, now go out there and do your best. The teacher will be there in a crunch, but I know, and you should know, you can handle it. The message he gets is that is incapable of handling anything, that he can be expected to fall apart, and throw a tantrum at any time, and that it's OK, because he has "issues". I don't think that's fair, in the long run, to the children. I know people have serious issues, and I'm not discounting that. But I do think we are in an epidemic of not holding people accountable for their behavior, and I think it starts in childhood. I think we are in an epidemic of needing to put a label on everything instead of saying OK, he's a little different, but so what, who isn't, let's just deal with it. My 5 year old is a little more timid to new things, takes a bit more convincing than my other kids did. I don't label her as anxiety-ridden. I make the road ahead easier for her when I can see things coming, give her the chance to vent to us when she is frightened, and ultimately expect her to do what she has to do, when she has to do it. I think I'm sending her the message you are stronger than you know, I'll be there to help you when you need it, and you are going to be just fine, because you are amazing. What do you think?