Separation Anxiety

I’m watching a 16 month old and I bring my 17 month old with and the first week or two they played and there were no issues. We took a week off and when we came back the 16 month old is having extreme separation anxiety (or at least only thing that makes sense). His parents both work from home, so he knows they are here and when they have lunch or a break they will come out.

He doesn’t want to play, screams, hits, flares his body everywhere when I try to hold him. The only thing he does is sits/stands by the baby gate over by where his parents work and cries/screams at the top of his lungs to the point he is red in the face.

Does anyone have any advice or how to get him to want to play again and not want to cling to the baby gate?

We only watch for a couple of hours and then he goes to grandparents after we leave or naps and then is picked up by a grandparent.