# Peekaboo

You hide your face behind a cloth and pop back out with a smile, so they discover you're still there even when they can't see you.

To do with your baby between 4 and 8 months. It works on: visual focus and object permanence. You'll need: soft fabric.

## What do I need?

- Soft fabric

## How do I do it?

1. **Get into position.** Lay your baby on their back or, if they can already sit, settle them in a steady sitting position. Keep a soft cloth handy (a scarf, a light blanket or your own T-shirt).
2. **Cover your face.** Cover your face completely with the cloth. Ask in a playful voice: “Where am I?” Wait 2 or 3 seconds to build a little suspense.
3. **Pop back out.** Pull the cloth away quickly and say with a big smile: “Here I am!” Watch how they react: lots of babies burst out laughing.
4. **Play it again.** Do it 5 to 10 times. Over time, you'll see them laugh before you even appear, because they're already waiting for your “Here I am!”

### Another way to play

Hide their favourite toy under the cloth, with part of it still showing, and ask: “Where is it?” When they pull the cloth away and find it, celebrate: “There it is!”

## What are they learning?

Each time you disappear and come back, they discover that people and things are still there even when they can't see them, something many babies start to understand between 4 and 8 months. They also learn to wait for what comes next and to take turns, one of their first steps towards communicating. And they hold on to a reassuring idea: when you go away, you come back.

- **Visual focus**: Keeps their eyes on the cloth while waiting for your face to reappear
- **Object permanence**: Discovers that you're still there even when the cloth hides your face

## What the research says

- Colombo J. The development of visual attention in infancy. Annual Review of Psychology. 2001;52:337-367. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.337 (https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.337)
- Courage ML, Reynolds GD, Richards JE. Infants' attention to patterned stimuli: developmental change from 3 to 12 months of age. Child Development. 2006;77(3):680-695. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00897.x (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00897.x)
- Baillargeon R, DeVos J. Object permanence in young infants: further evidence. Child development. 1991;62(6):1227-1246.
- Ruffman T, Slade L, Redman J. Young infants’ expectations about hidden objects. Cognition. 2005;97(2):B35-B43. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2005.01.007 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2005.01.007)

Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education.

https://papakoala.com/en-gb/activities/peekaboo/