VisionDiscover · 4–8 months

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.

In the app, one activity a day for their age →

What do I need?

• Soft fabric

How do I do it?

1. 01

   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. 02

   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. 03

   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. 04

   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!”

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

1. How visual attention develops in babies

   Colombo · 2001

2. More evidence that young babies know hidden things still exist

   Baillargeon & DeVos · 1991

See all 4 references

1. 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 doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.337
2. 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 doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00897.x
3. Baillargeon R, DeVos J. Object permanence in young infants: further evidence. Child development. 1991;62(6):1227-1246.
4. 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 doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2005.01.007

Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education