Play peek-a-boo with a one-year-old, and she’ll have the time of her, admittedly short, life. Try it with a five-year-old, though, and you’ll probably get looked at with scorn. Why is it that only young children enjoy playing peek-a-boo? The answer lies in brain development.
Object Permanence
Image by Wuertele via Flickr
Object permanence is the ability to understand that an object continues to exist even when you do not see it. If you hit a home run while playing baseball, then you know that the ball is somewhere over the fence. That’s because object permanence tells you that the ball continues to exist even though it is further away and you can’t see it.
Children don’t develop this skill until they are about two years old. For them, the home run ball simply doesn’t exist anymore.
Playing Peek-a-boo
That’s what happens during peek-a-boo, too. When you cover your face, it’s like you have performed the world’s greatest magic trick. As far as your baby understands, you have just made yourself disappear. Even more amazingly, you made yourself reappear just seconds later.
The enjoyment that babies get from peek-a-boo, therefore, might come from a mixture of surprise and concern. When you disappear, they might immediately wonder, “oh, no! Where has mommy gone!” When you reappear almost instantly, they are overcome with relief, not to mention the surprise of seeing a truly amazing illusion.
When did your kids stop thinking that peek-a-boo was a great way to pass the time? What other games can you think of that might rely on certain developmental stages?
