Chorevia

Day 306 of 365 · Week 41

Looking for the hidden toy

Last reviewed · 4 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

By 10 months a baby keeps searching for a toy they saw you hide, and by a year most find it. The classic two-cup study, and the game that proves memory: the two-cup hide.

A mixed-race couple on a living-room floor in afternoon light, two upturned plastic cups on the rug between them and their ten-month-old, who sits reaching toward the left cup with a determined face.

A toy that disappears under a cloth used to stop existing. Around now it goes on existing, and your baby goes looking. Today is object permanence at ten months, the study everyone cites, and the game that shows the memory working.

Heart

By 1 year, most babies look for things they saw you hide (CDC). The AAP's timing is finer: by about 8 months, your baby will lift a scarf to find a hidden toy, and by 10 months they'll keep searching, because they now know objects exist out of sight (AAP). Your baby is 10 months old. So the scarf version is probably old news, and the version where the toy is gone for a few seconds and still gets hunted for is the one arriving.

Head

The classic study used two hiding places. Babies 7.5 to 9 months old who watched a toy move to a new spot still searched in the old spot after delays of just 2 to 5 seconds, while 12-month-olds made the same mistake only after delays of more than 10 seconds (Diamond & Goldman-Rakic, 1989). Your baby is between those two groups, so expect the old-spot mistake some of the time, and expect it to shrink over the next weeks. The mistake isn't a failure of memory; it's memory losing a race against habit, and the race gets closer every week. The guide's activity is Where did it go?, and next year's is Hide-and-find.

Body

CDC and the AAP both suggest hiding games at this age (CDC; AAP). Today's uses two identical cups instead of two cloths, which makes the second hiding place a real test of memory rather than a test of which cloth looks different. Use cups too big to fit entirely in the mouth (AAP), and a toy too big as well.

Try today

  1. Close on the baby's hand lifting one cup to reveal a small rubber duck, the second cup still down, the mother's hands open in a cheer and the father's phone filming from floor level.

    The two-cup hide

    Time: 2 to 5 minutes · Where did it go? in the guide

    1. Sit facing your baby with one small toy and two identical plastic cups. Let them watch you put the toy under the left cup. Ask, "Where did it go?" and cheer when they find it (CDC).

    2. Do it under the left cup three or four times, until it's easy.

    3. Now, with their eyes on your hand, put the toy under the right cup. Wait 2 seconds, then let them search.

    4. If they go to the left cup, don't correct; lift the right one, show the toy, and try again. The old-spot mistake at this age is the study's finding, not a problem (Diamond & Goldman-Rakic, 1989).

    5. Stop while it's still fun. Try again in a week and see if the right cup wins more often.

    Make it work:

    Cups and toy both too big for the mouth (AAP). A toy that squeaks under the cup makes the game too easy and twice as fun; use it on a tired day.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a baby who lifts the old cup, finds nothing, and chews it; searching the old spot after short delays is what the study found at this age (Diamond & Goldman-Rakic, 1989).

    Bring it up

    if by 12 months your baby doesn't look for a toy they saw you hide (CDC).

  • Normal

    a cup thrown across the room instead of lifted.

    Go to the ER now

    if your baby is hard to wake, isn't alert when awake, or seems confused (AAP).

  • Normal

    a day of no interest in any game with a low fever and a runny nose.

    Call within 24 hours

    if your baby has a fever with no other symptoms for more than 2 days, any fever that lasts more than 3 days, or a fever that comes back after a day without one (AAP).

For you

The mother at the front door with a tote bag, turned back to wave at the baby on the father's hip, the baby's arm out toward her, the door half open on a bright street.

The game that proves memory also explains the door. The same baby who now knows a toy exists under a cup knows you exist when you're gone, and has little sense of how long gone is; the AAP calls the crying that follows a sign of attachment (AAP). It's one skill, pointed at a duck and then at you. The cup comes off and the duck is there. The door opens and you're there. Say a quick, cheerful goodbye every time instead of sneaking out (CDC), and the memory you're building is that hidden things come back.

If you're the partner: you're the cup today. Step behind the door for a count of five and come back saying "Here I am," three times. It's the same game, and you're the better toy.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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