Chorevia

Day 197 of 300 · Week 27

Things come back

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 10 sources · Plain-text version

Toward the end of this month, many babies start to grasp that a hidden toy still exists. The 1985 study, the 1999 reply, and why a single look proves nothing either way.

A Black mother kneels on a bedroom rug in morning light holding a muslin cloth half over a red toy car, her twenty-seven-week-old propped sitting against the white father's knees, reaching for it.

The cloth goes over the toy. Your baby looks at the cloth, then at you. Somewhere in there, an idea is forming.

Heart

Toward the end of this stage, many babies start to grasp object permanence, the idea that things still exist when they're hidden, and games like peekaboo help them keep practicing for months (AAP). The milestone itself is later: looking for something dropped out of sight is on the 9-month list (CDC). The next guide describes the arc: by about 8 months a baby lifts a scarf to find a hidden toy, and by 10 months keeps searching, because they now know objects exist out of sight (AAP). Today is the first draft of that.

Head

How early the idea begins is a real argument. In 1985, Baillargeon and colleagues reported that 5-month-olds looked longer at a screen that seemed to rotate right through a hidden box, as if they knew the box was still there (Baillargeon et al., 1985, as described by Rivera et al., 1999). In 1999, another team removed the box entirely, and babies still looked longer at the bigger rotation, which suggests a simple preference for more motion rather than knowledge of the box (Rivera et al., 1999). The debate isn't settled. Hiding games are good fun either way; the research is a reason not to read too much into a single look.

Body

The practical version is "things come back," and it's on the guide's short list of what to teach now: peekaboo and hiding games teach that people and toys still exist out of sight (AAP). People, too. Tell your baby matter-of-factly when you're leaving, even just for another room, and come back saying so (AAP). "Mama's going to the kitchen. Back soon. Here I am." The toy under the cloth and the parent behind the door are the same lesson, and the second one matters more in the months ahead.

Try today

  1. The baby tugging the muslin cloth off the toy car with one fist, mouth open in a squeal, the mother's face popping out from behind her own hands at the same moment.

    Peekaboo and hide the toy

    Time: A few minutes · Peekaboo and hide the toy in the guide

    1. Cover your face with your hands or a cloth, then pop out: "Peekaboo!" (AAP).

    2. Next, while your baby watches, slide a cloth over a toy so half of it still shows.

    3. Wait. If they pull the cloth or grab the showing half, celebrate. If they look away, lift it yourself: "There it is!"

    4. Stop while they're still laughing.

    Make it work:

    Keep the toy partly showing. Searching for things fully out of sight is a 9-month milestone (CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a baby who forgets the toy the moment it's covered; that's expected for months yet (CDC).

    Call your pediatrician

    if your baby doesn't laugh, squeal, or trade sounds with you (CDC).

  • Normal

    eyes that lock onto your face the moment you reappear.

    Call your pediatrician

    if your baby's eyes consistently turn in or out (AAP).

  • Normal

    a game that's over after two minutes.

    Call your pediatrician

    if your baby has lost skills they used to have (CDC), and call 911 if your baby can't be woken up, isn't moving, or is very weak (AAP).

For you

The mother alone on the porch steps with a cup of coffee, looking at nothing in particular, the father visible through the screen door reading a board book to the baby.

Don't read too much into a single look. That's the lesson of the 1999 study, where a longer stare turned out to mean "more motion," not "I understand hidden boxes" (Rivera et al., 1999). It applies to you as well. A blank morning, a flat afternoon, one day where you didn't enjoy any of it: a single look, not a diagnosis.

What counts is the pattern. Feelings that are severe or last longer than 2 weeks may be postpartum depression, and it responds to treatment (NIMH). Two weeks is the cloth coming off; a day is a glance.

If you're the partner: your baby's version of the game has a second player. When she leaves the room, say "She'll be back," and when she walks in, say "There she is." You're teaching the same thing.

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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