One of the key early cognitive skills that babies develop is object permanence. This is their understanding that an object still exists, even when they cannot see it. This understanding can begin to develop from 4 months and is often seen between 4 and 7 months old. You might first notice your child is developing this skill when they look for things they have dropped from the buggy or highchair. At 6 months my daughter drove me mad with her ‘game’ of knocking things off the highchair and shouting until I picked them up, only to know them over again straight away!

Here are some toys and games to support babies in developing their understanding of object permanence.

Peekaboo

A real classic! Holding up a muslin or blanket so that your baby can’t see you and then dropping it with a ‘peekaboo’. So great for early engagement, peekaboo also helps to build a child’s eye contact and reading of facial expression. Young babies often enjoy copying animated facial expressions and sounds. They may begin to put a muslin on their own head in the hope that you will play the game with them. Support your baby’s social interaction skills by building in some anticipation with slow expressive counting; one…two…three…. Peekaboo! Or with ready, steady… go.

Sensory scarf hide and seek

Sensory scarves are small square pieces of translucent fabrics which can be used for all sorts of games. They are a good first step into object permanence as the child can see through the fabric so even if an object is covered they can still see it and know that it is there. Cover a favourite toy and help your child to seek it. Then encourage them to hide something.

Ball drop

Dropping a ball through a tube and watching it pop out of the end is a game older babies can enjoy over and over! Starting with a clear or open tube you baby will be able to see the ball and can work on practising their visual tracking skills too. Dropping a ball into a box or solid tube is a great next step in developing their understanding of object permanence.

Posting

Posting has been a real favourite with many older babies and toddlers we have supported. Posting can be done with a wide range of objects including cards and coins. Coins make a lovely noise when hitting the bottom of a money box which help to reinforce that the coin is still there even when out if sight. This can be a good opportunity to introduce some turn taking too. First Clara’s turn, now Mummy’s turn (once language is a little more developed use pronouns first your turn, then my turn). Posting is also a great way to show that an activity is finished. Post a toy or visual card to show that a game is over.

There are some lovely wooden Montessori toys which support the development of object permanence and also some great DIY options too. We have put a collection of our favourites on this Pinterest board.

With all of these activities make sure you are supervising your child and with children who are mouthing toys be mindful of the size of the coins/balls you are using to ensure they are not a chocking hazard.

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