This simple tent game is great fun and very reassuring for babies just beginning to understand that out of sight doesn't mean out of mind.
Appropriate for:
7 to 15 months
Skills developed:
Understanding of object permanence
What you'll need:
Two chairs and a long tablecloth, sheet, or blanket
Throw a large blanket, sheet, or tablecloth over two chairs placed a couple of feet apart so that it reaches all the way to the floor, making a tent. Hide a doll or stuffed animal in the tent and ask about it: "Where's Teddy?" Lift the cloth to reveal your baby's hidden friend (or help your baby do this) and exclaim, "There's Teddy!"
You can encourage your baby to hide in the tent if he or she isn't scared by this. (Get down there first yourself and coax your baby along.) Then demonstrate how, when you're outside the blanket and your baby is underneath, you can't see him or her. Ask, "Where's my baby?" When he or she peeks out from under the cloth, say, "There's my baby!"