How to Play Peekaboo

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure your baby is comfortable.

   You’ll never get your baby to sit still for a game of peekaboo if it’s hungry, tired or wet.
   
   Feed your baby before you play and make sure it takes a nap.
   
   Change its diaper if you need to.
   
   Peekaboo can be overwhelming for a baby that is already agitated.
   
   You’re baby is likely to get upset during peekaboo if all its needs are not met prior.
2. 2

   Step 2: Get your baby’s attention.

   For your baby to get the maximum benefit from a game of peekaboo, you’ll need it to make eye contact with you.
   
   You can get your baby’s attention by making a few strange sounds with your mouth or making funny faces.
   
   Try sticking out your tongue or making a distracting sound.
   
   Everything’s new to a baby, so if it hears you make a sound that it’s not used to or sees you make a face it hasn't seen before, it will be transfixed by you.
   
   Make sure not to make sounds that are too loud or faces that are too scary.
   
   You don’t want to scare your baby.
   
   Making eye contact with your baby helps it to develop social skills and prepares it to connect with people in the world. , Cover your face with your hands or drape a towel or cloth over your face.
   
   Remember that to the baby, you’re not just hiding, you’re gone.
   
   At this stage of development, babies haven’t developed an understanding of object permanence.
   
   Object permanence means that an object (you) is still there even when the baby can’t see it.
   
   For this reason, the first few games of peekaboo can be a bit shocking to the baby.You can ease your baby’s mind by talking to it while you’re hiding.
   
   You can say something like “Where’d mommy go? Where is she?” You can also hide yourself behind a piece of paper, a book or anything else that you have around. , Uncover your face and let out an excited “peekaboo!” Try showing your baby a variety of faces to see what it likes.
   
   For example, your baby might like a big smile or sticking your tongue out while scary faces or yelling "peekaboo" loudly might scare it.
   
   Make sure not to hide behind your hands for too long or your baby might become distressed, wondering whether or not you’re going to return.
   
   Watch for signs that your baby may be overwhelmed.
   
   Peekaboo can be mind-blowing for a baby.
   
   If it turns its head to side or makes a face like it’s about to cry, you may want to wait a while before playing again. , If your baby is between 4 and 6 months old, it's starting to develop object permanence.
   
   This means you can try hiding one of their favorite toys and letting them find it.
   
   When the baby finds the toy, remember to say something like "You found it!"For example, take one of the baby's stacking rings and hide it under a blanket.
   
   Let the baby try to pull the blanket up or away to reveal the ring.
   
   Reward the baby with lots of verbal praise when it does this. , Babies learn through repetition.
   
   Play peekaboo as much as you can.
   
   At first, your baby will be completely surprised that you reappear after you hide in your hands.
   
   After a while, your baby will start to suspect that you will reappear.
   
   They’ll be delighted when you prove them right.
   
   The baby learns to deduce that because you always reappear when you hide your face, you’ll probably do the same thing this time.
   
   While the baby doesn’t yet understand that you’re there the whole time, it forms a hypothesis that you will reappear.
   
   The baby is introduced to analytical thinking.
3. 3

   Step 3: Hide your face.

4. 4

   Step 4: Reveal your face.

5. 5

   Step 5: Play peekaboo with a toy.

6. 6

   Step 6: Repeat the game.

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