Origin of Peek-A-Boo
Peekaboo has always been a game played with infants between 2-8 months. Some infants and toddlers still do enjoy peekaboo, but at the young age of 2-8months this game becomes more educational. While it may seem like just a game to make the baby laugh, it’s actually helping the child to build object permanence. This is found in studies done by Jean Piaget on infants and object permanence. Basically, an infant thinks the object no longer exists once it is hidden. When an adult hides behind their hands, the infant thinks the individual is now gone. When the adult jumps out saying peekaboo, the child is startled and laughs.
Skills Children Develop
Around 2-8 months an infant is developing their object permanence. This game aids the child in understanding that mommy and daddy are still there when they hide. After 8 months of age this turns more into a game and it can lead to hide and seek. A child now knows that their toy still exists even if mommy puts it in their toy box. Peekaboo becomes a social game where a child then can learn to interact with their parents or even younger siblings. They find it fun and as a means of socialization.
Topics for Children to Explore
During peekaboo a child can learn how to hide themselves. After a good bit of playing a baby may take a blanket and hide themselves behind it. They also learn the element of surprise and when would be a good time to pop out at someone. It is also an earlier learning experience that surprises are not necessarily scary. This also takes a good bit of hand eye coordination for a child to realize where their hands need to be. They need to be able to lift their arms and cover their eyes. This also leads into the fact that they need to know where their eyes are at. Without this piece of knowledge a child may not necessarily be able to take part. Lastly, another area of exploration could be imitation. They are learning to mimic facial expressions, so they can also learn to mimic play. This is one of the earliest games you can play with your child and it reaps many benefits.
How Parents and Teachers Can Use This Rhyme
For younger children parents can play this game routinely with infants to help build the object permanence skill. Teachers and parents with children who are 1 year or older can pair this game with physically hiding. You can vary the peek a boo lyrics and say “where are you?” the child will then jump out and say “peekaboo! I’m behind the tree!” It can lead to labeling objects or even labeling prepositions to whether they where behind, on or under an object when hiding. It reaps many benefits at a young age and can also help with bonding of older siblings to younger siblings. Object permanence can be such a complex topic, but peekaboo sums it right up.