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Hiding game

Peekaboo

Takes about:
3 minutes to play
Good for:
Baby, Toddler

You hide your face, your baby waits, and you pop back out with a grin. Peekaboo is often the first real game you play together, and all it needs is your hands.

It’s more than a giggle. Each round is a tiny back-and-forth: you take a turn, your baby answers, and you go again.

How to play

  1. Get face to face. Sit your baby where they can see you close up: on your lap, in a bouncer, or on their back on the floor.
  2. Hide. Cover your face with your hands or a light cloth. Ask, “Where’s Daddy gone?”, or whatever your baby calls you.
  3. Pause. Wait a second or two. The waiting is half the fun.
  4. Pop back. Drop your hands with a big smile and a cheerful “Peekaboo!”
  5. Wait for their turn. Give your baby time to smile, kick or squeal back, then hide again. Keep the words and timing the same each round.
  6. Stop when they’ve had enough. If they look away, fuss or go quiet, take a break and try again later.

Why it helps

  • The NHS suggests playing peekaboo with babies from 6 to 12 months, and says games like it teach them to take turns, pay attention and listen.1
  • Jerome Bruner and Nancy Ratner filmed two mothers playing with their babies. Their hiding games followed the same steps each time, so the babies could tell what was coming, and over time mother and baby began to swap roles. The researchers saw games like this as early practice for conversation.2
  • In a study of 29 babies aged 6 to 8 months, babies smiled less when a different adult popped out from hiding, and the drop was bigger in the older babies. The researchers think part of the joy of peekaboo is getting what you expect: the same face, back again.3
  • Researchers at Harvard call this kind of back-and-forth “serve and return”, and say that when an adult answers a baby’s sounds and gestures, it helps build connections in the baby’s brain.4

As they grow

  • Baby: Start with your hands over your face. Once your baby is reaching and grabbing, hide a toy under a cloth with a bit poking out, and let them pull the cloth off. Then put the cloth over your own head and let them find you. Later, give them the cloth and let them do the hiding.
  • Toddler: Move on to hide-and-seek. Hide somewhere easy, like behind a door or the sofa, with your feet showing, and call “Where am I?” so they can follow your voice. Then swap: count out loud while they hide. If they “hide” by covering their own eyes, play along and search high and low.

Tips

  • Change the words: “Boo!”, “There you are!” or your baby’s name.
  • Once your baby knows the game, try popping out from the side of the cloth, or slow down the pause. Watch their face to see if they like the change.
  • Getting a top over their head is peekaboo already: “Where’s Ava gone?… There you are!”
  • If your baby gets upset when you vanish, keep the hiding short, or hide just half your face.

Keep it safe

  • Use a thin, light cloth, like a muslin, and keep hold of it. If it goes over your baby’s face, lift it off yourself after a second. Put it away after the game, and never leave it in the cot. The NHS warns that babies under 1 can suffocate if their face gets smothered, and says to keep the cot clear of pillows and soft toys.5
  • For hide-and-seek, stay in rooms you’ve checked, with the stair gates shut. The NHS advises gates at the top and bottom of the stairs until your child is at least 2, and never letting them go up and down on their own.5
  • Agree the hiding places together. Never anywhere that can shut them in, like a washing machine, tumble dryer, toy box with a lid or car boot.

About this game

Written with AI assistance. Written by Sam and Erin with help from Claude. We’re parents, not health professionals: if you have any worries about your baby’s development, talk to your health visitor or GP. For more on why games like this matter, see Why play with your baby?

Sources

  1. NHS. Help your baby learn to talk. nhs.uk
  2. Ratner N, Bruner J. Games, social exchange and the acquisition of language. Journal of Child Language. 1978;5(3):391–401. doi.org
  3. Parrott WG, Gleitman H. Infants’ expectations in play: The joy of peek-a-boo. Cognition and Emotion. 1989;3(4):291–311. doi.org
  4. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Serve and Return. developingchild.harvard.edu
  5. NHS. Baby and toddler safety. nhs.uk

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