Your baby has likely received a few stuffed animals since her birth. Wondering if they can serve a purpose other than looking cute, cuddling comfort, and collecting dust? With a little creativity, you can use stuffed toys to engage your baby, to build basic number skills, and to make the simple game of peek-a-boo a bit more interesting.
How to Play
- Hide the stuffed animal behind your back.
- Pop it out on the left side of your body and either say your child’s name or an animated “peek-a-boo.”
- Return the animal behind your back, then pop it out on the right side of your body.
- Keep alternating left then right sides in this manner.
- After several rotations, rather than alternating left then right side, have it appear three times in a row on the same side.
- Then start the game all over again.
When You Can Begin
You can begin playing the game sometime between 3 and 4 months of age, when her eyesight and depth perception are developed. By this time, she can follow objects with her eyes and judge how far away they are. The game will continue to be a delight throughout the first year.
Why It Works
Though initially you may not see a reaction, she is beginning to learn the concept of quantity. Understand that she is not learning to count, but the point of the repeated activity is for her to have an early awareness of quantity. As you play the game over a period of months, you will start to see your baby show a visible reaction to the disruption. She understands that when you have changed from a set of one to a set of three, something different has happened. She's not going to be doing addition or subtraction any time soon, but she has grasped that a quantity of 1 is not the same as a quantity of 3. That is no small feat for a baby that has not yet reached her first birthday.
Variation of the Game
- Tickle your baby in sets of three.
- Offer an engaging, “Tickle, tickle, tickle!” as you play.
- Repeat the set 5- 6 times before suddenly changing it to a set of two.
Your child will build the concept of quantity with this simple, yet fun game. Just watch out for baby slobber!
