Top 5 Ways to Use a Baby Blanket: Part 3, Search Party
Twenty-one years ago, I discovered that my 5 month-old was ready to play hide and seek.
I didn’t mean to. Really.
My teaching colleagues in Panama had gifted my new baby with an assortment of of hand-appliqued blankets (sheets, actually — this was a tropical birth).
Five months later, back in the US, and past her swaddling stage, my daughter used to enjoy looking at the brightly colored ducks and ginghams that bordered the sheets. She also spent a lot of time on her tummy, reaching for and touching the embroidery stitches that illustrated the layette.
On a breezy morning, as my baby lay on the floor, kicking, making spit bubbles, and generally getting on with her day, I decided to offer her a covering. As I spread it over her, I misjudged where it would land, and the blanket-sheet ended up covering Mariel’s face. She gasped. Loudly.
I quickly snatched the offending cloth away, while moving in close so that I could scoop up my first-born for a little reassurance or soothing, or whatever she might need after such a regrettable and shocking slip-up on my part. But then she squealed. Loudly. Kicked, too.
I stared at her, confused. She stared at me, bright-eyed. Drooling. So, I righted myself — back on my knees, at her feet, sheet in hands, like before. Very carefully, and pretty slowly, I fanned the sheet in the air, and allowed it to drift again onto her face. Another gasp, another snatch, and another squeal later, we had ourselves a game! I wanted a turn! I laid down on the floor beside my baby, and covered up — then whisked away own facial covering. The gasping, squealing, and drooling carried on. Baby seemed like she enjoyed it, too.
There is a more methodical, less risky way to introduce hide and seek or peekaboo games to your infant.
- Start by positioning yourself so that you and baby are making eye contact.
- Engage in a familiar activity like a simple conversation (with plenty of gentle tones and smiling).
- Then tell baby you are going to play peekaboo.
- Cover your eyes with your hands, then call baby’s name.
- When you think that baby has had enough time to notice what is different about your appearance, slowly open your hands and cheerily say, “I see you!”
- Take note of your baby’s reaction, then go with the flow. If baby wants more, Yay! If baby isn’t ready, try another time.
This game becomes mutually amusing when your baby enjoys hiding, then peeking at you. Interacting this way (with words and body) is another great learning opportunity for social skills like turn-taking, knowing how to play a game, and learning that vocal intonations vary with meaning.
When you are certain that the game is all in good fun for your child, you can use a lightweight blanket to cover more and more of her body. She’ll learn more words (arms, toes, feet, legs, face) when you make it fun to do so.
Thanks for walking (crawling?) down memory lane with me. I loved those sheets, and used them every day. They became burp cloths, and even floor cloths on which Mariel practiced her rolling over skills. Then her rolling-back skills. When I nursed her in public, they were my covers — for a moment, anyway. Like I said, Mariel loved playing hide and seek, even when it gave others too much of a peek.
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Carly Jennings | Parenting Skills | 
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