Object Permanence: Out of Sight, Not out of Mind

Object permanence, first studied by Jean Piaget, is the term for the concept that an object can continue to exist although it is not visible. All babies are born without object permanence. From a baby’s point of view, if something cannot be seen, it simply does not exist. As babies develop and experiment with the world around them, they begin to grasp the concept of object permanence. Generally, babies develop this understanding early in their first year.

Even though your baby will eventually learn object permanence on his or her own, you can help your baby with this process with some simple games.

Peek-a-boo is a very simple exercise for teaching object permanence. When you cover your face, your baby will believe that you do not exist. Once your face reappears, your baby will think you suddenly materialized. Peek-a-boo must be incredibly puzzling to a baby, but, eventually, the baby will figure out the secret to your magic act. After many instances of your disappearance and reappearance, your baby will finally realize that, even though you may not be visible, you still exist. Once your baby understands this, he or she has begun to grasp object permanence.

You can further build on this lesson by using a favorite toy and a blanket. Simply cover and uncover the toy with the blanket. After your baby has seen the toy disappear and reappear many times, he or she will figure out the secret. When your baby begins pulling at the blanket to reveal the covered toy, you will know that your baby has learned object permanence.