The "Oopsie" Game for Baby

It may seem like a giggly, repetitive game to you, but object permanence and cause-and-effect are two very important skills to your baby.

The scene: Your dinner table. Your eight-month-old is in her high chair with an enticing array of foods before her. Your baby has her bib and her spoon. So, is she eating? No! Instead, your baby is merrily tossing her spoon overboard — over and over and over again — and giggling with glee every time you pick it up and return it to her. Is your baby simply enjoying watchig you stoop down to the floor? Is she trying to drive you crazy on purpose?

Nope. Your baby's brain is just busy working on two big concepts: cause and effect ("When I throw this, Mom picks it up! Cool!") andobject permanence ("I can't see this while it's under my chair, but wow! There it is again!"). As annoying (and hard on your back) as it may seem, this drop-it-again-and-again routine is a sign of these crucial cognitive development of memory and abstract-thinking skills.

Cause and effect: Your little scientist experiments with this concept for a long time, starting as early as four or five months when she realizes that kicking a toy that dangles from her baby gym makes music play. She'll continue to try lots of different what-if games (with toys, household objects, the family pet — anything she can get her hands on) to figure out all the amazing things she can do: Press this toy here? Bzzz — it vibrates. Pull this handle? Voila! Door opens. Knock over a sippy cup? Uh-ohhhh! Water everywhere! Yep, pretty powerful stuff!

Object permanence: Your baby is beginning to grasp the concept that "out of sight" doesn't equal "out of mind." The good news: She'll enjoy hide-and-seek games and toys and peekaboo; and she'll start to grasp that you're a VIP — the same one who greets her in the morning, cares for her during the day, and snuggles her to sleep at night. But (and here's the bad news) that realization also leads to separation anxiety: since she knows that when she can't see you, you're still somewhere out there — and you'd better come quick!

So, between the countless uh-ohs and peekaboos you'll be racking up over the next few months, understand that your baby isn't just getting her kicks. Her brain is taking giant strides — and that's no accident! So be patient, Mommy, but be very, very proud.