“1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10! Ready or not, here I come!!”
Today we spent the afternoon playing hide-and-seek in the ooh noo playroom. It's such a simple game that never ceases to entertain kids of all ages! And adults, too.
Now our growing collection of kids furniture and toys offers even more hiding spots. Still, we were amazed to see how this little one came up with fun and curious places to hide, showing that the only limit to fun is one's imagination. (Really, did she think we wouldn't see her behind Mister Crocodile?!)
And while you might think that hide-and-seek is just a game to play and pass the time with your kids, it's actually a very beneficial developmental activity for children.
Children get to take turns being the seeker, which also gives them a chance to practise their counting skills. With older kids, you can even get them to count to higher numbers or to practise their multiplication tables by counting by twos, threes, fives or tens.
Then there's the opportunity for kids to gain a little patience and stamina while they wait to be found. After all, it may be the only time you can get a toddler to “hold still” longer than 3 seconds.
It's also a fun way to practise language skills with your child. When you find him or her, you can reinforce concepts like “in”, “behind” and “under” by saying things like: “Ooh, it was so hard to find you under those sheets!” or “I didn't think to look for you behind the screen.”
We found that our little friend really enjoyed crawling and squeezing into places that adults couldn't reach. It gave her a bit of physical activity which helped with her coordination and we certainly loved listening to her giggle and squeal every time we found her.