Looks for an object that they have dropped

Your baby has been exploring objects using their mouth and has started to look more closely at objects. They are beginning to show that they know an object still exists when they can no longer see it and will look for an object that they drop.  

Learning about objects and about the world 

Object permanence is the understanding that objects still exist and have the same physical properties even when we cannot see them. This understanding means we can think about what an object looks like if we can only see part of it, and we know what will happen if one object hits another, even when we cannot see the objects. Your baby is beginning to show their understanding of objects and object permanence.  

Understanding object permanence is linked to Piaget’s theories about how babies begin to understand objects. [1]  Piaget suggested that babies develop an understanding that objects exist and retain their properties when they cannot see them. As their ability to think symbolically develops, they can imagine what might happen to objects that they cannot see. This leads to them knowing that an object might not necessarily be found in the place where it was last seen.  

Some researchers believe that babies have this understanding of object permanence earlier than Piaget suggested, with some suggestions that babies understand object permanence from birth. [2]  These ideas link to theories that children have an innate sense of the physical world, so are born with an understanding of objects and ideas such as gravity. Some researchers suggest that children do not demonstrate their understanding of object permanence until their memory has started to develop and they remember that they were looking at or playing with an object or person. [3]   

However, scientists seem to agree that your baby’s exploration of objects will help them to develop their understanding of objects and of the physical world. As they develop control of their hands, they will drop objects and in doing this, and watching them as they drop will learn more about the effects of gravity and of their actions.  

What next? 

As your baby’s physical skills develop, they will be able to explore objects in different ways. They will continue to put objects into their mouth but will also explore what happens when they drop an object, or bang objects together.  

References 

[1] Baillargeon, R. and DeVos, J., 1991. Object Permanence in Young Infants: Further Evidence. Child Development, 62(6), pp.1227-46. 

[2] Baillargeon R. (2008). Innate Ideas Revisited: For a Principle of Persistence in Infants' Physical Reasoning. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 3(1), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00056.x 

[3] Addyman, C. (2020) The laughing baby: The extraordinary science behind what makes babies happy.  London: Unbound.