There are lots of things to love about hide-and-seek – it gives kids a new way to think about familiar places, it’s fun for a wide range of ages, and the directions are simple – but there are hundreds of ways to jazz it up into something even more exciting. Unfortunately, there are also ways a friendly game of hide-and-seek can go wrong, from hard feelings about who’s going to be the hider and who’s going to be the seeker to not-so-safe hiding places. That’s why it’s lucky that some of the variations on one of childhood’s staple games involve hiding things that aren’t children at all.
Hide-and-seek by proxy
Whether your little one wants to be the hider or the seeker, hiding an object rather than a person gives the game a chance to be something you really play together – after all, in traditional hide-and-seek, if the hider is good at their job, they won’t see much of the seeker at all. But by hiding a favorite toy, doll, or stuffed animal, you’re setting the game up so that the two of you seek together – and if the seeker is having trouble, the hider can help the seeker out with some “warm,” “hot,” or “cold” directions while on the hunt for the hidden treasure.
This variation is also a great way to introduce the idea of scavenger hunts!
