The hide and seek scare!

The hide and seek scare!

Has this ever happened to you?

My two years old daughter is a big fun of the hide and seek game. Most of the time she hides where I can clearly see her, such as behind the piano (her favorite). Then I have to pretend I cannot see her, even if her head is way above the keyboard and the piano hardly covers her body! I call her and wonder where she is until she decides to "reappear" in front of me.

I have no idea if she is getting smarter with this game, or it was just a case, but, some days ago, I experienced the extreme hide and seek version of the game. We were in our house when I realized that she was not in the place where I left her playing. I called her but no answer. I went in all the rooms and I couldn't see her. I kept calling her.

I went again in all the rooms and I noticed that one of the windows was open. We live in the ground floor! My mind started gearing with bad thoughts! She is only two years old...if she is here, why she is not answering? I decided to check if she went out somehow. The main door was locked and so was the door of the balcony! I kept calling her without an answer.

After checking all the rooms twice, my options were a lot less. I started thinking maybe the main door was opened and I did not check it right. I walked towards the door still calling her.  I finally hear some noise! Close to the main door, there is a mini storage room that we use very occasionally. The door of this room opened and there she was smiling in the dark! I still do not know how she got there as we lock this room...and how she could stay for so long in the dark just to hide?!

Overall it may have lasted 1-2 minutes....but it felt so long and very upsetting experience! I think, in normal circumstances,  I would have said to her to not do this again...but I am not sure what I did....I probably hugged and kissed her from the relieve.  I think now she is at a phase where she wants to explore and that gives her a sense of autonomy. She is definitively discovering what is independence and how her individual actions (hiding) affect the others (seeking).

Dear Emilia, If you ever read these lines, please know that being independent does not mean making mum worry :)

With love,
Sara

When she figured that covering her eyes does not count as hiding?