Why tubes and containers are so essential to your baby

Your baby is beginning to understand that things fall out of a tube and stay put in a container, a concept they’ll be increasingly interested in until well after they turn 1. Research suggests babies who play with tubes and containers have a more advanced understanding of “containment,” or when something will or won’t stay inside something else.

Here are some fun ways to play with a clear tube:

• Tape the Clear Tube to the wall and have your baby reach while sitting (or stand with support) and drop the ball through the tube into the Treasure Basket below.
• Show your baby how a ball goes into and then falls out of the tube. Have them pick up the ball and do it again.
• Tilt the tube on a pillow and have your baby put the ball into it. Your baby will see it roll down the incline, like a slide, and fall out.
• The tube and floating ball are fun in the bathtub, too!

Learn more about the research

MacLean DJ, Schuler M. Conceptual development in infancy: the understanding of containment. Child Development. 1989 Oct;60(5):1126-37.

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