TinyStepper
Toddler threading large beads onto a lace at a low table

Brave Steps Treasure Hunt

Hide a toy a few steps away and let your child venture out to find it, then run back for a hug.

Activity details

18m–3y10 minsmediumbothStuffed Animals

Instructions

Get ready
  • Sit on the floor or sofa with your toddler beside you.
  • Show them a favourite toy: 'Teddy wants to play hide and seek!'
  1. Sit on the floor or sofa with your toddler beside you.
  2. Show them a favourite toy: 'Teddy wants to play hide and seek!'
  3. Place the toy just 2-3 steps away, in clear sight: 'Can you go and get him?'
  4. Encourage with outstretched arms: 'Go on — I am right here!'
  5. When they bring the toy back, give a big hug and cheer: 'You found him! You are so brave!'
  6. Next round, hide the toy slightly further away — behind a cushion or around a corner.
  7. Keep the hug-on-return consistent — this is the 'secure base' reward.
  8. Stop while it is still fun — three or four rounds is usually perfect.

Parent tip

Set out stuffed animals before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Toddler at a table with a completed puzzle and neatly sorted blocks in a bright aha moment

What success looks like

Intense focus, even briefly. Watch for the small ‘aha’ moment when they figure out how something works.

Hide a favourite toy just a few steps away from where you are sitting. 'Teddy is hiding behind the cushion! Can you go and rescue him?' Your child walks the three steps, grabs teddy, and runs back to you for a celebratory hug. Each round, the toy goes slightly further. The crucial pattern is: venture out, succeed, return to base. This is secure-base behaviour in its purest form — and each successful round builds the confidence to go a little further next time.

Why it helps

Zero to Three explains that 'when caregivers are consistently attuned and engaged, the young child grows to understand they can explore their world while still feeling safe and protected.' This game makes the explore-and-return pattern explicit: venture out three steps, succeed, run back to base. Each successful round reinforces the lesson that going away and coming back works, which is the foundation of confident independence. The NHS advises reassuring clingy toddlers that 'you will be back' — and in this game, the child proves it to themselves by returning each time.

Variations

  • Use different toys each round and let them choose which one to rescue.
  • In the garden, hide toys in bushes or behind plant pots for a longer-range version.
  • For older toddlers, give clues: 'Teddy is somewhere cold...' (the fridge? the doorstep?).

Safety tips

  • Keep the hiding spots visible and safe — no high shelves, open drawers, or behind heavy furniture.
  • In outdoor versions, stay within a fenced area and maintain line of sight.
  • If the child becomes upset at the distance, bring the toy closer — push only when they are ready.

Want to try another?

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