 Your
baby 12 to 18 months
Officially, your baby is now a toddler. His world will become a much
more exciting place because not only is he up on two feet but he now has
his hands free so he can move around and hold things at the same time.
This is an exhausting time for parents - he will need careful watching
at all times. His physical growth will begin to slow but his mental ability
and language skills will take off. This is the time to explore, experiment
and discover things for himself.
©
NCT Publishing
What your baby can
do
- Some babies walk as early as nine months while others don’t
take a step until 16 months or so. When he is ready your baby will walk.
However, if he is not walking alone by 18 months talk to your GP or
health visitor
- He will deliberately drop or throw toys down to see where they
go or to have you retrieve them; it’s a great game!
- He will look in the right direction for toys which have rolled
out of sight
- He can point to the things he likes
- He may show a preference for one hand, but uses both happily
- He can hold a small toy in each hand
- If you build one first, he can copy a two brick tower
- He can hold a crayon in his fist and scribble to and fro
- He will also enjoy covering himself, the highchair and the
floor in food as he attempts to feed himself with a spoon. By now he
will enjoy food as much because it can be squished as because it tastes
good, and this sort of exploration is all part of your baby learning
through play. Don’t be surprised if he becomes a picky eater around
now
Language development
Now is the time for first words, though it may take a while for you to
realise that he is saying the same word for the same thing. Babies do
vary though; he may be too busy walking and exploring to do much with
language yet.
- His first words may be slow to come, but new ones will follow
rapidly
- He will begin to use words for things that excite him such
as Dog, Mum, Ball
- He can say between 6 and 20 recognisable words, although he
understands many more
- His pronunciation will be poor and often only you will understand
him
- He can point to parts of his body when you name them
How you can help
- Match what you say with what you do and with your facial expressions
or gestures
- Look at your child when you speak to him and leave him time
to respond
- Let your emotions shine through your words; they’ll have
more impact that way: ‘Wow, look at that great big tower you’ve
built’. ‘Oh no! Your tower’s crashed’
Toys for this stage
What he needs now is your presence, your inspiration and your gentle
help when things go wrong.
- Make believe toys: a telephone, some plastic food, a teddy.
These encourage talking and imaginative play
- Building bricks: he may build small towers of his own or prefer
simply to knock yours down. Good for hand-eye co-ordination
- Play-dough: fun for squishing. A rolling pin and a shaped cutter
will extend play. He will enjoy watching you make things too
- Push and pull-along toys: good for improving balance and co-ordination.
Push alongs give confidence to early walkers while pull alongs are popular
when your toddler realises he can walk backwards. Look for ones with
a low wide base so they are less likely to tip over
- First jigsaws: individual pieces with knobs on to make them
easy to hold are ideal at this stage
- Musical instruments: children enjoy joining in with making
music. First instruments are those to shake or bang
There are no standard developmental tests for this stage.
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