Your little one’s ‘baby phase’ is slowly coming to a close and her ‘toddler phase’ is about to begin. With the onset of 12 month old baby development milestones, you will have a busy month ahead, not only because you have to plan your adorable one’s birthday party, but also because you have to plan and prepare for the next 12 months with your bundle of joy.
In this article:
- Physical Development Milestones
- Cognitive Development Milestones
- Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Language & Communication Milestones
- Eating & Feeding Milestones
- Emerging Skills
- Advanced Skills
- Baby Care for Your Twelve Month Old
- What You Can Do As Parents?
- Setting Expectations for Your Toddler’s Behaviour
- When to Be Concerned?
Physical Development Milestones
- Your baby points at things of interest with her index finger, especially if she wants something or if she finds something amusing.
- As her muscles have developed, she will exert that extra push on her push toy. And don’t be surprised if she treats some light furniture like a push toy too.
- Will rise and stand without taking the help of furniture or people.
- Tough she may wobble; she can walk a few steps without support and will soon be cruising adeptly. Now and then however, she may be happy just to crawl, especially if she is in a hurry.
- By this month, your baby will have 3 pairs of teeth.
- Your little one will be able to use various grips by now such as Palmar Grasp, Pincer Grasp and Raking Grasp to pick up and hold objects.
- Due to her improved vision, she will have better hand-eye coordination and better judgement of distance.
Cognitive Development Milestones
- Your baby is old enough to not be concerned or confused when you hide any of her toys. She knows by now which are the likely places you would have hidden it, which she can recall, and will search for it at those places. Even if you have burried it under something, you most likely will find it.
- Her improved visual memory enables her to recall both general and visual information.
- Knows which side of the phone is meant to be held to her ear.
Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Your little one will hold on to you tightly if something scares her.
- When confronted with new people, she may become shy and even panic sometimes.
- As she is fast developing social bonds, she will begin to show her preference to be in the company of certain people.
- Enjoys, observes and imitates others during play.
- You can sometimes see her being super affectionate, snugly and cuddly.
Language & Communication Milestones
- She must be speaking her (full and clear) first word during this month, if she hasn’t already. She may possibly speak even two or three words by now.
- Your baby can now understand simple instructions and requests.
- Starts to imitate the words that you say.
- Starts to use exclamations like ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’
- Shakes her head in a firm ‘No’ to express displeasure or something she doesn’t want to get involved in.
Eating & Feeding Milestones
- Continue breast feeding your baby as long as both you and your baby are on board (do check with your paediatrician). However, since she is entering her second year, you may reduce feeding her with a bottle and make her drink from a cup.
- This is also time to give her more variety of solid foods to provide her better nutrition.
Emerging Skills
- Your little one can distinguish different tastes and will start having preference for certain foods.
- Will try to speak or be able to speak more than two to three words.
Advanced Skills
- Will consciously try and avoid taking support to walk.
- Crawls like a breeze and reaches different corners of your home in a jiffy.
Baby Care for Your Twelve Month Old
- At this point, you may switch from breast milk to cow milk (consult your paediatrician) and feed her more solids, especially fruits.
- Since your baby will be eating different types of foods now, it is time to start brushing her teeth regularly with a soft baby toothbrush or a soft and clean cloth.
- It is important to establish a ritual before she hits the bed, such as giving her a shower and reading a book to her, to indicate it is bed time for her.
- A daily schedule for meal time, indoor play time and outdoor play time is important too, so that she knows what to expect after a meal, before her next meal, after a nap and before her next nap.
- Unless your doctor has something to say, do not worry about your baby’s weight. Make sure you feed her nutritious food, as these are important times when her body is busy building immunity.
What You Can Do As Parents?
- Always make time to read picture books for your child.
- Listen actively whenever she asks for your attention. Exercise patience, especially if she too demanding, though it may sometimes be annoying. It would mean a lot for your child.
- She will start collecting things like car keys and house keys. Make sure you keep hang them at a designated place beyond her reach.
- You may already have ‘baby proofed’ your home. But you now need to take it a notch further, as she is now very mobile and can reach relatively higher places at her will.
- Chances are that your baby is often not too keen to take time off for sleep from her action-packed daily schedule. It is therefore important that you keep a close watch on her sleep routine to ensure that her ‘batteries’ are always charged.
- She will still need at least two naps a day for about three to four hours during the day and about ten to twelve hours at night.
Setting The Expectations for Your Toddler’s Behaviour
The beginning of the second year is an ideal time to start setting expectations for your child’s behaviour, like:
- What is okay and what is not okay.
- What is safe and what is not safe.
- What is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
This becomes critical, as she is fast developing her memory and personality as a child. These times, therefore, could well be the building blocks of what kind of personality she will become as she grows older.
You must remember that the norms you set won’t ‘rule’ your baby during the few upcoming weeks or even fortnights. However, it is important that you set and make sure she acts on these (basic and necessary) expectations so that she is wired well to manage herself as she grows.
When to Be Concerned?
- Baby doesn’t imitate anything or anyone at all.
- Unable to sit or stand without support.
- Unable to crawl and therefore moves around dragging using the legs.
- Doesn’t speak even one or two words clearly.
So a year ago, one of the most special and the most adorable people by far, came into your life. The first year of motherhood is a rollercoaster ride to say the least, filled with a whirlwind of sleepless nights and a lot, lot more.
We at Childhood.In want you to know that you’re an incredible parent to your amazing one-year-old. You gave it your all and you gave your best. And if there is one person who knows how much you have already given, are still giving and will always continue to give your baby – it is you! That’s what makes you a very special person too.
Thanks to you, we take this opportunity to wish a happy birthday to that really special person in your life. That’s not all. We’re also wishing you a Mum Anniversary. Congratulations! Well done and go celebrate!
It’s been an absolute pleasure sharing your baby’s first year with you.
Note: Each baby is different and therefore tends to grow at a different pace. Chances are that your little one may have crossed certain milestones already, or is probably a little behind on a few others, which is normal. If you still feel there is something of concern, do speak to your paediatrician/registered professional child healthcare provider.
