You’ve been looking forward to this bittersweet day for months, and it’s finally arrived! Your babies are now 12 months old, and starting to seem a whole lot more like tiny adults! Well, almost. There’s still a great deal of learning to do, and you’re the perfect teacher!
What to Expect
Your babies really blossom into their personalities at this time. Attitudes, humor, and social behaviors emerge. Your little ones now join in on meal time, may feed themselves, and love to explore the outdoors!
Your Baby May Now Be…
- Waving and Pointing
- Saying one or two distinct words
- Pulls to standing position while holding furniture
You can contribute to their growth and development by encouraging these new behaviors!
- Take your baby out more to interact with other children or family members.
- Go on a lot of walks outdoors. Your baby will love exploring, and using those senses!
Fun Ideas for Playtime
Reading– Sharing a book with your little ones can be so much fun at this age. You’ll find they realize books are truly fascinating! Remember, board books are a durable option.
Explore the Outdoors– Your babies will love any exploration outside of the home. A trip to the store, a walk in the park, or some play time in the front yard will all be cherished.
Singing/ Dancing– Dance parties are the best! It’s the perfect activity to be silly with your babies. Also, play associated with music has incredible benefits for the growing mind!
Toys for Development– Toys that challenge the mind and body are great for this inquisitive age. Here are a couple favorites loved by parents:
- MULTIFUNCTIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: This kids xylophone can be played in variety of ways. The kids can fetch balls as pounding sends the balls tinkling over or they can pull out the keyboard and xylophone and play a solo
- FINE MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: Promotes dexterity, hand eye coordination, manipulation, arm movement, cause and effect
- ESTABLISH MUSICALITY: This pounding toys for toddlers encourages musical development and exploration, audio recognition and play
- CHILD SAFE: Durable and child safe, contains water-based paint and has non-toxic finishes
- AWARD WINNING: The winner of the 2018 Cribsie Award of favorite first musical toy suitable for ages 12 months to 3 years
Communication
Your babies may have said their first words, but their vocabulary is only going to grow! Talking to your babies constantly is incredibly beneficial. Repetition is key at this point. When trying to get your little ones to learn a new word, try repeating it three times.
Monkey See…Monkey Do
Remember that your babies are truly starting to watch you for patterns. They look up to you, and will likely try to re-enact actions that you make. Your baby will begin to reveal new behaviors at this age, along with some fun personality quirks!
Worth Discussing
If your babies are not doing any of the following, discuss it with your doctor:
- Not enjoying eye contact or snuggles
- No interest in sounds, or music
- Not hinting at what they want
- Not crawling, or standing while holding onto something
You now officially have three toddlers, and there’s so much to teach them! There can never be too much play time, especially when it aids development, so have a blast with your little ones.
