Baby's development at 12 months: how can we best encourage it?
Baby’s Development: Did you know? At 12 months a baby’s brain has doubled in size…
Let’s look at some of the baby milestones at 12 months and how we can encourage their further development.
Baby's helpless newborn days feel like a lifetime away and they love being in control of their own movements.
SITTING
Baby can now shift from a lying position to a sitting position easily, can probably sit for long periods of time, and can twist and turn to reach different toys. Give your little one plenty of opportunity to manipulate toys that twist, spin, turn, crank, dump and fill. Help your new toddler tackle new challenges and carefully supervised risks so that they can hone new skills and master new firsts.
STANDING
At this stage baby may already be able to pull him/herself up to a standing position, or may even be taking a few steps by holding onto the furniture for support. This is known as ‘cruising’. About 50% of babies can stand for a few moments without support during month 12. Create a safe environment for your little one to practice these movements and supervise them closely.
WALKING
About 1 in 4 babies at this age are starting to walk. Of course, some babies are in no rush and this is all perfectly normal. No matter how your little one is getting around these days independent mobility is providing plenty of independence, whenever they are craving it! Help baby take their first few steps whilst holding their hands. Push toys and baby walkers help with walking, strength and balance.
TALKING
Baby is probably saying a few words that you can understand, and making other noises and gestures to communicate. Keep talking to them all the time and speak to them in any other languages you know too. Baby's hearing is now super accurate which means they are listening with closer attention than before. Baby loves to look and listen at the same time, making reading books really fun and interesting.
UNDERSTANDING
Baby is like a sponge right now, absorbing activity around them, trying to make sense of things and beginning to tie words to their meanings. Baby continues to feel everything with their hands and mouth to gain a better understanding of texture and purpose. Baby loves feeling different textures and cool sensations such as the feeling of water pouring from cup to cup in the bathtub. Play imaginary games, for example, chat on a toy phone, pretend to feed toys…
There’s only one first birthday…!
