Babies develop so quickly and are learning constantly, which often makes it difficult to keep up with all the new skills emerging. This can also lead to anxiety and worry that your child is not developing at the level they should be, especially when other toddlers are doing things that your little one has not yet mastered.
The major milestone of walking normally happens anywhere from 9 months to 18 months. This is a very large timespan, so there will be the baby that is already walking at 10 months and there will be the mum that is worried her toddler is still not walking at 15 months. However, both of these cases are normal and not a cause for concern. It only becomes something to be worried about if your baby is still not walking at 18 months old. It is at this point when any professionals will start to look into possible reasons why.
The other major milestone is talking, which actually begins at around 3 months when a baby will start to babble and experiment with sounds. The important first words typically come between 12 -17 months, but as all babies are different and learn new skills at different rates this doesn’t mean that there is something wrong if the first word doesn’t come close to 1 years old.
Brain development comes in leaps, which goes somewhat to explain why you may experience your little one wake up one day and suddenly do something. Leaps happen to a set timescale that is determined by the babies due date. With each leap a new set of skills are unlocked. However, it may be many months until one of these new skills emerges. This is because babies will learn skills depending on their personality and what interests them most.
With the rapid development of babies comes the need to keep up with age appropriate toys. Toys that are challenging and interesting to the child for their age will help them to learn and grow. This can be difficult for parents, because they need to keep buying new toys and with so many out there it is increasingly difficult to know which ones to buy.
At 12 months old, toys that encourage language development are beneficial. There are a lot of toys that are multi stage, meaning that under the age of 1 they have a music mode for fun, but they also have a learning mode where they will introduce new words, phrases and help a child to learn as they play. See the top toys for 1 year olds for a comprehensive list of the best toys for young toddlers along with the reasons why they are beneficial.
In addition to providing the right toys for a 1 year old, there are games you can play together. A favourite for toddlers is copying mummy. For this you need to sit facing your baby so they can see your face, then do something they can mimic. A good one to start with is, sticking out your tongue, or flapping your arms like a chicken. When your baby copies you, make sure you cheer and clap to encourage them to copy more.
Another game that is great for those times when you need to keep your baby entertained while you are busy cooking, is to provide your baby with a selection of plastic containers. The best boxes are those which can be stacked and also provide some utensils, like wooden spoons, a whisk and spatula. Even some pots and pans will add to the fun.
Learning at 12 months should be fun and mostly learning through play. All children develop at different rates, but there are toys and games that can help to encourage certain skills to be mastered.