Toddler Milestones Washington DC

Motor development

• May stand on own for a few seconds without support
• May walk on own or still practicing by building up leg muscles to walk independently in a couple of months. Keep in mind that all children begin to walk at different ages
• Enjoys throwing balls

Intellectual and language development

• Your baby may now have a small collection of words such as 'bye" or "hi" that she enjoys saying
• She will also enjoy babbling short sentences that only she understands!
• The average number of words for a 12-month old is three.   He may say parts of words such as "ba" for "ball
• He can now understand that certain objects do certain things. For instance, a brush brushes hair or a spoon stirs
• He can now use simple gestures, such as nodding head, for yes

Social and emotional development

• Shows you when she needs some help
• Loves to imitate and play simple games with you
• Will assert independence and insist upon feeding himself  (very messily probably!) - This is a great age to offer finger foods. Another good idea is to have two spoons at meal times - one for your baby and one for you. Hopefully, some food will make it in to the mouth!
• May show resistance to taking naps and going to sleep at night time 

Ways to encourage your baby's growth and learning

• Hold your baby's hands while she walks around the house exploring new things
• Use books with pictures of real objects. Often your baby will look at the correct object when named and may point to familiar objects
• Talk often to your 12-month old--they are paying very close attention to your speech and language. Just give a running commentary on what you're doing as you go about your daily tasks. Your baby will really enjoy this no matter how mundane it sounds to you!