Motor Skills: Cruising furniture/walks with assistance Can sit from a crawling position Stands (“Look Mom, no hands!”) Climbs furniture, stairs (up, not down) Takes first wobbly steps
Fine Motor Skills: Better-developed pincer grasp; finger feeding progresses Points, pokes with index finger Stacks blocks Bangs two blocks together; begins clapping Prefers one hand to the other Takes toys out of bucket Lets go of toys voluntarily Imitates scribbling May assist with dressing by extending arms/legs
Social/Verbal Skills: More 2 syllable word sounds ("ma-ma", "da-da") Babble contains inflection of home-spoken language Responds to simple spoken requests ("sit down", "pet doggy") Learning “no” (but doesn’t always respond appropriately) Imitates nonverbal sounds (sneezes, coughs, kisses) More gesturing (wave bye-bye, shakes head "no") Shy/anxious around strangers Cries when mother/father leaves Imitates people at playtime Has preferences for certain toys and people Begins to test parental response to actions Begins to show fear Begins to prefer mother over others
Cognitive Skills: Remembers recent events (from at least a day or two prior) Finds toy when hidden under one of two covers Separation anxiety continues (may worsen) Maintains mental pictures of caregivers (“I’m coming” to crying baby stimulates mental image of caregiver and baby may stop fussing while waiting) Studies objects in several ways (looking, mouthing, shaking, banging, throwing, dropping) Looks at correct picture when image is named Begins to show understanding of various object usage (drinks from cup, brushes hair with hairbrush/teeth with toothbrush, "talks" on phone)
How to Please This Age Group: Being near parents (possibly still held a lot by them – try back carry in
sling towards end of first year) Emptying, filling buckets, baskets Mirror play Searching through kitchen cabinets Stacking blocks Singing Dolls/puppets Old magazines/newspapers Empty cardboard containers
Various Warning Signs/Contact your pediatrician if your baby: Does not yet crawl or drags one side of body while crawling Does not stand when supported Does not look for objects that have been hidden while he/she watches Says no words Uses no gestures (waving, shaking head "no", pointing to objects/pictures)
