Developmental Milestones 12 months old
Developmental Milestones by the End of 12 Months
Social and Emotional
- Shy or anxious with strangers
- Cries when mother or father leaves
- Enjoys imitating people in his/her play
- Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
- Tests parental responses to his/her actions during feedings. (What do you do when he/she refuses a food?)
- Tests parental responses to his/her behavior. (What do you do if he/she cries after you leave the room?)
- May be fearful in some situations
- Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others
- Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
- Finger-feeds him/herself
- Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed
Movement
- Reaches sitting position without assistance
- Crawls forward on belly
- Assumes hands-and-knees position
- Creeps on hands and knees
- Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position
- Pulls self up to stand
- Walks holding on to furniture
- Stands momentarily without support
- May walk two or three steps without support
Language
- Pays increasing attention to speech
- Responds to simple verbal requests
- Responds to "no"
- Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for "no"
- Babbles with inflection
- Says "dada" and "mama"
- Uses exclamations, such as "Oh-oh!"
- Tries to imitate words
Cognitive
- Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping)
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Looks at correct picture when the image is named
- Imitates gestures
- Begins to use objects correctly (drinking from cup, brushing hair, dialing phone, listening to receiver)
Developmental Health Watch
Each baby develops in his/her own manner, so it's impossible to tell exactly when your child will perfect a given skill. Although the developmental milestones will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, don't be alarmed if his/her development takes a slightly different course.
Alert your pediatrician if your baby displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay in the 8- to 12-month age range.
- Does not crawl
- Drags one side of body while crawling (for over one month)
- Cannot stand when supported
- Does not search for objects that are hidden while he watches
- Says no single words ("mama" or "dada")
- Does not learn to use gestures, such as waving or shaking head
- Does not point to objects or pictures
Excerpted from Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, Bantam 1999 |
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