Tolo Toys

Cognitive Milestones: Reasoning, Judgement and Understanding Visually, your child is now able to follow a fast moving object and has control over his or her responses to sights and sounds. At 12 months you'll be able to see the delight of your child as he/she participates in a simple game of hide and seek. Although able to search for objects that are hidden, your child is not yet able to consider more unusual locations. A sense of attachment to a favourite toy or object may become apparent. A certain degree of separation anxiety is common at this age and clear when your child clings to you. However, in familiar settings, your child may feel comfortable enough to make brief exploratory journeys away from you. Your infant's understanding at 18 months is increasing dramatically and he/she will be able to identify common objects. Your child is also beginning to feel a sense of ownership, identifying people and objects as "my".

Language Language starts through imitation in the early days. However, now your child is starting to understand and comprehend several words. By this stage "mama" and "dada" should be common utterances, usually along with at least 2 other simple words associated with their world (shoes, cup, ball etc). Simple commands are comprehensible and your child most likely now links names with objects. He/she will still love to imitate, as vocabulary increases and comprehension sets in. Making animal sounds is a favourite pastime at this stage, especially if combined with lots of play and reading picture books together. By about 18 months your toddler will be able to say 10 words or more and will use demands such as "more" and "no" to make their needs known. When your child reaches two years old they will usually be able to communicate in short ungrammatical phrases. Re-inforcing please and thank you will help the development of good manners and social skills.

Mobility and Dexterity By 12 months your baby may be able to walk with a wide-legged gait, but do not be concerned if your child still prefers to crawl or needs extra support - Your baby is mastering the ability to sit down unaided and may be able to get to a standing position by themselves. By 18 months they should have mastered the skill of walking unaided, but probably rather unsteadily! Your infant is also busy learning manual dexterity skills and by now will be able to build and stack blocks, turn the pages of a book 2-3 at a time, hold a baby cup to drink from and use a spoon to messily eat food themselves. From about 18 months running, jumping and scrambling up onto chairs will become common - all with a lack of coordination that will improve immensely over the next few months.

Social/Behavioural Developments Your 12 month old is likely becoming a confident participant in the world - so much so that they may become a very fussy eater and display increasing negativity - which is a way of asserting themselves and testing you. Conversely, by about 15-18 months you may be able to illicit some cooperation with tasks such as dressing. Giving a child a choice in outfits is a good way to help establish some independence, extend their vocabulary and help give them an increased sense of their own individuality. From a year old your baby will be able to wave goodbye, give you a toy when asked and point out basic body parts - they will also enjoy imitating you and role playing with toys. From 18 months toilet training may start to take successful effect - although this can take a while to establish!