Your Baby at Month 12 (1 year)

Your baby’s first big birthday has arrived. It’s incredible how much your baby has developed in the last 12 months.¹ In just a year, your baby has transformed from a new-born into an independent little “on the go” person learning to walk, run, climb, and jump.^2,3

From 8 to 12 months of age, your baby will become more and more mobile, a development that will excite and challenge both of you. Being able to move will give your baby their first real taste of physical independence.² Below are some other milestones to look out for during this time.

Movement Milestones²

Your baby may:

• Get to sitting position without assistance
• Crawl forward on belly by pulling with arms and pushing with legs
• Assume hands-and-knees position
• Get from sitting to crawling position
• Pull self-up to stand
• Walk holding on to furniture
• Stand briefly without support
• Walk 2-3 steps without support

Milestones in Hand and Finger Skills²

You baby may:

• Bang two cubes together
• Put objects into container/take them out of the container
• Let go of objects voluntarily
• Poke with the index finger
• Imitate scribbling

Language Milestones²

You’ll observe that your baby now:

• Pays increasing attention to speech and respond to simple verbal requests
• Responds to “no.”
• Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no.”
• Says “dada” and “mama.”
• Uses exclamations, such as “oh-oh!”
• Tries to imitate words

Cognitive Milestones²

Your baby may now:

• Explore objects in multiple ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping)
• Find hidden objects easily
• Look at the correct picture when the image is named
• Imitate gestures
• Begin to use objects correctly (for instance, brushing hair, listening to the receiver)

Social and Emotional Milestones²

Over the past few months, your baby has learned to show emotions. Your baby may:

• Act shy or anxious with strangers
• Cry when mother or father leaves
• Show specific preferences for certain people and toys
• Tests parental responses to his/her behaviour (e.g. what do you do when they refuse food?)
• Repeat sounds or gestures for attention
• Finger-feed themselves
• Extend arm or leg to help when being dressed

Helping baby development during this time^1,4

• Talk to your baby- Talking to your baby about everyday things will help them understand words better
• Respond when your baby makes sounds by repeating the sounds and adding words to encourage two-way conversation and build your baby’s communication skills
• Reading to your baby can encourage their talking and imagination
• Sing to your baby and play music to help with his/her brain development
• Cuddling and holding your baby will help them feel safe
• Play with your baby when he/she’s alert and relaxed. If your baby seems tired or fussy, take a break from playing.

Parenting is hard work! You will be able to enjoy your new baby and be a positive, loving parent only when you are taking good care of yourself.⁴