Pregnancy
12-18 Months: Babies in Motion -- Milestones
1. Moves from place to place.
Controlling their movements and exploring new ways to get around are major preoccupations of eighteen-month-olds. They fall down a great deal as they walk uncertainly with their arms extended for balance and try to gain speed while running. They're excited by their new skills as stopping and starting become easier, but turning corners remains a challenge. One-year-olds are busy pushing and pulling things, climbing on furniture, trying to crawl up stairs, and are starting to play simple games such as rolling a ball to someone. For example:
Developing as expected, they might:
- sit in a chair without support
- walk upright more than they crawl
- start and stop more easily than before
- squat down to pick up a toy or a crumb of food they discover on the rug and stand up again with little difficulty
- move smoothly from sitting to standing
- climb up and turn themselves around in order to sit in a chair
- climb up the stairs on their hands and knees
- push and pull toys as they walk around
- stand with their feet wide apart and sway side to side in time to music
Needing development, they might:
- continue to use their arms for support when sitting
- find it difficult to get from sitting to standing
- continue crawling as the fastest way to get from here to there
- bump into furniture and trip a lot while trying to move around
2. Uses hands to engage in a variety of activities and social games.
Eighteen-month-olds are able to do fairly intricate things with their hands, but they continue to use their whole arm rather than just their hands for fine motor activities. Although they fumble and drop things, when they have a plan, they don't deviate from it even when it doesn't work–for example, trying to jam a puzzle piece into the wrong space, or a shape block into the wrong hole. They can now use one hand in opposition to the other, pick up two objects in one hand, and turn or twist their wrists to rotate things. For example:
Developing as expected, they might:
- fit two cups together, one inside the other
- stack the rings on the ring tree, although not in the right order
- use their thumb and forefinger to pick up pieces of cereal
- pick up two small toys in one hand
- turn the pages of the book and point to pictures while you read to them
- hold the toy telephone receiver up to their ear with one hand and poke at the number buttons with the other hand
- hold a toy in one hand as they touch and explore it with the other hand
- reach with confidence for the things they want to pick up
- drop as many as two or three wooden beads into a container, before dumping them out and starting over again
Needing development, they might:
- carry one toy at a time, putting it down in order to pick up another toy
- continue to have trouble releasing objects, as when throwing a ball, letting it go too soon so it doesn't go where they intended
- bang two blocks together repeatedly, as they did when they were younger
- have trouble stacking the table blocks as they want, because their finger control is awkward
3. Begins to participate in self-help activities.
As caregivers talk with babies while they change, bathe, dress, and feed them, babies become very interested in participating in everyday care routines. When caregivers praise them for helping and tell them what is happening, they begin to participate with enthusiasm. For example:
Developing as expected, they might:
- hold their own cup or plastic glass when drinking
- use a spoon to feed themselves, even though awkwardly
- pick up small pieces of food and put them in their mouth
- help in dressing by poking their arm into the sleeve of a shirt
- hold out their foot for a sock or shoe, although they might pull it off again right away
- help their caregiver pick up and put away toys
- pick up big pieces of cracker or toast and feed themselves
- not notice what is happening during dressing and bathing
- cry during bathtime
- drink from their bottle and show little interest in using a cup
- grab the spoon, but then just play with it or throw it on the floor, rather than try to use it for eating
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