Important Milestones: By the End of One Year (12 Months)
Social and Emotional
• Shy or anxious with strangers
• Cries when mother or father leaves
• Enjoys imitating people in his play
• Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys
• Tests parental responses to his actions during feedings
• Tests parental responses to his behavior
• May be fearful in some situations
• Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others
• Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
• Finger-feeds himself
• Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed
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)
Speech Sounds
Birth–3 Months
• Makes pleasure sounds (cooing, gooing)
• Cries differently for different needs
• Smiles when sees you
4–6 Months
• Babbling sounds more speech-like with many different sounds, including p, b and m
• Chuckles and laughs
• Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
• Makes gurgling sounds when left alone and when playing with you
7 Months–1 Year
• Babbling has both long and short groups of sounds such as “tata upup bibibibi"
• Uses speech or noncrying sounds to get and keep attention
• Uses gestures to communicate (waving, holding arms to be picked up)
• Imitates different speech sounds
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 (changes in tone)
• Has one or two words (hi, dog, dada, mama) around first birthday, however sounds may not be clear
• Uses exclamations, such as "Oh-oh!"
• Tries to imitate words
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
Hand and Finger Skills
• Uses pincer grasp
• Bangs two objects together
• Puts objects into container
• Takes objects out of container
• Lets objects go voluntarily
• Pokes with index finger
• Tries to imitate scribbling
Developmental Health Watch
• 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 or she 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
• Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had
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