Your baby has turned 1! And gone are the days when you could just sit the baby down on the carpet, put a few toys within reach and keep her happy for hours. Now that their tiny brains and bodies have developed a bit more, they’re going to want to explore. Toddlers are naturally curious and now that they can move around, they’re going to give you a heck of a time.
One year olds can also be picky, they can and often do have quite strong ideas about how they want to go about their day, and when something’s not That, they don’t wanna hear about it. If you’re unsure about what’s typical for a one year old or if you want to know everything about this new chapter in your child’s life, you’re in the right place. Challenging though it may be but with a little bit of knowledge about what’s to come and some effort, everything should go just as nature intended it to be.
In this article, you can expect to find everything you’d need to know entering this new chapter of your child’s life. If you’re unsure, anxious about what’s to come or just in the mood to learn about one year olds, we’ve got you covered.
From what developmental milestones you should expect to what kind of breakfast will benefit your little trouble-makers the most, from what’s typical for a one year old to what kind of clothing your toddler will be happiest in, if your little one is or just turned 1, this is the place to be.
The content is organized into 7 sections; Development , Health , Safety, Behavior , Learning , Activities & Clothing . Starting with Development.
Development
Here we’ll talk about the upgrades your one year old’s mind and body will undergo this next year! Here’s everything you need to know about the physical and cognitive developmental stages that toddler will undergo between 12 to 24 months of age. This will be a time of considerable development for your child and they will require extra supervision as they stand, walk around and try to explore the world around them since their muscles & senses have not developed to the point where they can be trusted to take care of themselves.
One Year Old Physical Milestones
Most babies weigh 3 times as much by the time they turn 1 years old, however, the weight gain starts to slow down after the first year as their activities increase. During this time, they grow in height by around 9 to 11 inches (around 50% since birth).
Around 12-24 months of age, children develop gross motor skills (being able to use big muscles to move around) and fine motor skills (the coordination between small muscles).
Movement Skills / Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills are the movements that involve the larger muscles of the arm, legs, and torso. It allows the child to perform everyday activities like walking, running, or jumping around.
By Age 1 Most Kids Can:
- Crawl up and down the stairs.
- Most one year olds can sit without needing to lean on something or needing to be held.
- Some babies will take their first steps around their first birthday but most babies learn to walk in the first months after their 1st birthday.
Hands & Fingers Development / Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills involve the smaller muscles of the body. Fine motor skills account for the movements that take place in wrists, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Fine motor skills allow the child to perform everyday activities that involve the use of smaller muscles like being able to write, hold a pencil, build things with lego, put together simple puzzles, etc.
One Year Olds Typically Can:
- Pick up simple objects like raisins using their thumb & one finger (also referred to as using the pincer grasp).
- Put toys in a box and take them out.
- Most 12 month old babies can finger-feed themselves, point & poke at things using their index finger.
- At 12 months, most children can also scribble using a thick marker or crayon.
Cognitive Development / Milestones (Thinking & Reasoning)
From age 12-24 months, your one year old’s mind will undergo the following cognitive development:
- Most 1 year olds understand the use of everyday objects like plates, spoons, cell phones, etc. Toddlers are curious about the world around them and want to know how it works, they’ll try to open drawers, push buttons, turn knobs to figure out how everything works.
- They will now be able to remember things that happened a few hours ago or even a few days ago. You can see this in action by the excitement on their face when you talk about going to the store or when they hear their favorite song.
- Start experimenting with cause & effect like ‘what will happen if I spill this bowl of cereal’.
Social & Emotional Milestones
One year olds don’t like playing with other kids, are nervous & clingy around new unfamiliar faces and for the most part, prefer to limit their interactions to the parents and other primary caregivers. They will, however, play alongside other kids if it doesn’t involve interacting with them. Around this time they will also start to understand that people & objects exist even when out of sight, for example, they will stop feeling uneasy when the parent is out of sight.
Language
Most babies speak their first words around 10-14 months old. The first words are simple but adorable, not complete but intelligible. Usually, they’ll be able to say 2-3 super cute words and often two of them are “mama & dada”, they will not only be able to say mama & dada but also will be able to tell one from the other. At this point, they will also be able to recognize their own name and sometimes even look at other family members when their name is being called!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the developmental milestones of children around 12 months old.
What should your 1 year old be doing?
Around the age of 12-14 months, children can sit without needing to lean on something, one year olds can crawl up & down the stairs, pull themselves into a standing position without any assistance. When it comes to hands & fingers development, one year old babies can use the pincer grasp (being able to pick up small objects using their thumb and one finger), they can scribble using a thick crayon that’s easier to hold, point and poke at things using their index finger, and are able to finger-feed themselves.
How tall is a 1 year old?
Typically, a 1 year old boy is around 29.75 in or 75.7 cm tall while the average height for a one year old girl is 29.25 in or 74 cm. Boys tend to be taller than girls, sometimes the difference is visible, most of the time it isn’t (at this stage). After a wonderful one-year growth-spurt your baby’s growth rate will begin to slow down. From here on, the baby’s height and weight will increase steadily.
How much should a 1 year old say?
Most one year olds can usually speak at least 2-3 super cute words like mama & dada. Typically, babies will speak their first words around the age of 10-14 months old, they’re usually simple & not complete words but for the most part, you’ll be able to understand them. They can also express emotions like happiness & frustration using different sounds & noises. They will raise their hands when they want to be picked up, will point at places they want to be taken. They will be able to recognize their own name and will sometimes try to imitate sounds they hear when someone’s talking.
Health
By 12 months, toddlers are ready to move from formula to cow milk, during this time as they start using the pincer grasp, 1 year old toddlers may want to move on from baby food and become more interested in table food. Inconsistent food preferences and a tricky appetite are also quite normal for kids of this age. Your little one is growing at a wonderful pace and frustrating though it might be at it times, it’s actually quite natural. With so much going on you might be wondering how to keep the little rabble-rouser healthiest. In this section, we’ve listed all the best practices that will keep your one year old healthy and agile.
Eating
After the first birthday, you might notice a drop in your one year old’s appetite. This is actually quite normal since around this age their growth rate slows down and therefore one year olds do not require that much food to nourish. These 1000 calories can comfortably be split into 3 meals & 2 snacks.
Best Dairy Products for one year olds
By 12 months, toddlers are ready to move on from breast milk and/or formula to cow milk. Yogurt and milk are great sources of calcium and protein which are really important around this age since their bones are still developing and calcium will also benefit their developing teeth.
Offer whole cow milk in a cup once your child starts to eat the meal. Why whole milk you might ask, whole milk is ideal for 1 year olds because it has more fat which helps with brain development and since much of the brain development takes place around the first two years, it’s important that the body has what it needs to carry this process out in a healthy way.
Limit your child’s whole milk intake to about 236 ml to 295 ml (8 to 10 ounces). Ideally, milk at this point should only be a drink, a source of vitamin D & calcium.
Even if you choose to continue to breastfeed your child, introducing whole fat milk or yogurt as a mealtime snack is still an option.
Finally, Around 2-3 percent of children under the age of 3 have a Casein allergy, 80 of whom outgrow it and even though dairy products are generally safe for one year olds, still you should look for signs of casein allergy. Symptoms of Casein allergy include swelling of lips, tongue, mouth, throat or face, wheezing, hives, diarrhea, and vomiting.
You should immediately speak to a healthcare provider if your child is experiencing these or any other reactions to a new food.
Best Fruits For One Year Olds
Around 12 months, as kids start to use their fingers & thumbs and transition into the realm of self-feeding, it’s a good idea to introduce soft, finger-friendly fruits. This will allow your 1-year-old to experiment with self-feeding without posing a choking hazard.
Soft fruits like Bananas, Mangos, Clementines, Strawberries, or Grapes are great to start with. When it comes to Grapes, you’ll have to cut them up into halves or quarters. The same goes for the fruits as well; slice them into tiny bite-sized bits and avoid feeding them large pieces as that can pose a choking hazard.
Apart from being a source of essential nutrients – soft, fresh fruits are also a great way to help your toddler from healthy eating habits.
Research shows that a child may need to be exposed to a new food from 6 to 15 times before they will accept it as part of their daily diet. So even if your child is not taking to that new fruit immediately, give them some time, they’ll come around.
Best Breakfast For One Year Olds
Being the most important meal of the day, making sure that your one year old gets everything they need from breakfast is quite important if the little rambunctious weasels are to nourish and remain agile.
Between ages 1 to 2, toddlers need a decent amount of cholesterol and other such fats as part of their daily diet and therefore it’s intake should not be restricted during the first two years to ensure healthy development and growth. You don’t have to worry about putting her at risk of gaining too much weight if your child is taking roughly around 1000 calories per day.
Breakfast Ideas For One Year Olds
There are many healthy breakfast options for one year old toddlers that can take care of your baby’s nutritional needs. As long as you include a cup of whole milk, some fresh fruits and avoid junk food & soft drinks, everything should be fine. To help, here are two easy-to-make breakfast options that a) can be prepared in just a few minutes and b) the kids will be rather motivated to try.
Option 1
- Half or 1 cup of breakfast cereal (ideally, iron-fortified).
- Whole milk (half-1 cup); depending on the little one’s taste, you can offer the milk with or without the cereal, either way is fine.
- And as for the fruits, simply take a small Banana & 2-3 large Strawberries, slice them up into tiny bite-sized bits. You can either add the fruits to the cereal or offer them separately, whichever way they prefer.
Option 2
- Crackers or dry low-sugar breakfast cereal.
- Cottage cheese (for protein) with sprinkles or 1 cooked egg.
- Grapes, Strawberries or Bananas (sliced up into small, toddler-friendly bits).
- Quarter to half a cup of whole milk.
Feeding Schedule For 1 Year Old
Considering how unpredictable one year olds can be when it comes to their appetite, setting up a feeding schedule can help to a considerable degree with keeping that unpredictability in check. You can choose to go with the ‘feed them when they’re hungry’ strategy, however, that can lead to picky eating and an even trickier appetite.
One year olds need about 1000 calories per day; split into 3 meals and 2 snacks. Ideally, meals should be a combination of fruits and veggies along with dairy products like milk, yogurt or cheese and eggs or meat products on some days for protein. Here’s a structural sample feeding schedule for one year olds. You can either choose to follow it entirely or make minor alterations based on your toddler’s likes and dislikes.
| Time | Meal | Meal Ideas |
|---|---|---|
|
6:30 am - 7 am |
Wake up |
|
|
7:30 am |
Breakfast |
Breakfast cereal, half-1 cup of whole milk, half a banana & 2-3 strawberries sliced into tiny bits. |
|
9:30 am |
Snack |
Yogurt with tiny pieces of soft, fresh fruits. |
|
10 am- 11 am |
Nap |
|
|
12 pm |
Lunch |
Mini egg muffins with cheese and veggies or Fried rice with eggs and veggies & A side fruit |
|
2 pm |
Snack |
Yogurt or milk based fruit smoothie |
|
3 pm - 4 pm |
Nap |
|
|
6 pm |
Dinner |
Half-1 cup of whole milk, Turkey sandwich (bite-sized pieces) and banana custard or Baked chicken (bite-sized pieces) with banana custard (or another desert) |
|
7:30 pm - 8 pm |
Bedtime |
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions that parents have regarding the diet of their 1 year olds.
What kind of milk should I give my one year old?
The best milk for one year olds is whole milk or alternatively, reduced-fat milk. Try to avoid low-fat milk when it comes to your toddler’s diet. The difference between low-fat milk and whole milk is the amount of fat each contains, low-fat milk contains 1% of fat whereas whole milk contains 3.25% – developing children need (aged 1-2) this extra fat for healthy brain development.
Can one year olds have milk?
By 12 months, babies are ready to move on from formula and switch to whole cow milk. Ideally, you 1 year old should be receiving 480-720 ml (16-24 ounces) of whole milk daily. Milk is a great source of calcium, proteins and essential fats. Babies, especially during the first 2 years (this is when most of the brain development takes place) of their lives need a lot of fats and calcium, it ensures healthy neurological development and brain function, strong bone building and benefits their developing teeth.
How many calories does a one year old need?
One year olds need about 1000 calories per day for healthy growth, energy, and good nutrition. Your toddler can eat using her fingers at this point so it’s a good time to introduce some soft fruits into their diet. A balanced diet should include fruits (like bananas, mangos, clementines, strawberries, sliced grapes), grains (rice, oats), veggies (broccoli, spinach, Chopped carrots, baked sweet potatoes), dairy products (whole milk, cheese, yogurt). Lastly, poultry and meat products like eggs, meat, fish for protein.
What Fruits Can One Year Olds Eat?
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Mangos
- Peaches
- Clementines
- Grapes
- Avocados
It’s important to avoid feeding your toddler whole fruits; always slice them up into bite-sized bits or cut them into halves or quarters in the case of round-shaped fruits like grapes and berries.
What foods are bad for one year olds?
When it comes to feeding your one year old, avoid junk food, soda and food that may cause choking, such as whole grapes, raw carrots, gum, chunks of cheese, raisins, whole nuts, sausages, large bits of meat, sticky food like marshmallows and peanut butter.
Vitamins
According to the NHS, developing children, especially those who don’t take to diverse daily diets may be at risk of not getting enough vitamins A & C; which play an important role in strengthening their immune system, vision, and in keeping their skin healthy and fresh.
Unless the baby is having more than 500 ml (roundabout one pint) of infant formula, the Department of Health (UK) recommends the child needs to be given daily vitamin A, C & D supplements.
It is also recommended that breastfed children should receive vitamin D supplements every day from the time they enter this world, regardless of whether or not the mother is taking vitamin D supplements.
Baby Vitamin Supplements
You may need to consult your healthcare provider to help you determine which supplements and what dosage would be ideal for your toddler’s size and age and where to get them.
Alternatively, you can also get over-the-counter vitamin drops for your one year old and to be safe, it’s a good idea to discuss with the pharmacist as to which supplements may be more suitable for your little one.
Vitamins For 1 Year Olds & Their Food Sources
Here are 3 of the most important vitamins for one year olds and their food sources:
Vitamin A
Vitamin A plays a major role in strengthening and boosting your child’s immune system, improving eyesight, and keeping their skin healthy.
Vitamin A Food Sources For One Year Olds:
- Green leafy vegetables that have a dark green, orange, or dark red color to them like broccoli, cabbage, and spinach.
- Fishes, various meat products, cod liver oil.
- Dairy products such as milk and cheese also have a lot of vitamin A and should therefore be part of their daily diet, if possible.
- Mangoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots also offer a healthy amount of Vitamin A.
Vitamin A and C supplements are recommended for children between 6 months to 5 years old. Unless the child is receiving more than 0.5 liter or 500 ml of infant formula. This is because baby formula is already fortified with all the necessary vitamins that a developing child needs.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D ensures your child develops strong and healthy bones and helps prevent rickets. According to the Center for Disease Control, the recommended dosage for children 12 to 24 months old is 600 IU per day and for children younger than that is 400 IU per day.
The biggest source of vitamin D is sunlight on our skin. However, it’s important to not let your toddler with their delicate skin stay too long in the sun especially on hot days.
Vitamin D Food Sources For One Year Olds:
- Eggs
- Some fish (like light canned tuna, Salmon)
- Vitamin D is also added to some food products, such as breakfast cereals, vitamin D-fortified cow milk, and some fat spreads.
The CDC recommends that breastfed babies should be given a daily vitamin D supplement since breastmilk doesn’t always provide all the vitamin D (400 IU each day) a baby needs. You should consult a healthcare provider about giving your baby over-the-counter vitamin D drops.
Babies that are on infant formula don’t need any additional vitamin D supplements – as infant formula is already fortified with vitamin D – as long as he or she is receiving the standard (32 ounces) Infant formula.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C supports the immune system and helps the body absorb more iron. Primarily vitamin C functions as an antioxidant; antioxidants help protect our cells from damage by free radicals (a byproduct of normal human metabolism, free radicals are unstable, highly volatile molecules that can cause damage to our cells).
Antioxidants can neutralize these unstable molecules and help protect the cells from being damaged by free radicals.
And since our immune system needs free radicals to fight infections, it is important that our bodies maintain a healthy balance of free radicals and antioxidants.
Vitamin D Food Sources For One Year Olds:
Vitamin C is found in most fruits and vegetables. Here are some good vitamin D food sources for one-year-olds:
- Oranges
- Kiwifruit
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Broccoli
- Grapefruit
Kids of different ages need varying amounts of vitamin C per day. Children, 1-3 3 years old need 15 mg of vitamin C per day, babies aged 0-6 months old need 40 mg per day, and infants aged 7-12 months need mg 50 mg per day.
Vaccines
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), your 12-23 months old baby should receive the following vaccines to protect them from preventable diseases like Chickenpox, Measles, Mumps, Polio, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and so on.
Vaccine Schedule For One Year Olds
Here’s a list of vaccines that your baby should receive between 12-24 months old to protect them against preventable diseases:
| Vaccines | Dose | Preventable Diseases |
|---|---|---|
|
Varicella |
1st dose |
Chickenpox |
|
DTaP |
4th dose |
Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough ) |
|
Hib |
4th dose |
Haemophilus influenzae type b disease |
|
MMR |
1st dose |
Measles, Mumps, Rubella |
|
IPV |
3rd dose |
Polio |
|
PCV13 |
4th dose |
Pneumococcal disease |
|
HepA |
1st dose |
Hepatitis A |
|
HepB |
3rd dose around 6 months and 18 months |
Hepatitis B |
|
Fluzone |
Every year |
Influenza |
After Vaccination
After Vaccination, children sometimes have mild and brief reactions from the vaccines, like
- a mild fever
- a sore, itchy, or swollen spot
- upset stomach
- loss of appetite
- pain at the injection spot
If your child is experiencing similar reactions, there’s no need to be concerned, these are normal reactions and will soon go away.
After Vaccination Care For 1-2 Year Olds
- Read the Vaccine Information Sheet to learn about the side-effects your child may experience and whether or not its cause for any concern.
- After vaccination some children will show a loss of appetite, this is normal. In this case, offer breastmilk and/or other fluids as much as you can.
- Make sure to pay extra attention to your baby for the first few days after vaccination. If you notice something that might be a cause of concern, please contact your child’s doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions that parents have concerning the vaccination of their one year old.
What vaccines do a 1 year old get?
- Varicella for Chickenpox
- Dtap for Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Hib for Haemophilus influenza type b disease
- MMR for Measles, Mumps, Rubella
- IPV for Polio
- PCV13 for Pneumococcal disease
- HepA for Hepatitis A
- HepB for Hepatitis B
- Fluzone (Flu Shot) for Influenza
How long are babies unsettled after Immunisation?
After vaccination, your baby might be unsettled for 24-48 hours, this is completely normal and should soon go away. It’s also normal for the baby to have mild reactions like fever, upset stomach, loss of appetite, pain at the injection spot from the vaccines. Pay extra attention to your baby for the first few days after getting the injection and if you notice anything that concerns you, please contact a healthcare professional.
How can I help my baby after injections?
- Give them a cuddle.
- There may be a brief loss of appetite (for 1-2 days) so offer herplenty of fluids and if you’re breastfeeding your baby may need to be fed a little more often thanusual.
- If your child is having a fever, make sure she’s not under toomany blankets or wearing too many layers and if needed, offer them liquid ibuprofen or paracetamolto help bring down the fever.
Safety
The toddler years are when the children become mobile, they begin to learn to start using their small and large muscles in different ways. Having become mobile for the first time in their life, naturally they have an imposing tendency to explore the world around them but children as they are, they have yet to learn about the concepts of risk and danger and will therefore require a lot of supervision as they explore the world around them.
Most injuries occur because parents sometimes underestimate what toddlers can do. At this age, children can walk, jump, run, climb but their sense of caution still has a long way to go and therefore require an adult keeping an eye on them.
Safety Measure For One Year Olds
Here are some safety measures you can take to keep your 1 year old safe while at the same time allowing them to keep exploring.
Create Safe Places
- Being limited by their age, one year olds have yet to learn safer techniques of testing cause and effect; young toddlers may still put things in their mouth as one of their ways of exploring the world and naturally, this can and often does pose choking hazards. To keep your child safe, please make sure to not leave any small objects that might cause choking anywhere your child can reach them.
- Arrange furniture in a way that gives your toddler some freedom to safely move around and practice their newly acquired motor skills.
- Place plug covers over all spare electrical outlets.
- Make sure the doors to all the unsafe places (like the garage or the basement) are locked.
- Block off stairs with a small fence or a toddler gate.
Keep Out A Watchful Eye
- At this stage, 1 year olds would want to experiment with being independent, however, they feel more at ease when the parent is around and there, they prefer and need to be around the parent(s). Keep a watchful eye on them, make sure you can see and reach them and know what they’re doing at all times.
- Keep an ear out for loud noises and if you can’t hear them, check to see what they’re up to.
Use Safety Devices
Installing safety devices like cabinet locks, baby gates, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors – are some of the most important safety measures that every parent with a toddler needs to take.
Carbon monoxide is lethal, poisonous gas and being colorless and odorless, it’s impossible to detect with Carbon Monoxide detectors and smoke detectors go off when there’s a fire in the house, giving you time to get your family out of the building.
Toddlers are hard to keep track of and when there’s something they want, they’ll break, jump or climb over anything in their way to get it. Installing safety devices allows you to keep them from places where they might get hurt while at the same time support their growing curiosity by keeping them safe as they explore.
Keep All Poisons Out of Children’s Reach
- There are many poisonous items around the average home and some are easier to identify than others. For instance, if your home was built before 1978, it may have lead paint; being exposed to low levels of lead can cause damage over time, especially in children. Lead poses a great threat to brain development and can cause irreversible damage. Being exposed to higher levels of lead can damage the nervous system and kidneys in both adults and children, and very high levels can lead to seizures, unconsciousness and even death. The use of lead has been banned since the 1970s, however, some older homes still have it. If you suspect that your house may have lead-based paint, please talk to your home visitor and your landlord, health care provider and local health department to find out whether or not you have lead in your house and what to do if that’s the case.
- Keep cleaning products, chemicals and toxic materials in locked cabinets, away from your toddler’s reach.
- Make sure the plants around the home (both indoors and outdoors) are not poisonous. Here’s a list of common poisonous and nonpoisonous plants from the National Resource Center For Health and Safety.
- Even items as common as toothpaste and makeup can be poisonous if consumed in higher quantities.
- Plants, paint, cleaning products, medication, craft materials are hazardous if kids try to eat them or spill them over their skin and should be kept as far away from their reach as possible.
Babyproof The Windows
A study published by Pediatrics in 2011, it was one of the first studies of its kind that looked at window fall injuries. It showed that between 1990 and 2008 more than 98 thousand children had been rushed to the ER due to injuries from a widow fall, 65 percent of whom were younger than 4, with 1 year olds and 2 year olds being the most common.
Another study that looked at injuries related to window cords, found out that even though they happen relatively less frequently but can potentially be more dangerous. More than 17,000 (under the age of 6) from 1990 to 2015 visited the emergency department due to injuries from window blinds.
- To ensure your child’s safety, make sure to keep away furniture, toys, or any other items that your child may want to play with or use it to climb over from windows and blind cords.
- Cordless shades and curtains are safer compared to blinds with cords or roman shades.
- Windows blinds pose a strangulation hazard and thus if you’re using blinds with cords, you should consider installing cord safety devices or using curtains instead.
- Either install window guards so that the window doesn’t open more than 4 inches or make sure that the windows can only open from the top.
Water Safety
Children, during their toddler years, have a higher rate of drowning than at any other time. The biggest threat that parents have to be conscious of is unsupervised access to water. Toddlers or infants when in or around water should be actively supervised by an adult with swimming skills, staying with an arm’s reach, and providing constant ‘hands-on supervision’.
Never leave a toddler alone with any type of water. Children under the age of 4 have the highest rate of drowning; it happens quickly and silently, toddlers can drown within 30 seconds in as little as 2 inches of water, and 69% of all drownings happen during non-swim hours. Here’s what you can do to keep your 1 year old safe:
- If your house has a swimming pool, make sure it has fencing on all four sides. The fence should at least be 4 feet high and make sure it doesn’t have any openings between slats or under the fence that are more than 4 inches wide. The fence should have a self-latching or self-closing gate, and make sure the latch is at least 4 feet above the ground, high enough so your toddler can’t reach it.
- Make sure all the buckets or other water containers are empty, turn them upside down when you’re done using them. Toddlers have bigger heads compared to their bodies, sometimes they try to lean inside a bucket to or reach down for a toy and can fall in and then are unable to pull themselves out.
- Make sure there aren’t any other water hazards like fountains, drainage ditches, or birdbaths in your backyard, and if there are, make sure either to remove or fence them.
- Use toddler gates, door knob covers, or door locks to prevent your child from leaving the house unnoticed.
- Restrict unsupervised access to the bathroom. Make it a family rule that the little ones will only visit the bathroom if an adult is there to supervise.
- Use life jackets when in or around any type of natural bodies like lakes or rivers.
Car Safety For One Year Olds
One of the most important safety measures, when it comes to riding in a vehicle, that every parent needs to take is to have a child safety installed in your car.
Choose a child safety seat based on your child’s age and weight and one that fits in your car. Mainly there are two types of car safety seats for children; forward-facing and rear-facing safety seats. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that for infants and toddlers only a rear-facing seat should be used. You can get them a forward-facing safety seat when they reach the highest weight and height allowed by the manufacturer of that particular safety seat or alternatively, you can get a rear-facing convertible safety seat and use it as a forward-facing seat once they grow up.
The most effective way to keep your one-year-old as safe as possible when in the event of a crash is to always have themes seated in the back of the car in a child safety seat. Avoid having them seated in the front seat at any cost, toddlers and young children are much more likely to get injured in a car crash if they’re seated in the front; airbags are designed to protect adults, not children, and can end up injuring them instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions that parent have when it comes to keeping their 1 year old safe:
How can I keep my one year old safe?
Here are some safety measures you can take to keep your one year old safe:
Create Safe Places
Arrange the furniture in a way that gives your little one some freedom to move around. Don’t leave any small objects where they play, as that can pose a choking hazard. Place plug covers electrical outlets that you 12 month old may be able to reach. Block off stairs with toddler gates and make sure the door to the garage and the basement remain closed at all times.
Keep Out A Watchful Eye
Make sure you know where your 1 year old is and what he’s doing at all times. Keep an ear out for loud noises and you can’t hear him, go and see what he’s up to.
Keep all poisons (like cleaning products, beauty products, medication, and other harmful substances) where your one year old can’t reach them.
Use safety devices like toddler gates, cabinet locks, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors to help keep your toddler safe.
Baby proof the windows, make sure your child can’t open or reach any of the windows; keep furniture, toys, or any other items that your child might want to play with or use to climb over – away from the windows.
Never leave your toddler alone with any type of water, toddlers can drown in as little as 30 seconds. Make sure all the buckets are empty and turn them upside down when you’re done using them. If your house has a swimming pool, make sure it’s protected by a fence on all sides. Restrict unsupervised access to the bathroom or any type of water.
How do I teach my toddler about safety?
It helps if your toddler has at least some idea about safety and why it’s important. That way they’ll be more likely to cooperate. Communicate with them and use simple language to try to give them an idea as to why there are some things that we cannot refuse to do. Show them how to do these things, be gentle, patient, and supportive all the way and speak softly when addressing them, that way they’re more likely to listen.
You can also take the help of educational songs and/or illustrated books and other media (like animated movies) to help them understand a certain danger and how to avoid it.
Behavior
Toddlers – we all know how unpredictable they can be, and naturally, it’s easy to get frustrated and wonder as to whether or not this behavior is normal or a parenting flow.
It may seem as though the days of that cuddly, perfect little bundle joy of joy are gone but rest assured, it’s all quite normal – she’s still that adorable little angel – just a bit more colorful now.
Here we’ll explore the behavior of one year olds and whether or not it’s normal or unusual.
What You Should Know
At this stage, babies are rebels (not literally) but with a cause, in that, they don’t do or want to do things for the sake of doing them, they simply want to know ‘what will happen if I do this’. This is their way of experimenting with cause and effect and is completely normal.
Rather than looking at it as naughty behavior, if you look at it as their way of experimenting with and exploring the world, it would make more sense.
One of the ways they do this is that they would do something to see what happens when they do it. For instance, they might be putting things in their mouth or turning the TV on and off or throwing things off the table (and taking pleasure in what happens to mama’s face when they press the button) and as you’re well aware, the list goes on.
Emotions And The Way One Year Olds Express Them
When it comes to emotions, one year olds can feel basic, simple emotions like sympathy, affection, anxiety, jealousy and the ways they express these emotions as well have yet to evolve but when they feel an emotion, they feel it quite intensely and thus, the expressions also tend to be very passionate.
For instance, when they’re frustrated, they’ll show this by crying, kicking and/or rather notoriously – arching their backs so you’re unable to pick them up or when they start hitting when they’re excited (it’s usually because they can’t reach the thing they’re excited for and this is the only way they can express this).
Not being able to communicate using words, one year olds briefly learn to communicate with their entire bodies – up until when they learn better ways of expressing these emotions.
So next time your 1 year old throws a bowl of cereal off the table or starts hitting when they want something – rest assured, it’s all quite normal behavior and they’ll soon grow out of it.
How To Cheer Up A One Year Old
First order of business, provide safe places for uninterrupted discovery time (referred to as playing, in the realm of toddlers); this may not necessarily make them extraordinarily excited but it will certainly keep them safe. Now that that’s out of the way, here’s a list of fun things you can do to cheer up your 1 year old.
Give Them Things To Do
Engage with them, involve them in your everyday activities. Give them things to do. For instance, when you’re doing the dishes, ask them to look if there are any dirty ones in the room or if you’re making dinner ask them to help set the table.
Reaching simple goals like chores around the house helps your toddler develop a healthy sense of self-worth.
Praise Often & Make Eye Contact
Look at your house as a safe haven for your toddler; Parise often, give them positive feedback, invite them into your life and try to engage yourself in theirs as well – for negativity the outside world suffices.
Make eye contact when addressing them. Lower down to their level and speak to them eye-to-eye. Doing so makes them feel heard and keeps them from getting frustrated.
Set Rules
Setting boundaries or rules helps your child understand that there are things that are acceptable and things that are not acceptable. Boundaries help them make sense of the world, without rules they get disoriented and neurotic.
Make your rules reasonable and make sure to enforce them, gently. Here are some examples of reasonable rules for your one year old:
- Always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
- Be gentle with each other.
- We wait for others to stop talking before we talk.
- Do not open the refrigerator.
Listen
Toddlers like attention— they’ll show this in different ways, for instance, they may try to engage you in something they’re up to or they may try to show you something they’re excited about. Make sure to listen closely when they try to talk to you about something they’re excited about. Make them feel heard, they may be little but they can sense quite clearly when they’re being accepted and when they aren’t— the relationship a child has with his or her parents plays an important role in shaping who they will be when they grow up. Research shows that receiving quality attention during collaborative activities help children learn these kinds of experiences can be fulfilling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions that parents have concerning their one year old’s behavior:
What is normal behavior for a one year old?
One year olds can be tricky from time to time. Around 12 months of age, babies start to move around and that means trouble— they’re going to require a lot of active supervision now as they start to explore and experiment with the world around them.
Passionate little rabbits that they are, they’re going to be feeling a lot of new emotions, and since at this age they haven’t yet learned better ways of expressing these emotions, they will be expressing them in ways that may seem problematic, concerning, or unusual at times. For instance, they may be constantly putting things in their mouth or throwing things off the table, when frustrated they might show it by crying, kicking, or if there is some place they don’t feel like leaving, they might show that by arching their back so you’re unable to pick them up.
When it comes to social skills, 1 year olds, for the most part, like to limit their interactions to the parent or other primary caregivers. They may play alongside other kids but they prefer not to interact.
How can I teach my 1 year old to behave?
- Set Boundaries
Set reasonable boundaries that are easy for your toddler to understand and remember. Boundaries not only teach them that there are things that are acceptable and things that are not but also help them make sense of the world and this function as a source of security.
- Praise Good Behavior
Give immediate positive feedback or praise for behavior that you want to reinforce.
- Ignore Bad Behavior
Ignore and don’t laugh or smile at the behavior you don’t want them to continue.
- Validate Emotions
Take the time to teach your child that there are things that we have to do that we may not necessarily have to like to do but we don’t get to refuse to do them.
- Be A Role Model
As a parent, it’s important to be aware of the fact that your behavior influences your child’s to a great degree so make sure to not only enforce the rules that you set for them but also strictly follow them yourself.
- Don’t Expect Them To Be Perfect
And finally, don’t expect them to be perfect. Your child is still learning about the concept of rules and will need quite a few reminders before she can properly follow them.
Learning And Activities
To infants, playing with toys means banging, shaking, or throwing them around— toddlers on the hand are at a stage where they understand that certain objects have specific functions— so they’re more likely to play with different toys in different ways. For instance, they’ll stack blocks, brush the barbie’s hair, play on a ride-on horse, talk into a toy cell phone, make ‘Brum, Brum’ sounds while pushing a toy car.
With their constantly developing cognition, motor skills, and communication, your toddler is growing up at an amazing speed. To ensure healthy and wholesome development, it’s important that you interact with them, expose them to age-appropriate experiences and challenges to encourage curiosity, collaboration, and exploration.
Fun Learning Activities For One Year Olds
Here are some fun learning activities to do with one year olds:
Build A Fort
Build a fort using pillows or cardboard boxes, set up some toys inside; create an entrance; if there is toy kitchen-wear around the house, you can create a tiny kitchen!
Encourage them to interact with the environment like showing them how to properly use the entrance, knock on the door, or pour tea for the “guests”.
Call A Friend
A simple, everyday activity but 1 year olds find it more interesting than the multiverse theory. You can start with a simple ‘hello’, and then you can then move on to stuff like what’s going on in their lives, a simple ‘what’s up’ should suffice. Invent silly characters, use funny voices, ask them about the material and spiritual wellbeing of their favorite teddy bear and/or give them news about yours— maybe baby shark is feeling a little under the weather but its nothing a few warm beverages won’t fix.
Fetch Objects
Doing laundry? Ask them to fetch their clothes. Putting the house in order? Ask them to fetch their toys and put them in a box.
Teach Them How To Play
Here’s a little creativity exercise— hand them over a barbie or a teddy bear and encourage them to talk, dress and/or take care of it.
In addition to helping their developing language skills, it also helps build their creativity and imagination.
Ball Scoop
Take an empty box, put a bunch of colorful ball-pit balls into it, then take a sieve and hand it over to your one year old. From there, introduce him to a certain color like red, for example, and instruct him to leave the red balls in the container and scoop out the rest.
Create Music
Exploring and trying to create music helps toddlers build coordination. Music makes them want to move around and consequently helps exercise their fine and gross motor skills. If the beat is exciting enough, you may even see the little rabbit start jumping up and down. You can use household items like spoons, pots, pans as your instruments, or alternatively, there’s a seemingly unending series of all sorts of toy musical instruments available on the market.
Stacking And Nesting
Apart from teaching 1 year olds about simple building concepts (like big small, stacking, sorting, nesting) and exercising their fine motor skills— activities like stacking, nesting, sorting are quite famous as major sources of quality entertainment in the toddler community.
Toys that stack on top of each other or nest inside each other are a great way to keep your one year old busy for hours. Join in with him, teach him how to stack blocks on top of each other, and with a little luck, your toddler may be able to build a small tower in a few months.
What should a one year old be learning?
By age 1 most kids can sit without leaning on anything, some babies will also take their first steps around this age. When it comes to the smaller muscles, 1 year olds can eat with their fingers, turn the pages of a story book, they start to use the pincer grasp; they can pick up small objects (like raisins) using their thumb and most children also scribble using a thick crayon or marker.
Going ahead, they should be learning about the use of everyday objects like a cup, spoon, toothbrush or a cell phone.
Clothing
Your one year old’s newly-found motor skills are going to need some exercising to ensure healthy development— a big part of that is the clothes they’ll be wearing. It is important because they may be able to walk around now but their gross and fine motor skills still have a long way to go and till we get there, their newly upgraded large and fine muscles are gonna need all the help they can get, that includes choosing the right kind of clothes.
None of us are immune to the power toddler clothes wield with their cuteness, however, we must take their needs into account as well. Here are some tips on how to dress your 1 year old that would keep them comfortable and agile.
Prioritize Freedom And Comfort
If your baby tries to walk around or reach out for food on the table or a toy, it’s important that her clothes are comfortably giving her muscles the room they need. Choose clothes that neither drown your toddler in fabric nor disturb their blood circulation; heavy or tight clothing tends to discourage movement and can be uncomfortable for your little one to wear. Whereas clothes that are comfortable around the arms and legs encourage movement and therefore exploration.
Watch Out For Labels
Make sure to remove labels from your one year old’s clothes. Tags can be abrasive, itchy, and can irritate your toddler’s skin. Which can end up distracting your little one from going about his day.
Choose Bottoms That Encourage Movement
Shorts are more desirable than pants if your child is crawling, they’re more spacious, provide freedom of movement and allow them to feel different textures against their skin like the floor, carpet, or even grass (given that they’re actively supervised) and learn how one differs from the other.
If you have a girl, dresses and skirts are not the most ideal choices at this stage. Adorable as they are, at this stage they can cause difficulty crawling or walking. Likewise, if you have a little boy try to avoid jeans or other fabrics that may be a little too much for your 1 year old’s delicate skin or might restrict or discourage movement.
You can start making them wear pants once your toddler moves on to standing and walking but for one year olds that are still crawling, more comfortable options like onesies are more desirable.
Free Their Feet
At this stage, the only purpose of shoes is to protect your little one’s adorable feet against rough surfaces or sharp objects on the floor, so whenever safe and possible, let them play around bare feet.
Your baby doesn’t actually require shoes to learn to walk, what’s more, the feel of different textures like the carpet or the rug allow sensory exploration (like how the carpet feels different than the rug).
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions that parents have when it comes to dressing up their one year olds.
What clothes do one year olds need?
- Short or long-sleeved bodysuits
- Soft, stretchy ants
- Jumpers (sweat shirts)
- Comfy, spacious shorts
- Cotton PJs
As far as the fabric is concerned, try your best to avoid synthetic material. Clothes that are made of cotton or other natural fibres are ideal for one year olds, since their skin is still quite delicate. Your child doesn’t really need shoes at this stage for something other than protection, however, it’s good to have a pair or two around the house. When it comes to shoes, go for soft-soled comfy shoes that are easy on your little one’s feet and avoid anything that’s too tight, inhibit movement, or are uncomfortable to wear.
What size clothes does a 12 month old wear?
When it comes to figuring out the right clothing size for your one year old, using a toddler clothing chart goes a long way. Using the age range, height and an approximation of weight, you’ll be able to determine the right clothing size for your 1 year old.
| Age Range | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|
6-7 months | 27-29 inches (69-74 cm) | 18-22 lbs (8-10 kg) |
9-12 months | 29-30.5 inches (74-77 cm) | 22-26 lbs (10-12 kg) |
12-18 months | 30.5-32 inches (77-81 cm) | 26-28 lbs (12-13 kg) |
As a rule of thumb, to get the best fit, always order or buy clothes for your 1 year old by weight and height and then go one size up.
References:
DEVELOPMENT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddler#Developmental_milestones
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/baby-development-1-year-old#1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddler#Language
https://childmind.org/guide/developmental-milestones/milestones-at-1-year/
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-1yr.html
