Tenth Month
They say play is a child’s work. Ten-month old babies can spend hours exploring, stacking, chewing, filling and emptying anything around them. They have now learned how to manipulate their parents and others as demonstrated by the famous “If I drop this, you pick it up and give it back to me. So, I’ll do it again and again and again!” Read More...
Playing with blocks is an ideal way for a baby this age to learn grasping with fingers, improves hand eye coordination, and challenges their thinking as they experiment with stacking and knocking towers over. Ball play is also an excellent form of developmental play as your baby begins to understand cause and effect as well as the surprise of a soft ball coming towards them. DayOne recommends the versatile Gertie Ball for this age. If you haven't attended DayOne’s Developmental Play workshop yet, this is an ideal time to learn how to maximize playtime for fun and learning.
Eleventh Month
An eleven-month old baby is excited to be standing, although usually a bit wobbly unless holding onto to someone or something. This age baby likes to cruise- stroll around a room while holding on with at least one hand to the furniture or the wall. Some babies are more cautious than others and are proud just to be standing and aren’t ready to try moving. Your baby will proceed at his or her own pace. Your job as a parent is to provide a safe environment for them to explore without getting hurt. Read More...
Many parents section off one area of their apartment or home with safety gates and remove all hazardous items, creating a safe zone where their baby can play and move around without constantly being told “no”. This is an important age to be setting boundaries and be consistent but it is also helpful to try and be aware of how easy it is to always say no, which leads most babies to ignore the word since they hear it so much. Distraction is a key technique for keeping a child safe and minimizing frustration. As you see your child about to do something they shouldn’t, pick them up and bring them to another activity so they will be distracted and avoid another negative situation. For more information, DayOne recommends reading Dr. Sear’s The Discipline Book: How to Have a Better-Behaved Child From Birth to AgeTen. Look for it in DayOne’s library.
Twelfth Month
It's hard to believe a year could bring about so many changes in a baby. To grow and develop from a newborn to an infant who is thinking about or is already walking, talking and eating table food in just a year is quite an accomplishment! You're probably enjoying some consistent babbling at this stage with dada and mama being the most common first words. Talking to your baby is important at this stage as she begins to try and imitate words and grow their vocabulary. Read More...
One year olds exhibit a new sense of independence, immediately followed by an intense search for her parents’ presence and maybe a reassuring hug. Then it’s time to venture out alone again, only to suddenly return to her parents again. As the parent, you may find yourself experiencing the same ambivalence- you are both proud and excited as your baby wanders off to experience new things on her own yet you may also feel anxious and sad to witness your baby’s profound sense of independence and signs that she is no longer a newborn. However, witnessing a strong, self-confident baby stretch their wings is one of the greatest signs you have accomplished the most important task of the first year—establishing trust. Congratulations!
