What a child should be able to do in a year and how to understand that he is lagging behind in development
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
Not all kids walk and know 10 words. But it normal.
In the first year of life, the child develops very quickly. In 12 months, a helpless baby turns into an active baby who moves independently, explores the world with interest and pronounces the first words. Pediatricians identify a number of skills and abilities that indicate the timely development of the child - we will consider them together.
What physical skills should a child have per year
Pediatrician Natalya Lopushanskaya says that by the year a child should learn:
- sitting without support - from 4 to 9 months;
- stand holding on to a support - from 5 to 11 months;
- crawl on all fours - from 5 to 13 months;
- walk with the support of an adult or leaning on furniture - from 6 to 13 months;
- stand without support - from 10 to 17 months;
- walk without support - from 8 to 17 months.
However, it should be borne in mind that these norms give only an approximate idea, and the absence of the first steps before the year does not at all indicate the presence of deviations.
American Association of Pediatrics notesthat parents should be wary if by 12 months the child does not know how to crawl or does it, falling on one side, and also cannot stand with support.
What level of development of fine motor skills should a child have per year
By this age, the child can already quite deftly manipulate objects - not just grab toys, but also fulfill simple actions with them. First year skills include:
1. Using the tweezers. The child must learn to pinch small objects, such as pieces of food, between the thumb and forefinger.
2. Ability to put things together. For example, build a tower of cubes.
3.The ability to put in and take out items. Put the toy in a container or a cube in a cup, and then take it out again.
4. Use your index finger to poke. Touch something interesting or press a button, point to an object or a picture.
Since fine motor skills are associated with speech, developing finger dexterity will help your child speak faster. With one-year-old children, you can perform finger gymnastics - teach simple gestures and games, accompanying hand movements with songs and nursery rhymes.
What cognitive abilities should a child have per year
In parallel with physical indicators, the child's intelligence is actively developing. By 12 months, your baby should:
1. Purposefully explore objects
In a year, a child not only gets acquainted with objects, but also learns to perform actions with their help that have a specific goal.
Natalia Lopushanskaya
By the age of one, most children can assemble a pyramid of rings, push a figurine into a hole of the appropriate shape, and sequentially stack cups of different sizes into each other.
To contribute to the development of the child, it is desirable to take an active part in such games. Selectively offer the baby objects, name them, teach how to handle this or that thing, encourage correct behavior.
2. Easily find objects hidden in his presence
For example, if you hide a toy under a blanket in front of a baby, he should find it without any problems and get it out.
3. Use household items
From 10-11 months, the child is actively interested not in play, but in ordinary household items - the TV remote control, keys, telephone, kitchen utensils, bulk products.
By the age of one, the child can already correctly use a water mug, comb, phone. This does not mean that the baby should be able to comb. The main thing is that he understands how to use simple household items, imitating the actions of adults.
What social skills should a child have per year
At this age, children are characterized by:
1. Distinguish between self and others
With parents, the baby is friendly, cheerful and self-confident, behaves wary with strangers, avoids close contact, ignores instructions.
Natalia Lopushanskaya
Between 7 and 11 months, babies develop “separation anxiety”—sadness or crying at the disappearance of mom, dad, or another caregiver caregiver.
But the peers of the kids are not yet interested - one-year-old children play on their own or with adults.
2. Understand the word "no"
It is clear that the baby will not always obey and instantly fulfill the request of the parent, but he must be aware that the words “no” and “impossible” mean a ban.
Such a skill will help not only to protect the child, but also to show him that others have personal boundaries. You can’t bite and pull your mother’s hair, drag a cat by the tail and take a toy from another baby in the sandbox.
In the future, this will help the child realize that he, too, has personal boundaries that need to be protected.
3. Follow simple instructions
By the age of one, the child should understand simple verbal appeals: “give”, “bring”, “put”. That is, not just to hear the words, but also to realize what exactly the adult wants from him.
At the same time, Natalya Lopushanskaya warns that the child still understands only speech addressed directly to him. He does not perceive a conversation that does not require his active participation.
What conversational skills should a child develop in a year
Closer to a year, the first meaningful words appear in the child's arsenal, consisting of one or two identical syllables and related to persons or objects.
The kid no longer just copies speech sounds, but endows them with meaning and uses them on his own initiative.
Natalia Lopushanskaya
Closer to the year the child should consciously pronounce from two to ten words.
Today, many children have a delay in speech development. This can happen both because of the pathology of the nervous system, and for reasons not related to the health of the child.
Speech problems can occur due to several factors:
- Toddlers learn words passively - using gadgets and TV. This prevents the creation of a clear subject-verbal connection and makes it difficult to master the language.
- The parents are overprotective of the child. If the baby does not have space for independence, and any of his requirements are instantly met, he has little motivation to learn speech.
- The kid does not receive attention from parents. This is the other extreme, when adults, due to busy schedules or stress, do not find time for the development of the child.
Thus, if a baby does not know a few words a year, it is too early to sound the alarm. However, you should be wary if he does not use expressive babble and gestures.
What to do if the child has not mastered some skills and abilities
Lack of certain skills does not necessarily indicate a developmental delay. However, if you notice anything unusual, you should consult your pediatrician. This will help to calm the excitement, if there is no reason for it, and to deal with the problem in time, if it still exists.
Sign up for an appointment if a one-year-old baby:
- Doesn't crawl.
- Cannot stand without support.
- Does not point to objects or pictures.
- Does not search for objects hidden on it.
- Avoids eye contact.
- Doesn't ask for hands.
- Does not smile in response to the smile of his mother.
- Does not seek to communicate with adults, prefers monotonous games alone.
- Doesn't say a single word.
- Does not learn to use gestures such as nods or head shakes.
It is also worth going to the doctor if the child first acquired some new skill and then lost it.
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Text worked on: author Iya Zorina, editor Natalya Murakhtanova, proofreader Natalya Psurtseva