Motor Skills : Month 12
Gross Motor Skills
Your baby dislikes being restrained and will want to move about freely, using her new confidence and mobility. She stands on her own for short periods without support and leans forward to pick up objects while holding on with her other hand. She dances to music and climbs up low steps or ledges. She will try to lift heavier items, some which are stillmuch too big for her.
Fine Motor Skills
She tries to manipulate any button, switch, and handle or dial that she finds, and picks up small items using her thumb and index finger. She can place small objects into a container and retrieve them, and continues to improve her accuracy when using a shape sorter. She grasps several objects in one hand with ease and can build small towers using blocks.
Language : Month 12
Your baby tries to sing and will listen when you sing to her or read nursery rhymes and jingles. She uses both speech and action to indicate what she wants, and cries less often. When you ask her to locate an object, she will understand and look in the appropriate place. She may say “ta ta” for thank you and attempts new words to add to her vocabulary.
Emotion : Month 12
She loves people watching her and praising her actions. She demands personal attention and will want to be able to see you even when she is playing or involved in other activities. She still fears strangers but is adjusting to being left alone with familiar people such as grandparents and the babysitter. She will hug and kiss you spontaneously, is able to recognize that people have different personalities and preferences, including what they like and dislike, and is realizing that you are separate to her and have your own adult activities.
Learning : Month 12
Your baby’s brain is developing and she is moving from mimicking to inventing new actions that she has not seen before. She uses trial-and-error to solve problems and will investigate objects in thorough detail, emptying containers, rubbish bins, handbags, drawers and shelves to find new objects and see the cause and effect of her actions. She is beginning to understand “up” and “down” and the concept of gravity. She needs less sleep and fights tiredness. Her memory is developing and she can recall events that happened several hours or a day earlier.
What Your Baby Enjoys : Month 12
Your baby enjoys discovering new things that enable her to coordinate her actions, such as catching a ball, and dancing to music. She loves being independent so encourage her to ask for what she wants and to help you to feed and dress her.
How Can You Help : Month 12
- Get her to catch a ball and throw it back to you.
- If you have other children get them play with her and encourage her to share her toys.
- Place lots of different objects in a small box and get her to remove each object one by one and then return them to the box.
- Encourage her to communicate with you when she wants something and then you can repeat what she has told you.
- Play music and sing and dance together.
- Introduce new commands and actions and repeat them to her often. (i.e. Give mummy the ball, lift your leg, arms up, etc)
- When she is playing on her own or with people, make sure she can still see you.
- Take her outside and introduce her to new environments and people.
