MumCentre Essentials

2 to 3 years | 3 to 4 years | 4 to 5 years | 5 to 6 years

Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12

You must often pause to wonder how energetic a 10-month-old can be. If your baby still hasn’t tried to walk yet, relax. Many children are only ready to begin after their 12th month.

What your child might do:

Physically and mentally
• Anticipates favourite moments, e.g. clapping parts in a song
• Remembers certain gestures and outcomes associated with them e.g. picking up keys indicates going out
• Perceives depth, e.g. may not be willing to crawl down stairs head first
• Walks while holding on to furniture
• May walk while holding onto your hands (let baby go barefoot at home but consider getting soft shoes for outings)

Language and emotions
• Communicates wishes by pointing
• Responds to one or two familiar commands
• May try to imitate a barking dog or passing car
• Shows stronger separation anxiety

Feeding
It takes time for babies to use a cup without making a mess. Once your baby drinks more than she spills, try giving him/ her breastmilk in the cup.

Sleep
At this age, babies typically sleep for 10 to 12 hours a night and take two daytime naps averaging about an hour and a half each.

Ideal toys for this age
• Toys that encourage walking
• Large balls
• Baby-safe cooking/ tool bench toys

Useful tips
Separation anxiety can be frustrating for parents. If your baby is glued to you, offer plenty of practice time by leaving him/ her in the babysitter’s company and going to another room. A few minutes later, come back to say hello and leave again. Do this a few times over a few days. Your baby will soon learn that it’s safe to be without you and that you’ll always come back.

Babies are so enraptured by the world around them. You’ll be surprised by how quickly they will notice tiny but potentially dangerous hazards, especially now that they’re trying to walk. Do have another look around the house to see if there’s anything you may have missed earlier - e.g. dangling cords, power sockets, sharp-edged kitchen gadgets etc.

What your child might do:

Physically and mentally
• Drinks easily from a cup
• Knows that small things can fit into larger ones
• Pushes, throws, knocks down everything in sight
• Sits more confidently; able to pull self up and sit again
• Walks while holding onto your fingers

Language and emotions
• Says “mama” and “dada” and knows what they mean
• Babbling develops into intonations of language
• May say other words and know their meaning too

Feeding
It’s common for mums to wean their babies off breastmilk by the first birthday. If you plan to, begin now by dropping one feed at a time, offering a bottle or cup instead. Gradual weaning will be more pleasant and comfortable for both you and your child.

Ideal toys for this age
• Pushing and pulling toys
• Fix-together toys
• Colourful containers and items to put in and remove

Useful tips
Baby walkers have received a bad rap from child development experts for years. Experts believe that not only are walkers dangerous, they are also not very effective to begin with.

As baby approaches his/ her first birthday, you’ll be stunned by how quickly he/ she is learning to speak, walk and possibly even recite a few letters of the alphabet!

What your child might do:

Physically and mentally
• Anticipates actions, e.g. puts his/ her hands up for wearing a tee shirt or dress
• Pushes aside toys to grab toy that was out of view
• May walk independently

Language and emotions
• Displays affection e.g. hugs, kisses, smiles
• Uses sounds from language he/ she hears most
• Understands a significant amount of what is being said
• Imitates favourite sounds e.g. woof-woof, meow, ring-ring

Feeding
Now’s an ideal period to place baby in his/ her high chair and have him/ her join the whole family during mealtimes. It’s normal for baby to get distracted and not eat as much but repeated exposure will help him/ her to eventually learn what is expected.

Ideal toys for this age
• Wooden rocking toys e.g. rocking horse
• Baby swing
• Educational board books and flashcards

Useful tips
Now that your baby understands a lot of what is being said, why not teach him/ her alphabets and numbers? Alphabet and number flash cards can be both fun and educational if both parent and child are happily involved and make a great game of it.