We have already discussed child development at 0-3, 4-6, 7-9 months. This article will focus on the child development aged 10-12 months. Your baby is becoming increasingly mature and active, so there are even more activities aimed at development.
By 10 months, most children are already able to:
- stand independently while holding onto support (and by 12 months, babies will be able to walk alongside support, with one hand, or on their own);
- imitate actions, such as feeding or combing a doll, stirring imaginary porridge;
- speak first words, the baby begins to use the first syllables of familiar words (by 11 months, many children can pronounce the word “ma-ma”);
- express emotions, which can be very diverse. The baby will show love for you through hugs, cheek kisses, and air kisses, which will certainly be pleasant to you.
In this article, you will find some tips on activities with your child for their development, as well as recommendations on which developmental toys are important and necessary at this age. We will:
- discuss options for narrative-role-playing games, which are very important for child development;
- discuss even more activities and toys that will help in language development, and by 12 months, the baby’s vocabulary will noticeably increase;
- learn to negotiate with the child during periods when they are upset, sad, etc. This process requires your calmness and patience. So, we will discuss tips to help you cope more easily with the baby during these challenging periods.
Just like before, we will discuss all these tips separately for each of the 7 blocks of necessary skills: fine and gross motor skills, sensory, and cognitive development, communication and speech, emotional intelligence, imagination, and creativity.
Activities for fine motor skills
Pincer Grasp Practice
One of the key aspects of fine motor development for children aged 10-12 months is practicing the pincer grasp, i.e. the ability to grasp small objects with the thumb and index fingers.
Several reasons why the development of this skill is vital:
- fine motor development, which includes coordination of the small muscles of the fingers and hand, is closely related to speech development;
- hand-eye coordination. Picking up small objects requires precise visual-motor coordination. This helps improve the connection between visual perception and hand movements;
- Preparation for self-feeding. As children refine their “pincers,” they become more capable of feeding themselves with their fingers. This is an important step towards independence during meals;
- Pre-writing skills. The hand becomes prepared to hold writing tools such as chalk and pencils and manipulate them;
- Independence in everyday activities, such as dressing and undressing, picking up small objects, and participating in various games.
To develop the pincer grasp, games with wooden clothespins are an ideal option. You can pin anything: pieces of paper to a string, simply hang pins on a string, or pin them to clothes or toys.
Lacing games
This is the most useful activity for language development that also trains visual-motor coordination.
First off, show how to thread the cubes, then sit together with the child and, holding their hands, do it together. Show how to use your hands to thread the cube. It’s important to speak out the process: “Pull-pull” and make the motion simultaneously, so the child understands what “pulling” means.
Wooden Shape Color Sorting Puzzle (Pyramid with Geometric Shapes)
These pyramids develop fine motor skills, visual coordination, and problem-solving skills.
Your baby’s hand works well because each piece needs to be rotated correctly. The child also needs to adapt to grasping the parts with their fingers along the sides so that they can see the hole and adjust their movements to place the shape.
First, show the child how to correctly grasp and explain the essence of the game, performing all actions simultaneously. It’s easiest to start with a circle, and it’s best to start with it. There is only one hole in the circle, and it’s important for the child to understand the principle of how to take the piece to see it and place the shape.
For 10-12 months old, it only takes to master assembling a tower with a circle. The child will be able to assemble the further shapes later, after a few months. However, the way to work with them can be shown to the child immediately so that it will be easier for them in the future. You can also place the shapes in the child’s hand and go through all these motions together, thus training muscle memory.
Lego Duplo Games
From 10-12 months, you can start introducing your child to Lego Duplo. Why is this useful?
- Manipulating Duplo blocks requires fine motor skills, including grasping, holding, and placing blocks. The pieces are large, making it easier to grasp and hold.
- Connecting and disconnecting pieces requires hand-eye coordination. Disconnecting pieces helps strengthen hand muscles.
- Lego allows children to explore basic building concepts by stacking and assembling blocks, as well as spatial perception as they learn to connect blocks together.
- Experimenting with connecting and disconnecting blocks helps children solve simple tasks. They learn about cause and effect, developing an understanding of how different actions lead to different results.
- Lego fosters imagination and creativity as children can build their own masterpieces from different blocks. It’s important for parents to support children in this endeavor and genuinely appreciate the new constructions they build.
It would be great if the child could connect several blocks and build a “tower”.
Simple puzzle games
Assembling and holding puzzle pieces helps strengthen a baby’s hand and finger muscles. This improves the ability to grasp objects, promoting fine motor skill development, while placing figures in the right places requires a certain level of precision, enhancing hand-eye coordination.
Assembling puzzles also helps children develop an understanding of spatial relationships as they figure out how the parts fit together.
Puzzles consisting of two parts will help the child understand the principle of how to connect pieces, and over time, you will be able to move on to puzzles consisting of a greater number of elements.
Paper Tearing Games
Give the child a piece of paper (preferably soft paper to avoid damaging their fingers) and encourage them to tear it into small pieces. This helps develop finger and hand strength, as well as coordination of movements.
Eating independently
Allowing a child to eat independently is very important for their development:
- Encourage the baby to pick up a spoon and scoop up food. Of course, the child will hold the spoon for a very short time at first, and then likely continue eating with their hands. This is also part of development: for food to reach the child’s mouth, hand coordination must be developed.
- Offer the child pieces of food that can be picked up with hands.
- Besides developing fine motor skills, eating with hands is also important for sensory development. During meals, the child experiences many different textures not available through any other activity.
Certainly, this process will leave a messy table and a dirty child behind, but everything can be cleaned up. Just remember that it won’t always be like this 🙂 Actually, the sooner a child starts eating independently, the sooner they will learn to eat more neatly and cleanly.
Activities for gross motor skills
To develop gross motor skills in babies aged 10-12 months, it is important to provide a safe environment so that the child can crawl as much as possible, practice standing with support, and also walk. Some children may already be able to walk independently closer to 12 months.
Ensure a safe environment by:
- locking cabinets that open. Use special fasteners so that the child cannot open cabinets containing dangerous items (sharp objects, breakables, household chemicals). Also, ensure to close cabinets that could hit the child during sudden opening;
- preventing the child’s access to electrical outlets and appliances;
- ensuring the safety and stability of items that the child may consider support.
Practice walking
This is the best activity for developing gross motor skills at this age:
- encourage the baby to practice standing and moving. For instance, place their favorite toy at the other end of the couch and suggest they walk to it with support. Or step away from the child and call them to come to you, showing what support can be used for this;
- hold the baby’s hands and allow them to take steps, providing support. Initially, you should hold the child with both hands, then, when you see that the child is moving more confidently, you can try holding them with only one hand;
- use push toys to help the child practice walking. The child will hold onto the handles and this will be their support for moving around the house. It is important to immediately try to regulate the child’s speed so that they do not try to accelerate too much with the push toy.
Say the word “Stop!” when you see the child approaching an obstacle in their path, and be sure to explain why you said that, for example: “You can’t go further, otherwise you will bump into the table, it’s dangerous.” This way, the child will learn to understand the word “Stop” and will develop an understanding of where it is safe to go and where not. This is a very important skill that will soon come in handy when the child walks independently and then starts running 🙂 Then it will be very important for the child to understand what “Stop” means.
Practice crawling
It is still relevant during the period when the child is not yet moving with support. Crawling strengthens the child’s muscles so that they can stand longer with support, and then move with it.
- Encourage crawling using various toys (crawl to and pick up a toy), cars, or a crawling tunnel.
- Ask the child to crawl to you. This motivation works better than any toy 🙂 So step back and call the child to you.
- Create a soft obstacle course, for example, using pillows, to encourage crawling.
Squatting and lifting
Spread toys on the floor and suggest the child squat down and pick them up (show them how to do it). This helps strengthen leg muscles.
Ball game
Roll a soft ball back and forth with the child. This helps improve coordination and motor skills. Encourage the child to reach out and grab the ball.
Dancing
Turn on music and dance with the child. Hold their hands and encourage them to move to the rhythm. Show that you can dance by holding onto something with one hand. Or even without support, just standing next to them, gently moving arms and legs to the music.
Outdoor games
If the weather is fine, take the child to the playground and swing on the swing. Be sure to watch for their safety, swing gently, and always be nearby.
Also, playgrounds have many places that can be used as support for practicing walking.
Activities for sensory skills
At the age of 10-12 months, games that we discussed in the article on child development 7-9 months are still very relevant, but now the child will be playing them more consciously.
Sensory bags games
A great option is bags filled with different materials. You can take empty bags that you will fill with different materials: pasta, beads, pebbles, rice, sand, cotton, etc. Just make sure the bags are tightly closed and the child cannot open them.
Sensory bags work great for tactile stimulation. You can spread them around the room and ask the child to find and collect them all. Say which bag the child has in their hands.
Playing with sensory books
Sensory books with inserts of different fabrics and textures are great for sensory development. In addition to different fabrics and colors (as well as objects of different shapes, which stimulate sensory development), such books have Velcro, fasteners, laces, buttons, clips, and buttons. Thus, these books are useful not only for sensory development but also for fine motor skills and cognitive development.
At the age of 10-12 months, a sensory book can already entertain the baby and make him play on his own. At some point, the child will be interested in a specific fastener, and they will open and close it. After a while, another one may become interesting. Some fasteners may be difficult to open, and the child may start to get nervous or frustrated; it will be important to tell the child what emotion they are feeling and why. Also, explain that with practice, everything will work out over time, and for now, you can help them with this task.
Games with musical instruments, listening to music
Musical instruments stimulate hearing and introduce children to different sounds and rhythms.
At this age, the child already has favorite melodies that they previously listened to on musical instruments (for example, on the music center shown in previous articles). Now the child consciously can switch melodies to find their favorite one.
Outdoor walks
Outdoor walks always provide a huge sensory experience. Now, when you can walk with the child while holding their hands, they have even more opportunities to explore the world. From this position, they can see more than they could before. It is very important to spend time outdoors, talking to the child, and telling them what you see around you. Try to describe more details, such as what kind of flower it is, its name, its color, etc. Describe surrounding objects using such characteristics:
- what material it is made of;
- size: large/small;
- shape;
- color;
- what it is used for.
Thus, each walk becomes a developmental activity for the child. This is the development of tactile sensations, hearing, vision, and smell. Moreover, such conversations form the child’s passive memory.
Eating independently
Earlier, we talked about how allowing a child to eat independently is very important at this age. Now the child can hold a spoon for a very short time, so provide them with convenient pieces of food. Picking up different foods with their hands is also a huge sensory experience, as different foods have different textures, colors, and shapes. And most importantly, each has a different taste.
When the child picks up a piece of meat or a vegetable, talk about what they are eating so the child can understand what tastes good to them and what doesn’t, and what exactly that taste is. When the child eats independently, they do it at their own pace, and they have time to enjoy and control their own exploration 🙂
Bathing
Bathing is also a huge sensory experience and is usually a lot of fun for children. The main thing is to never leave the child in the bath unattended.
At the age of 10-12 months, the child can already bathe longer in the bathtub and can fully enjoy the feeling of warm water, bubbles, or bath toys while sitting.
Activities for cognitive development
Between the ages of 10 and 12 months, babies better understand cause and effect and become more adept at problem-solving. Here are some cognitive development activities for children of this age:
Simple puzzle games
Provide the baby with simple puzzles consisting of 2-3 large pieces. An example of such a puzzle can be seen above, in the section on fine motor development. As the child figures out how the puzzle pieces fit together, they practice problem-solving skills.
Sorting games
Games with a sorter and sorting safe household items and toys are masterpieces. These can be rings of different colors, soft and hard balls, soft and hard toys, different types of pasta, etc. When you encourage the child to group similar items together, they develop early categorization skills.
Lego Duplo Games
Above, we already discussed how Lego Duplo develops fine motor skills. In addition to motor skills, Lego games are also an essential element for cognitive development, namely problem-solving skills. In the process of creating various structures using Lego Duplo blocks, the child learns the cause and effect principle, trial and error, and thus develops the foundation of logical thinking.
Reading books
Reading books helps increase a child’s attention span and builds their vocabulary. Engage the child in the story with an expressive voice, and describe the details you see in the pictures in the book.
Imitative games
Encourage the child to imitate simple actions, such as clapping hands, waving, making a fist, opening a palm, raising a hand, etc. Imitation is an important cognitive skill. It helps in learning and social development.
Role-playing games
- Interactive games with dolls or stuffed toys. For this, a large doll-baby like this one or, for example, a soft teddy bear would be great.
How to play:
- First off, make sure to give a toy a name, and then address it by name, call it, and ask it questions. For example, “Mary, what do you want to eat?”, “How are you?”, “Did you sleep well?” etc. This way, you engage in imaginary dialogue, and later the child will imitate such behavior, which will develop their imagination. By the age of three, the child will lead their own exciting games and communicate with their toys.
- Dress up the doll, feed it, put it to sleep, wrap it in a blanket, take it for a walk, and push it in a stroller. At first, you will mostly do these actions yourself, but try to involve the child in this process as much as possible. Very soon, the child will be able to feed the doll by themselves or cover it with a blanket.
- Interactive games with a set of kitchenware and a set of vegetables and fruits
Such a set of kitchenware is perfect for arranging an imaginary kitchen or tea party/lunch.
The set of vegetables and fruits can also be used for playing in an imaginary kitchen. For example, you can cook soup (adding only certain ingredients). With this set, the child will learn vegetables and fruits faster, what they look like, and will also be able to sort fruits and vegetables separately. If you have a set of fruits and vegetables that are divided into two halves (and contain a knife in the set), it will also be great practice for handling a kitchen knife. Splitting fruits and vegetables into halves with hands will also develop fine motor skills.
A set of vegetables/fruits + kitchenware set will still be relevant at 2–3 years old. With such toys, children can play independently for a longer period of time. That’s why such toys are just awesome 🙂
Flash card games
Card games help build vocabulary and also develop a child’s visual memory. In the article about child development 4-6 months, we thoroughly discussed how to play with them.
At the age of 10-12 months, in addition to showing the child cards and naming what is drawn on them, lay out several cards in front of the child (for example, four different shapes: square, triangle, circle, oval) and ask the child to show where the square is. You can also show fruits, vegetables, animals, birds, etc.
Communicative and speech activities
First of all, for language development, it is necessary to work on fine motor skills. Read more about how language development is related to fine motor skills development here.
At the age of 10-12 months, babies transition from babbling to forming their first words and strive to communicate more with the world around them. Communicate with your child as much as possible. It is during communication that a child’s vocabulary is formed, and they also start to understand how to express their thoughts and emotions.
- Talk to your child throughout the day. Speak clearly, using correct language sounds.
- Describe daily activities. While performing everyday tasks, describe what you are doing. Also, comment on what your baby is doing. Talk about diaper changes, meal times, and bathing times to help your child associate words with actions.
- Point out and name objects your child interacts with, such as toys, food, household items, and everything you see during outdoor walks. For example: “Look, this is an apple! It’s green, tasty, and juicy.” Repetition helps children associate words with objects.
- Expand on your child’s sounds. When your child babbles or makes sounds, respond as if they are talking. For example, if the baby says “pa” or “pu,” you can say: “Oh, you want your bottle? Let’s get your bottle.” If the baby says “yes” while pointing at an object, you can say: “Yes, that’s your teddy bear,” and so on.
- Sing songs and rhymes. Children find it easier to remember rhymes. Therefore, listening to songs and rhymes helps children develop passive memory.
- Continue to read to your child regularly. Choose age-appropriate books with simple text and colorful pictures. Talk about what you see in the pictures. Ask questions about the story and encourage your child to point to objects and respond to your prompts.
- Engage in card activities (as described above in the cognitive development section) to build the child’s vocabulary.
- Engage in mimicking. Encourage your child to mimic your facial expressions, gestures, and sounds. This is a fun and interactive way to develop communication.
- Encourage your child to mimic animal sounds, vehicle noises, or simple sounds like clapping or blowing kisses. Make the sounds yourself, then wait for the baby to copy you.
- Listen actively. When your child makes sounds or gestures, react attentively. Show your child that you are interested in what they are saying, and this will encourage them to communicate more.
Activities for emotional development
Emotional development is an important aspect of a child’s development. Here are some activities that will help support emotional development:
Hide-and-seek games
Continue playing hide and seek with your child. This classic game helps children understand object permanence and can bring them lots of laughter and joy.
Imitating emotions
Make exaggerated facial expressions to convey different emotions and encourage your child to imitate you. This can help them learn to recognize and express various emotions.
Emotion-oriented stories
Read books with pictures depicting characters displaying different emotions. Discuss these emotions with your child and think together about how you think the character feels.
Name emotions
When your child displays different emotions, name them. For example, say: “You look so happy!” or “I see that you’re sad,” or “I see that you’re angry.” This helps children connect words with their emotional experiences. Try to react calmly to emotions like anger; don’t shout at the child when they show this emotion. calmly tell the child what is happening (remember that this is also stressful for the child, as they do not yet understand what is happening to them, and from this ignorance, even more anxiety arises).
- Flash cards with emotions
Use cards with images of different emotions (e.g., smiling faces, sad faces, angry faces). Show the cards to your child and talk about what each face is feeling. Try to also show the emotion depicted on the card yourself, and then the baby will try to imitate it.
Role-playing games
Play role-playing games with dolls or soft toys. Create scenarios for taking care of toys, which will help your child develop empathy and social skills.
Hug your child as often as possible
Provide your toddler with plenty of physical affection and hugs. Physical bonding is a fundamental aspect of emotional development and helps establish a strong connection between you and your child.
Mark your child’s achievements
Celebrate new achievements. At the age of 10-12 months, when you see your child take their first steps, it will truly be worth celebrating 🙂 It’s also important to acknowledge small achievements, such as completing a puzzle correctly or balancing. Positive feedback will further engage your child in specific activities. And moments of shared joy bring you closer together.
Activities for imagination and creativity
Imagination and creativity development in children aged 10-12 months are essential for their cognitive and emotional development. Here are a few activities to help develop these skills:
Tell stories
Tell your child simple stories using colorful and expressive language. Use props such as toys or dolls to make the stories more engaging.
Outdoor games
Explore nature while walking outside. Let your child touch leaves, flowers, and observe birds. Nature is a fantastic source of inspiration for children.
Music and dance
Dancing develops a sense of rhythm and coordination, allowing children to express themselves through movement. You can hold your child’s hands and invite them to move to the rhythm of the music. Show how to dance, moving your hands and feet gently to the music. The main thing is for the child to understand that their body can move differently to music.
During games with musical toys, children learn to create their own melodies, which is also important for developing creative skills.
Role-playing games
Encourage role-playing with dolls, figures, or soft toys. Your child can use these toys to create their own stories and scenarios. Show them how to talk to the toy, feed it, put it to sleep, and so on.
Imaginary games
Even without toys, you can have a lot of fun using your imagination:
- sit your child next to you and imagine that your hands are holding the steering wheel of a car, and then you’re not just sitting next to each other on the couch, but driving a car. Or you can mimic the sound and movement of a train;
- imitate robot movements for the child;
- imitate sounds (and maybe movements) of different animals.
This is just a short list of what you can come up with. The main thing is to try, and start doing it. It’s a lot of fun, and you’ll come up with even more ideas along the way. Such activities bring you closer to your child. And most importantly, by your example, you show the child how imagination works, which is a huge contribution to their development.
Reading books
Read picture books with colorful illustrations to stimulate visual imagination.
Playing Lego
Encourage your child to build and experiment with different constructions using Lego Duplo. Show them how you can put together several blocks and imagine it’s a house or even a castle. Several assembled blocks can be anything, like furniture or tools, or something else. It’s all in your imagination :). Show that there are countless options for what several construction blocks can be.
When the child builds something and starts making some sound, pointing to their invention – suggest to them what it could be, for example: “Oh, did you build a tower? It’s so nice! You’re such a good kid.” Such positive feedback will encourage the child to new accomplishments.
It is very important to always react with joy and attention to such babies’ activities. This will instill self-confidence in the child, stimulate further development, and make them feel loved and important.
