Your baby is growing up, having reached the first and very important milestone of 1 year, during which they have acquired a tremendous number of skills:
- Most children can already walk on their own (some still need support, which is also normal) and become increasingly active in their movements
Babies are very actively exploring their surroundings, often moving very quickly and unpredictably, so it is time to ensure their safety.
During walks, the roadway, elevations, steps, curbs, and playgrounds are high-risk areas that require special attention from adults. Even at this age, it is important to teach your child the concepts of “safe” and “dangerous” places to walk. It is crucial to explain this calmly and offer alternatives to where they can go. Moreover, it is of vital importance to create a safe environment at home:
- install locks and restrictors on doors and cabinets, soft pads on furniture corners, and secure furniture;
- remove all potentially dangerous items like medications, chemicals, magnets, cosmetics, and small objects.
More about potential hazards at home and how to make your home safe for your baby, please read here.
- The baby’s vocabulary is increasing, and your conversations will become more interesting. It is a wonderful experience to watch your baby grow and learn new words every day 🙂 During this period, active engagement in speech development is required.
- At this age, your baby can go through the so-called first-year crisis. During this period, the child starts to separate from their mother and recognize themselves as an individual, striving for independence. Additionally, the mismatch between “want” and “can” often causes frustration, a lack of understanding of how to express desires, and an inability to cope with emotions—all of which lead to the crisis. The key is to remember that this is another stage of your child’s development, understand their state, and support them with understanding, hugs, and love. This article provides practical advice on how to cope with this period more easily.
As your child grows older, there are more activities available for their development.
In this article, you will find tips on activities with your baby, speech development, useful toys, and how to navigate the first-year crisis. As in our previous articles for the ages of 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 months, we will discuss all these tips separately for each of the 7 essential skill blocks.
Activities for fine motor skills
Lacing games
Lacing games not only develops fine motor skills and visual coordination but is also among the most beneficial activities for speech development.
We discussed a version of large lacing in the article on 10-12-month development. This activity is still relevant for 12-18 months.
At 12-18 months, you can also start with smaller lacing activities, such as this one:
- Sit with your child, holding their hands, and thread the lace together.
- Say “pull” while performing the action so the child understands what pulling means.
It’s enough to thread the lace through a few holes at a time.
You can also offer the child a thin lace with large beads, which we discussed earlier until they become more adept at handling the thin lace. This is an intermediate step between large and small lacing.
Simple puzzle games
We previously discussed simple puzzles. The primary goal was to understand the principle of connecting a two-piece puzzle.
At 12-18 months, you can start combining 3-6 puzzle pieces.
Balancing games
Why is this game beneficial?
- Balancing toys requires children to manipulate objects carefully to maintain balance. This helps improve visual-motor coordination as the child visually tracks the movement of the toy and uses their hands for precise adjustments.
- To assemble a balance, the pieces need to be handled carefully using the pincer grasp.
- Balancing toys requires problem-solving skills. Children need to experiment with different strategies to maintain the balance of the toy, which promotes cognitive development and improves their ability to think critically and solve problems.
- The game can teach children patience and perseverance. Balancing objects can be a process of trial and error, thus, children learn to overcome difficulties.
Nice options for this age include:
- animal balance toys;
- moon balance toy with different-sized cylinders.
With the latter option, it’s excellent if the child learns to balance a few pieces at first. These cylinders clearly demonstrate differences in size and weight.
- Place two pieces side by side and explain the differences to your child.
- Let them try each piece and say, “This cylinder is thinner and lighter, and this one is bigger and heavier.”
- Pretend your hands are scales to show how they tilt accordingly.
Magnetic fishing game
Another great game for developing fine motor skills and visual coordination is magnetic fishing. It’s important to choose a version with large enough fish so the child cannot swallow them.
- First off, show the child how the magnet works.
- Give them a fish in one hand and a fishing rod in the other, and demonstrate how the fish is attracted to the magnet.
- Once the child masters the “connection” of the fish and magnet, place the fish on the table or mat and encourage them to catch the fish, holding the fishing rod in the air.
Playdough or modeling dough games
From this age, you can introduce your child to playdough and modeling dough. Of course, don’t expect crafted items right away 🙂 Initially, it will just be squeezing the playdough in their hands, which is exactly what is expected.
Squeezing playdough or dough in their hands significantly improves hand strength and finger dexterity. These activities develop fine motor skills and, consequently, speech.
You can add various molding tools, shapes, and rolling pins. Pressing shapes and working with a rolling pin provide additional hand-strength training.
Drawing on a board using markers and chalk
At 12-18 months, a drawing board with markers and chalk becomes very relevant. Drawing helps improve hand control and coordination.
Show your baby how to draw circles, lines, and other geometric shapes. Initially, the child will make random marks with the marker and chalk, but over time these drawings will take shape.
It’s crucial not to leave the child alone with the markers and chalk to prevent them from eating them or drawing on the furniture 🙂
Wooden Shape Color Sorting Puzzle (Pyramid with Geometric Shapes)
We discussed this toy with geometric shapes in detail in the previous article. It can also be applied at 12-18 months.
Previously, we started with circles and rectangles. Now, as the child is older, they can work with triangles, squares, and pentagons.
Playing with Lego Duplo
Lego games are suitable for all ages. As the child gets older, their interest in Lego increases. Besides motor skills, Lego develops imagination and creativity, as children can create something on their own with different blocks. It’s important for parents to support their children in this endeavor and genuinely admire the new structures they create.
Playing with ring stacking and nesting cups
At this age, the child can consciously assemble the entire pyramid and independently build towers with nesting cups to knock them down.
Playing with safe household items
Children are often attracted to simple household items: plastic or colored paper dishes, boxes, and wrappers. All these can be used for developing fine motor skills (collecting, stacking, tearing, and crumpling), sensory experiences (rustling, tactile sensations), and making a mess 😉 But it’s worth it!
Independent eating
It’s very important for the child’s development to allow them to eat independently.
At 12-18 months, the child will be more adept with a spoon if you introduced it before 1 year, but they might still prefer eating with their hands. This is normal.
Offer the child pieces of safe-sized food that can be easily picked up with their hands.
Besides developing fine motor skills, eating with hands is also important for sensory development. During meals, the child experiences various textures that are not available in any other activity.
Be patient. Remember, a messy table and a messy child after meals won’t last forever 🙂 This is just a stage that needs to be passed through, and soon the child will become more tidy.
Activities for gross motor skills
For the development of gross motor skills in toddlers aged 12-18 months, it is essential to ensure a safe environment where the child can practice walking as much as possible.
Key considerations include:
- opening cabinets. Use special locks to prevent the child from opening cabinets containing dangerous items (sharp objects, breakables, household chemicals, medications). Make sure to secure cabinets that could swing open and hit the child.
- access to outlets and electrical appliances. Ensure the child cannot reach outlets or electrical devices.
- soft corner cushions. Install soft corner cushions on furniture that is at the child’s height.
- stable furniture. Ensure that items the child might use for support are safe and stable.
- non-slip flooring. Make sure the floor is not slippery, and avoid using slippery rugs. As toddlers start to run, it’s important to have safe flooring.
Practicing walking
Walking is the best activity for developing gross motor skills at this age. Once a toddler learns to walk independently, they will be eager to explore their surroundings constantly.
Teach your child the concepts of “safe” and “dangerous” walking areas. Explain this calmly and offer alternatives on where they can go. For instance, instead of saying, “Don’t go there, there’s a rock,” you can say, “There’s a rock ahead, let’s go around it to stay safe.”
Also, use “Stop!” when your child approaches an obstacle and explain why, for example, “You can’t go further; you’ll bump into the table, which isn’t safe.” If you started teaching the word “stop” before 12 months, your child will respond to it more frequently now.
Squatting and standing up
Practice squats to strengthen leg muscles. For example, scatter toys on the floor and encourage your child to squat and pick them up. Demonstrate how to do this.
Ball games
At this age, you can start teaching your toddler to play soccer. Small balls are suitable for practicing kicking.
These balls are soft, and besides “playing soccer,” they can be picked up and thrown as far or as high as possible. This helps to strengthen the arm muscles.
Dancing
Turn on music and dance with your child. Dancing is great at any age 🙂 Once your child can walk independently, they will enjoy exploring their body’s capabilities through rhythmic movements.
Outdoor games
Playing at the playground becomes especially interesting for toddlers aged 12-18 months. They can enjoy swings, carousels, low slides, and ladders.
Outdoor play, where they can run, jump, climb, and explore, helps develop strength, balance, and coordination. Always make sure the surrounding is safe and be ready to support or catch your child.
Walking up stairs
If possible, practice walking upstairs with your toddler. Show them how to hold the handrail with one hand while holding your hand with the other and moving their feet.
Toddlers usually master walking upstairs first, as they find climbing intriguing. It is important that stair walking is always done under your supervision. If you are not nearby, ensure there is protection to prevent access to stairs in your home.
Jumping games
Once your child can walk confidently, start practicing two-footed jumps. This is a challenging skill for them to learn.
Teaching your child to jump:
- Show your child how to jump by doing it yourself.
- Use simple language to explain the activity. Say things like, “Let’s jump together!” or “Jump like mommy/daddy!” Keep instructions short and positive. Show them it’s fun.
- Choose a safe, soft surface like a mat for jumping to make landing more comfortable and reduce the risk of injury.
- Hold your child’s hands to provide support and stability. Explain that both feet should leave the ground at the same time.
- Encourage your child’s efforts with positive reinforcement. Applaud, cheer, or use supportive words to show they’re doing well.
- Practice regularly to reinforce the concept of jumping. Repetition helps children build muscle memory and confidence.
Walking on orthopedic/massage mats
Massage mats with textured surfaces help train the foot and calf muscles, strengthen ligaments, and prevent flat feet in toddlers.
Walking on the mats for five minutes daily is sufficient. Place them in areas where the child frequently walks, ensuring they step on them throughout the day.
Besides developing gross motor skills, these mats are beneficial for sensory development due to their varied textures.
Activities for sensory skills
At the age of 12-18 months, toddlers become more active and curious, opening up more opportunities for sensory activities.
Playing with playdough or modeling clay
Playing with playdough/modeling clay simultaneously develops sensory, fine motor, and cognitive skills:
- playdough comes in different textures, allowing children to experience various sensations, and improving their sense of touch.
- kneading and squeezing provide sensory information that helps children better understand pressure and resistance. This enhances their awareness of their body and its movements in space.
- when playing, multiple senses are engaged: touch, sight, and sometimes smell if scented playdough is used. When the brain processes information from different senses, it creates a complete picture of the environment.
Offer your toddler soft playdough or modeling clay to squeeze, roll, and shape. For added interest, use various molds and sculpting tools.
Sand play
At 12-18 months, one of the favorite spots for toddlers on the playground is the sandbox. Playing with sand develops tactile skills and fine motor coordination.
Provide various molds that can take shape when using damp sand. Besides creating different shapes, toddlers will enjoy sifting sand through their fingers or searching for hidden objects.
To make it more engaging, you can hide small toys in the sand and encourage your toddler to dig them out. Also, adding water to the sand changes its texture, offering a new tactile experience. Playing with sand and water is a great sensory activity.
Finger painting
Finger painting involves touching and manipulating paint with fingers, allowing children to explore different textures. They can feel the smoothness of the paint, its thickness, and variations created by mixing colors, which greatly enhances tactile skills.
Squeeze a bit of different colored finger paints onto a sheet of paper. Place some dots of paint in various spots on the paper. Show your toddler how pressing on a dot and moving their finger leaves a trail of paint. Then let them try it out. This kind of play usually brings a lot of joy and excitement 🙂 It’s fascinating for toddlers to see the immediate results of their actions.
For sure, such finger painting often ends with a bath, as the paint usually gets on more than just fingers 🙂
If a bath is inconvenient, there’s a hack to keep painting mess-free. Place the paint in a sealed plastic bag or a document file and tape it to the table. This way, the toddler can still draw with their fingers on the paint, but the paint stays under the plastic, keeping their hands clean. This option provides visual stimulation without the tactile feel of the paint on their fingers.
Taste testing
By the age of 12 months, children are already familiar with most fruits and vegetables (introduced through solid foods). You can conduct taste tests.
Place three different fruits or berries on a plate, such as a slice of apple, a piece of banana, and a piece of kiwi. Tell your child what each fruit is called, and then let them taste each one while you describe the taste.
You can taste along with your child (take a piece for yourself and one for your child) to convey the taste and your sensations accurately. Explain how juicy and sweet the apple is, and how the banana is sweet and much softer than the apple. This helps the child better understand their sensations, such as what is sweet, what is sour, etc.
Chalk drawing
We mentioned the two-sided drawing board in the fine motor skills section, where one side is for drawing with colorful chalk. Drawing with chalk combines visual and tactile stimulation. You can use such a board at home, and chalk on the outdoor playground.
Playing with sensory books
Sensory books with inserts made from various fabrics and textures, mentioned in previous articles, are still relevant.
At 12-18 months, such books can now capture the toddler’s interest in independent play.
Bath time
At 12-18 months, children can spend longer in the bath, enjoying the sensation of warm water, bubbles, or soft bath toys while sitting or standing.
Bathing is a significant sensory experience and is usually a lot of fun for children. Just remember, never leave your child unattended in the bath.
Outdoor walks
Outdoor walks provide a vast sensory experience. Walks can be longer now as toddlers are more mobile. It’s essential to spend time outside, talking with your child and explaining what you see around you.
At this age, toddlers are often fascinated by specific things like flowers, butterflies, bugs, leaves, etc.
Tell your child more about what catches their interest. For instance, what kind of flower it is, its name, and its color. Describe surrounding objects by:
- what it’s made of
- size: big/small
- shape
- color
- purpose
Each walk becomes an educational activity, enhancing the child’s tactile, auditory, visual, and olfactory senses. Also, remember that such conversations help build the child’s passive memory.
Activities for cognitive development
As toddlers grow older, they better understand cause-and-effect relationships and become more adept at problem-solving. Here are some cognitive development activities for children of this age:
Simple puzzle games
At 12-18 months, toddlers can be introduced to simple puzzles consisting of 3, 4, 5, and 6 pieces. An example of such a puzzle can be seen above in the fine motor development section.
By figuring out how puzzle pieces fit together, the child will practice problem-solving skills.
Sorting games
Sorting games with a shape sorter is still relevant, although, at this age, toddlers may find it more interesting to sort other safe household items. These could be various plastic containers or paper dishes, different types of pasta, etc.
For sorting at this age, a toy kitchenware set (sorting by color and type of dish) and a set of fruits and vegetables (sorting by color, separating fruits and vegetables) are excellent options.
Encouraging the child to group similar items together helps develop early categorization skills.
Lego Duplo games
We’ve already discussed how Lego Duplo develops fine motor skills. Besides motor skills, playing with Lego is also an essential element for cognitive development, specifically problem-solving skills.
By building different structures with Duplo blocks, the child learns to understand cause-and-effect relationships, learning through trial and error—thus developing the foundation of logical thinking.
Reading books
Reading books helps increase a child’s attention span (a crucial component of cognitive development) and builds their vocabulary. Use books with bright pictures. While looking at them, you can ask the child to point out where and what is drawn, for example: “Show where the sun is drawn.”
At this age, you can already start using books with the alphabet (with letters and big pictures for corresponding words). There are also books that contain many different sections: alphabet, colors, numbers, opposites, seasons, etc.
Lift-and-flap books where you need to flap, revealing another logical picture or text with interesting facts, etc., are also great. There are many theme books of this kind, such as “Who Lives Where?”, “Who Eats What?”, “A Day in the Life of a Child”, “Opposites”, etc.
Pretend play
Encourage the child to imitate simple actions, such as clapping hands, waving, clenching fists, opening palms, raising a hand, etc. Also, you can already ask the child to jump (as we discussed earlier), or lift their legs, stepping over some obstacle. Imitation is an important cognitive skill. It aids in learning and social development.
Role–play games
- Interactive games with dolls or stuffed toys. Play pretend games with dolls or soft toys. For this, a large doll or stuffed bear like this one is perfect. In the article about the development of 10-12 months, we discussed in detail how to play such games.
- Interactive games with a set of kitchenware and a set of fruits and vegetables. Such sets are still very relevant, and now it will be even more interesting for the child to play with them. Especially if you offer the child a real plastic kitchen container and a large wooden salad spoon. The child can add ingredients to the container and pretend to prepare dinner 🙂 Toddlers feel more confident and grown-up when using real kitchen items.
Flash card games
Card games help build vocabulary and also develop the child’s visual memory. At 12-18 months, card games transition to a “show me where…” format. Of course, provided that you started showing these cards around 6 months ago.
Lay out several cards in front of the child, for example, 4 cards with different animals—tiger, lion, elephant, giraffe—and ask the child to show where the elephant is. You can show fruits, vegetables, colors, shapes, birds, etc.
Busy board games
An excellent option for a busy board would be a board like this. Here you can find many different latches, knobs, and other elements that will develop problem-solving skills.
Inside such a house, you can store other toys or hide them, and then ask the child to open all the locks on the house to find the hidden toy.
Such a busy board can keep the child occupied for a really long time. And it will also be relevant in the future – up to 3 years old.
Communicative activities
First off, it is necessary to work on fine motor skills for speech development. Read more about how speech development is related to fine motor skills development here.
Between the ages of 12 and 18 months, babies increasingly use syllables for communication and by 18 months can already say about 20-30 words (15-20 words at this age is considered normal).
To develop speech, communicate with your child as much as possible. The child’s vocabulary is formed during communication. Pay attention to how your little one speaks and communicates: do they actively participate in the dialogue, attract your attention with gestures, and are there new syllables appearing in their speech?
It is important to create situations where the child has to speak. Do not guess their desires at first glance. Ask the child to express what they want to do or get in words (initially, with syllables). Of course, it may not be easy at first, but this is precisely the situation where if done regularly, it will become easier with each passing day. And it will indeed help the child to speak.
Activities for speech development for 12-18-month toddlers:
- Talk to your child throughout the day. Speak clearly, using correct speech sounds.
- Respond promptly. When your child makes sounds or points to something, react promptly. This reinforces the understanding that communication leads to a reaction or response.
- Describe daily activities. While doing everyday tasks, describe what you are doing. Comment on what your little one is doing. This way, it will be easier for the child to remember and understand their actions in order to express them later using words.
- Point out and name objects with which your child interacts, such as toys, food, household items, and everything you see during a walk outdoors. For instance, “Look, this is an apple! It is green, tasty, and juicy.” Then also say the word slowly syllable by syllable “Ap-ple” and ask the child to repeat after you. When the child repeats it – be sure to praise them for it. Then you can repeat the process 2-3 times: you say – the child repeats.
- Expand on your child’s sounds. When your child babbles or makes any sounds, respond as if they are talking. For example, if the child says “ba” or “bu,” you can say, “Oh, you want your bottle? Let’s take your bottle.” If the child says “da” while pointing at an object, you can say, “Yes, this is your stuffed teddy bear,” and so on.
- Introduce simple requests, such as “come here,” “give me the ball,” or “wave goodbye.” This helps infants understand and follow basic instructions.
- Sing songs and rhymes. Children find it easier to remember rhyming sentences. Therefore, by listening to songs and rhymes, children develop their passive memory.
- Continue to read to your child regularly. Choose age-appropriate books with simple text and colorful pictures. Describe what you see in the pictures. Ask questions about the story and encourage the child to point to objects and respond to your prompts.
- Encourage your child to imitate animal sounds. Meow-meow, woof-woof, etc. Make the sounds yourself, and then wait for the baby to copy you.
- Listen actively. When your child makes sounds or gestures, react attentively. Show the child that you are interested in what they are saying, and this will encourage them to communicate more.
Emotional intelligence development
The One-Year Crisis
At this age, your baby may begin to experience the so-called one-year crisis (sometimes it can start before 12 months).
During this period, the child begins to perceive themselves as an individual and strives for independence. The child develops gradually, moving from one “step” to another. This transition is known as a crisis, i.e., when the child desires more but does not yet know how to achieve it or lacks the skills. Additionally, at one year old, the child does not yet know how to express their desires or manage their emotions.
Of course, all the above can be a significant source of stress for both the child and the parents. It is important to remember that a crisis is just another stage in the child’s development, an essential and integral part of their psychological growth. Also, keep in mind that every crisis comes to an end sooner or later. 🙂
By understanding the characteristics of this period and the child’s state, you will be better able to support your child through this crucial phase of their growth.
Common manifestations of the crisis:
- The child reacts to any prohibitions and refusals with crying and screaming.
- Tantrums occur as a way to get what they want or because they didn’t get what they wanted.
- The child resists getting dressed, and preparing for a walk can turn into rolling on the floor.
- The child insistently demands attention when you are busy and does not want to let go of their mother.
How to deal with it:
- Try to make your home as safe as possible to minimize the risk of injuries and the need for prohibitions. Put away everything that can be broken, spilled, put in the mouth, swallowed, or choked on. At this age, everything interests the child, and they will inevitably try to reach these “dangerous” items, becoming very upset by your prohibitions. Therefore, it is better to remove them in advance.
If a prohibition is necessary, try not to suppress the child’s curiosity but redirect it into a peaceful activity. For example, “You can’t tear the book, but you can flip through it. You can tear this piece of paper instead.”
Often, such “household conflicts” arise because of cleanliness. For example, you buy your child new clothes, and they immediately want to jump into the sandbox. Parents start prohibiting it because “you’ll get dirty,” leading to a tantrum. A one-year-old simply cannot understand your arguments about cleanliness and neatness. Therefore, it is better to divide clothes in advance into those for visiting (clean) and those that can get dirty in the sandbox or during a walk without worry.
- To understand how to handle tantrums the best way possible, it is essential to understand what a child’s tantrum is.
A child’s tantrum is a strong, uncontrollable emotional reaction. It occurs due to the inability to cope with emotional tension resulting from the inability to fulfill a desire.
In other words, a child’s tantrum does not happen because the child wants to irritate you intentionally. The child has a desire, naturally generating energy to achieve it (for example, reaching for something on the table). But when it turns out that this is impossible (the child cannot reach it or it is forbidden), a tantrum arises as a natural way to release this unfulfilled energy.
It is very important to understand that, first and foremost, during a tantrum, the child suffers a lot: they cannot control this state and do not understand what is happening to them. And they definitely cannot just stop it because children learn to control their emotions only between the ages of 4 and 7. Therefore, phrases like “Calm down!” won’t help. They will likely make the child even more upset.
The best thing to do now is to empathize with the child, and verbalize their state, for example, “I see that you are upset because you couldn’t reach the iron. It’s hot, it’s not safe, you could get burned,” or “I see that you are upset because this toy broke.” After verbalizing this state, tell the child that you understand and love them. Then try to redirect their attention to something interesting.
Sometimes, when you start verbalizing the child’s state, they may cry even more, and then immediately switch to redirecting attention.
Another important point is that if you understand that the child’s tantrum is because you prohibited something (meaning you had reasons for the prohibition), do not give in and lift the ban just to stop the tantrum. If you give in, the child will develop a logical chain “When I throw a tantrum, I get what I want,” leading to more frequent tantrums in the future.
From birth, before the child could talk, they expressed all their requests through crying and screaming. And this was normal. But starting from the age of 12-18 months, when the child begins to talk and can express some requests and desires with words, it is very important to teach the child to verbalize their desires.
This will develop a new, correct logical chain, “When I verbalize my desires, I can get what I want.” For example, if you know that closer to 18 months, the child can say “drink” or “water” and you see that the child starts to cry and point to the bottle, you can say: “I can’t understand you, please say what you want.”
- To make getting ready for a walk easier, you can use the following options:
- offer the child two clothing choices, for example, “Do you want to wear the red shirt or the blue one today?”
- remind them of who they might see on the walk. It could be a neighbor walking their dog or other moms with kids you often see. Or perhaps you go to feed ducks at the pond daily – in that case, mention that you need to visit them.
- depending on the season, you could say something like, “I wonder what the bright sun looks like outside” or “I wonder if there are any puddles after the rain, let’s check,” and so on.
- if the child is still reluctant, you can try saying, “Okay, you stay here – I’ll go and see what the sun looks like outside.”
To sum up, any communication about the walk, what awaits the child outside, and what they should wear will be much more effective than saying, “Let’s get dressed quickly, we need to leave,” or asking, “Are you going to get dressed?” Because the answer to such questions is often “no.” 🙂
Regarding the child constantly demanding attention when you are busy – it is most effective to give the child some attention. For instance, hold them for a few minutes, hug and kiss them, or play peek-a-boo, rather than spending those few minutes explaining that you are busy and cannot attend to them right now.
Most often, when the child is reassured that mom is not going anywhere and is ready to give attention, they will calm down, and you can continue your tasks.
Generally, it’s very important to have at least 30 minutes a day of quality time together with your child. Engage fully in their play, talk, and have fun together. A child can sense their mom’s mood very well, so it’s important to show genuine interest in spending fun time together.
Activities for emotional development
Overall, activities for developing emotional intelligence, the same ones that are relevant for ages 10-12 months are still applicable.
- Playing hide and seek.
- Emotion imitation. Exaggerate your facial expressions to convey different emotions and encourage your child to imitate you. This can help them learn to recognize and express various emotions.
- Reading books focused on emotions. Read picture books with characters showing different emotions. Discuss these emotions with your child and talk about what you think the character is feeling.
- Labeling emotions. When your child shows different emotions, name them. For example, say: “You look so happy!” or “I see you’re a bit upset” or “I see you’re angry.” This helps children associate words with their emotional experiences. Try to respond calmly to emotions like anger, and avoid yelling at your child when they display it. Calmly explain to your child what they are experiencing. Remember, it’s also stressful for the child as they don’t yet understand what is happening, and this uncertainty can increase their anxiety.
- Emotion cards. 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 mimic the emotion shown on the card yourself, and then have your child imitate it.
- Role-playing games. Play role-playing games with dolls or stuffed animals. Create scenarios involving care for the toys, which can help your child develop empathy and social skills.
- Hug your child as often as possible. Provide your child with plenty of physical affection and hugs. Physical attachment is a fundamental aspect of emotional development and helps establish a strong bond between you and your child.
- Celebrate your child’s achievements. Take joy in your child’s new accomplishments. Positive feedback will further engage your child in a particular activity. Additionally, shared moments of joy can significantly strengthen your bond.
Activities for imagination and creativity
At 12-18 months, more and more activities for developing imagination become available. Here are some activities that can help develop these skills:
- Drawing. Provide your child with creative supplies such as crayons, a drawing board, finger paints or watercolors, markers, or colored pencils, and drawing paper. Let your child express their creativity through drawing and painting.
- Take a piece of paper for yourself and give one to your child. Then, take some paints (or pencils) and show how and what can be drawn. Don’t worry if you can’t draw well. You don’t need special skills here 🙂 You can always start with geometric shapes. Draw a circle, a square, a triangle, etc. Show how lines can be smooth, straight, or wavy. Your child will try to copy some of this. You can also take their hand and repeat the movements while holding their hand.
- Start with large elements and then add details. For example, draw a circle, then add lines to make it a sun with rays. Or draw eyes, a nose, and a mouth to create a face.
- Water Doodle Mats are also great for this age. These are special surfaces and water markers.
- Using coloring books. There are water-based coloring options or regular ones for coloring with pencils.
- Play with clay or playdough. As discussed earlier, playing with clay is very beneficial for developing fine motor skills and imagination. It will be very exciting for the child to realize that they are creating something with their own hands. It’s important to praise the child for their efforts and always respond with joy and attention to their creations. This will build their self-confidence and stimulate further development.
- Tell stories. Tell your child simple stories using colorful and expressive language. Use props like toys or dolls to make the stories more engaging.
- Music and dancing. Dancing develops a sense of rhythm and coordination, allowing the child to express themselves through movement. Now that your child can dance standing up without holding onto anything, dancing will be especially interesting. Join in the dancing with your child to have fun together.
During play with musical toys, the child learns to create their own melodies, which is also important for developing creative skills.
- Role-playing games. Encourage role-playing games with dolls, figures, stuffed animals, toy dish sets, cars, etc. At 12-18 months, almost any toy can be used for role-playing games.
- Imagination games. You can have a lot of fun even without toys by using your imagination:
- sit your child next to you and pretend your hands are holding a car’s steering wheel, and now you are not just sitting on the couch, but driving a car. You can imitate the sound and movement of a car/train/tram.
- act out the movements of a robot.
- make the sounds (and maybe movements) of different animals.
This is just a short list of what you can come up with. Start doing it, and everything will flow naturally. By doing this, you show your child how imagination works, which is a significant contribution to their development. Moreover, such activities strengthen your bond with your child.
- 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 by example how you can assemble a few blocks together and imagine that it’s a house or even a castle. Actually, a few assembled blocks can be anything—this is all about your imagination 🙂 Show by example that the child has many options for what a few blocks of the constructor can be.
When the child assembles something and starts making sounds or syllables while pointing to their creation, suggest what it could be, for example: “Oh, did you build a tower? How beautiful! You did such a great job.” Such positive feedback will encourage the child to achieve new things.
It is very important to always respond to such children’s creations with joy and attention.
- Outdoor adventures. Explore your backyard, playground, or local park. Collect leaves, rocks, or sticks, and use them for crafts or just let your imagination run wild in a natural setting.
