Your baby is one year old
Your child begins to stand up and thus becomes part of the world of the "grown-ups". He has now acquired a certain skill with his hands and this allows him to explore every corner of the house. Now he can grab objects between thumb and forefinger and holds out his arm or leg to help you dress him.
And how has it developed so far? Did it meet all growth standards?
Learning to walk
If your baby is already one year old but still can't walk, don't worry: the important thing is that he can move on his own. On average, babies begin to walk around 14 months, but it should be borne in mind that a baby takes his first steps only when he feels ready. The age at which you start walking also depends on your temperament, the most curious are often also the earliest. Some children, however, soon realize that they can go much faster on all fours and do not see the usefulness of walking, at least for the moment! To help him learn to walk, you can provide him with support, for example his stroller, and remember not to rush to help him every time he falls: instead encourage him to get up and try again!
See also
Games to help him in his daily development
Here are some suggestions for games suitable for 1 year old children, useful to support them in their growth, in the first steps, in the discovery of sounds, lights, colors and above all adaptable to the rhythm of each child.
- The Fisher-Price First Steps Zebra is ideal for giving your little one confidence, pushing him to stand up on his own. If he is not ready yet, he can play with it while sitting, exploring all the activities with his hands.
- The Baby Sloth Dancer has soft arms to stimulate sight, hearing and touch; Plus, it emits colorful lights, irresistible music and sounds!
- Cagnolino Primi Passi by Fisher-Price is perfect both for children to play while sitting, and for the first steps standing up in total safety. Equipped with Smart Stages technology to adapt to each child's level of growth.
- Baby Riccio Forme e Colori is the perfect toy to pull for children who are already taking their first steps, or to use as a seated game discovering lights, music and songs.
- With Fisher-Price's Little Dog Hops and Turns every time the child hops or spins in circles, activate music and educational content.
Hygiene after one year?
Although babies rarely know how to keep themselves clean at one year, you can introduce the concept of personal hygiene during this time. Since your child begins to move by himself, show him where his potty is and let him know that he can use it whenever he wants. Never force it, the passage to the potty must be done at its own pace: Western civilization is the only one that takes nappies so early, in the rest of the world they expect 3 years.
If you want to get used to the use of panties, for example, you could opt to start using panty diapers, easier to manage when the child begins to use the potty because they make him more independent. The recommended size is 4, that is. ranging from 8 to 15 kg.
Home safety
Domestic accidents are the leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1 and 4… better not to leave anything to chance! Your baby goes everywhere and touches everything, your house is full of dangers… never leave him alone, not even 2 minutes! Put toxic products (medicines, detergents…) out of his reach and keep him away from the kitchen, where he could burn himself on something very hot (pot, stove, toaster…). Identify the places it could fall from (windows, bunk beds, stairs). The watchwords are: prevent, monitor, educate. However, do not put your child in a glass jar: he needs to learn with experience how to deal with dangers.
Nutrition
In addition to the first steps, eating alone also represents an important step towards the autonomy of the child. By now your child wants to "do it by himself", so let him familiarize himself with the cutlery by giving him a spoon to hold in his hands as you feed him. To prevent it from doing too much damage, get a good plastic tablecloth and a pelican bib, which has a pocket to catch food that falls off the spoon. Prepare foods that adhere well to the spoon (baby food, puree ...) or that can be easily grasped with your hands (fruit and vegetables cut into pieces, cereals ...).At the moment, the important thing is that you learn to get by on your own, good manners will come later!
The language
Even if your child cannot speak yet, he is already able to communicate with his family using both sounds and intonation of the voice. Language learning is done by mimicry, so it is very important to explain to your child the things you do, linking the gesture to the word in a clear, precise and simple way. His first words will be simple and often related to everyday life. If a word is too difficult to pronounce, he will not hesitate to resort to a "shortcut", approximate but understandable.
The sleep
A one-year-old child needs about 13 or 15 hours of sleep a day, of which about 4 hours for the afternoon nap. His rhythm changes, he often struggles to fall asleep in the evening and has a restless sleep. If he wakes up at night, we advise you not to intervene but to let him go back to sleep on his own. These difficulties are due to the numerous changes that your baby is going through, the enthusiasm for his "new life" prevents him from finding the necessary calm to fall asleep. To help him sleep, adopt a ritual, which will mainly have the task of preparing him mentally: pajamas, a calm game, soft lighting ... and as soon as your baby shows signs of fatigue, put him to bed so that he does not lose his sleep cycle.
