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Characteristics of a 12 Month Old

At a year old, a child is beginning to have more control over where to go and how to get there. A 12 month old communicates verbally, has finer motor control, recognizes people and objects, and investigates things. Accomplishments by 12 months are guidelines only, since each child has his or her own developmental pace.

  1. Moving Around

    • At 12 months, babies are crawling and preparing to walk.

      Usually by 12 months old, a child is sitting unaided and crawling and beginning to use furniture to stand up. They can stand by themselves and many can take steps unaided. Children can crawl up and down stairs and is beginning to climb out of playpens.

    Using Fingers and Hands

    • They can put things in containers and take them back out.

      Children can use thumb and fingers to pick up even small objects. They can put things into containers and take them out, and they can bring objects together and let go of things when they want to. Index fingers poke and make scribbling motions.

    Speech

    • A one-year-old can understand a great deal of what is being said and respond by gestures or actions to questions or requests. Often, children can say "yes" or "no" and "mama" and "dada." They practice imitative babbling speech and are interested in listening to others talking. They are also responsive to learning names for things and to learning the rhythm and cadence of speech.

    Social Skills

    • One-year-olds are eating finger foods.

      Babies at this age know family members and are becoming shy or afraid of strangers. They cry when parents leave and they have favorite people and playthings. They know daily routines and can help when getting dressed by putting arms into sleeves. At this stage, children are also beginning to test out the power of "no" with parents. A sense of humor is definitely present.

    Learning Skills

    • Things adults do are imitated.

      Children will be able to identify pictures of things they know. They explore and investigate, and learn what happens when objects are manipulated. Imitation is strongly used, and they mimic adult behavior in drinking from a cup, dialing a toy phone, and turning book pages. Simple problem-solving is exhibited, and they can figure some things out on their own. The attention span is longer and they can concentrate on something for two to five minutes.

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