Baby Talk: 10-12 Months
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At this point baby is reaching the end of his first year and it’s pretty incredible how fast this happens. From 10-12 months, your baby will definitely be on the move, exploring everything, and trying his best at attempts to communicate.
Baby is now understanding more language than ever before and you will begin to see his language comprehension in your interactions together. You will see baby respond to his name more consistently and you will start seeing him follow simple directions such as “want up” and “come here.” You will also begin to notice he will look in the direction of a person or favorite toy when it is mentioned. Baby will continue to use gestures – clapping, giving high fives, blowing kisses, and waving hello/good bye. He will reach towards objects he wants, like a toy or food, and you may begin to see a point emerge.
Baby will continue to experiment with his voice through babbling and you might start to notice those those babbles become more refined into recognizable syllables like “ma,” “ba,” or “da.” Your baby might even begin to produce a word – generally accidentally at first – and then as you reinforce – the words will become more meaningful to him. Closer to turning one, your baby might be saying his first words.
The most beneficial ways to interact and play with your baby are things that parents tend to do instinctively. However, If you are searching for a little more guidance in these interactions, read on.
Speech and Language Play:
Talk: While holding your baby’s gaze, smile and talk. Talk to baby during diaper changes, when feeding him, and during bath time. Describe what is happening throughout the day using simple and direct language.
Ask questions and wait for a response. (Try asking social questions and avoid quizzing, what’s this…). The pattern of “you talk and I respond, then I talk and you respond,” is the foundation for back and fourth conversation. Slow down, listen, and really observe what baby is doing and you might be surprised by what baby has to say!
Repetition: We all learn from repetition and consistent exposure. Use the same simple words repeatedly throughout the day and you might be surprised with how quickly baby will start repeating. Ex: every time you carry baby up the stairs say “up” with each step.
Point: While walking around the house or outside, point to objects, both close and in the distance, and talk about what you see.
Play Peek-A-Boo: Hide behind a scarf, towel, or hands to facilitate the game of Peek-A-Book. This simple turn-taking game is good practice for how to have a conversation later on.
Sing: Simple songs are calming, attention grabbing, and interactive. Singing with baby provides a great interactive activity and supports future speech and language skills, such as auditory discrimination, phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and auditory memory. Some simple songs that baby might love are Hush Little Baby, Pat-a-Cake, The Wheels on the Bus, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle.
Read: Read, read, read! Start with simple books pictures in high contrasting colors. Baby might also enjoy books that introduce him through a variety of textures that you can encourage him to touch. Reading well before baby is speaking, is an important bonding experience and exposes baby to language, rhythm, sentence structure, and new vocabulary.
Gestures: Clap for your baby and see if he imitates, wave bye bye/hello to everyone your encounter, and hold out your hand and say high five. Be sure to wait to give baby time to respond.
Sensory Play:
Babies learn best through their senses which is why sensory play is so important for a developing baby. Any activity that allows baby to safely explore using a combination of their senses (touch/smell/sight/hearing) in creative and spontaneous ways is considered sensory play. By providing baby with the opportunity to play with a variety of open-ended, everyday materials, you are providing baby with sensory experiences that plays an important role in early brain development .
Some ideas for sensory play for baby age 10 to 12 Months:
Shakers: Babies love shaking objects and listening for a response. Trying filling an empty bottle with rice or corn kernels and let baby shake until his heart is content.
Water Play: Whether you fill a bin with water or allow baby to splash around in the tub, water play is always a hit with the little ones. Try teaching baby to dump and pour with the water.
Coloring: Allow baby to start making marks on paper. Help him hold a crayon and show him how to make a mark. Redirect if he tries to put the crayon in his mouth. These egg crayons are a great introduction to coloring.
Ball Pits: We are lucky enough to have an indoor play space in our city that has an extremely clean ball pit for baby to experience. If you aren’t as lucky as us, pick up some plastic balls, fill a swimming pool or pack-n-play and let baby go to town exploring.
Tape Peel: Place some painters tape on the floor and give baby the chance to try and pull it up.
Toys:
Baby is beginning to play more purposefully by putting objects in, taking objects out, stacking, dumping, and building. Baby is beginning to problem solve while using toys. I highly recommend avoiding toys that require batteries and stocking up on old fashioned toys that provide baby with more opportunities for open ended play.
Water Tables are a great way to provide baby with a way to interact with water in the backyard. There are so many water tables to choose from, but we love the water tables that provide additional ways to interact with water by including slides, a waterwheels, play people and a scooping cup.
Baby Dolls provide opportunities for pretend play and are perfect for both boys and girls alike. The Wee Baby Stella has become our go to gift for a first birthday. We love how soft and interactive these babies can be.
Walkers are a great way to help baby learn to walk. The Radio Flyer Classic Walker Wagon has a “resist push” feature to support baby’s balance and help baby build confidence as a new walker. He can also fill up the wagon with his favorite toys and lovies and pull to stand without the wagon flying out from under him.
Baby Stackers are a great way to support baby’s development in all areas. The Fat Brain Toys Tobbles Neo is a great beginning stacker for baby and allows him to play around with balance.
Ball Ramps are a fun way to encourage fine motor, problem solving and cause and effect learning skills.
Puzzles are a great way to start supporting those problems solving skills. The Melissa & Doug First Shapes Jumbo Knob Puzzle is the perfect beginner puzzle for baby.
Remember, every baby develops at his own pace, so there is a large window for when baby will reach his developmental milestones for this reason. There’s nothing to worry about if your baby is hitting his important milestones within a period that you and your pediatrician are happy with. If you as the parent are having concerns, do not hesitate to bring it up to your doctor.