Your child's growth and development at twelve months

Being a parent is not an easy job so you do not need the added worry of whether or not your child is developing, as he or she should. Bear in mind that there are hundreds of guides out there that all say similar, or in some cases, completely different things. Your child will not be at the same level in all of these guides, and no child is the same as the next so don’t have a heart attack if your child appears to be behind the others his age.

At this age your child's social development will only just have begun. You will find basic verbal communication will have started and he will begin to recognize his name. He will also begin to understand the concept of ‘no’. This does not, however mean that he will listen to you, he just understands what it means. It took my son twelve months to begin to understand the word and another twelve to actually listen to me when I said it. However this is also a very rewarding age as this is when they begin to understand the social ritual of kissing and waving good-bye. Your child will begin to press his face to yours to show he loves you, and will begin to show affection in other ways like hugging. They begin to feed themselves with their fingers around this time, and will show anger or annoyance if a preferred toy is taken away. She will begin to repeat your sounds or actions as much as possible and will enjoy making you laugh or gaining attention in any other way.

You will now be able to ask your child simple questions such as “would you like a chocolate?” – silly question under any circumstances. My son could say Mars Bar before he could say mommy. Your child will also be able to follow simple instructions ‘ Come to mommy’, ‘ put that down’, and ‘get off the cat’. He may also be able to say a few words so that both you and he understand. At this age your child will delight in copying your actions, facial expressions or gestures. So be careful, especially around your mother in law where the odd gesture is bound to slip out.

For some reason parents get overly concerned about their child's physical development. ‘Mine’s taller than yours’, ‘yours is fat compared to mine’ and ‘does mine look too skinny?’ are all common conversations overheard at any playground or crèche function. Your child is an individual and will grow at his or her own rate. If you are ever worried take your child to his pediatrician and they can check for problems. At this stage your child may begin to climb out of his cot, so it might be a good idea to start thinking of ways to keep them in or at the least make it a soft landing if they fall out. A friends son suggested they roof the cot in for his little sister and make a door to slide food through, as you can imagine his mother is a little concerned about sibling rivalry. Your baby will be a lot surer of himself now. Turning to pick up a toy behind him will not cause him to fall over, and he will be able to lower himself into a sitting position without crashing to the ground. Your child will now be able to pick up a toy and hand it to you, but beware because at this age he is also able to throw things deliberately, which he will do. The joy of hurling something into the air and the outrage, with which this may be met, will encourage your child to repeat the action time and again. He will also be able to hold more than one object in his hand. Feeding time will take on a whole new dimension of messiness as your child seeks to feed himself, and while he may be able to twist his hand to get the food into his mouth, he will still get a lot of it on his shirt and the floor. My cat used to lie under my sons high chair and couldn’t understand the way it kept raining yogurt. At this stage your child will be able to walk on her own if he is holding onto furniture (so walking sideways becomes something of a norm), and will be able to walk next to you when just holding one of your hands. He will also be able to stand on his own and take a few steps to reach a support of some kind. At this point many parents rush out and buy their kids running shoes and start making plans for the next Olympic games, but give them a little time here, they need to get the hang of walking on feet instead of scooting on bums to get around.