Your toddler is now 1 year and 1 month old, and his/her development and milestones are all about new skills! And it all starts with pointing at desired objects to make his/her wishes known.
Your child might stretch out his/her arms and bounce up and down to be carried, or plonk him/herself down next to the high chair if he/she thinks it’s dinner time. He/she might even initiate games with you, or bring you a favourite book to read.
This is the time when baby sign language really comes into its own because your 1 year 1 month old child finally understands that he/she can influence your actions!
No need to worry if you haven’t done any sign language so far – you and your toddler will soon be fluent in a sign language that’s uniquely your own.
Patience is still a long way off, so a less than perfect response might trigger a frustrated wail. Your toddler is developing a mind of his own and is not shy to tell you! Don’t worry, all this is part of your little one’s developmental journey. Keep trying, and soon both of you will know exactly what the other is "talking" about.
1 Year and 1 Month Old Development and Milestones: Is Your Tot on Track?
Physical Development
At this stage, your child’s median length and weight* should be as follows:
- Boys
– Length: 76.9 cm (30.3 inches)
– Weight: 9.9 kg (21.8lb) - Girls
– Length: 75.1 cm (29.6 inches)
– Weight: 9.5 kg (21lb)
And your child’s head circumference* should be:
- Boys: 46.3 cm (18.2 inches)
- Girls: 45.2 cm (17.8 inches)
Cruising, crawling, walking, climbing – your toddler is all about movement. Whether he/she is standing alone, or climbing low steps, or even walking, you need eyes in the back of your head. And preferably around corners too!
All this walking and moving means your little one has very little patience for sitting down and none at all for staying put! Your 1 year and 1 month old little one does not want to be confined in a stroller or a playpen. Of course, sometimes he/she has no choice.
As part of your child's 1 year and 1 month old development and milestones, despite being able to stand up on his/her own now, your toddler is still adjusting. As a result, he/she might still do things clumsily, especially when bending over to pick something up.
There's no need to worry if your little one occasionally stumbles and falls while trying to figure this out. As he/she grows older, his/her bones will grow stronger, straighter and sturdier. Soon your baby's strides will be surer and tumbles will become fewer.
Other developments you might notice include your baby's growing gross motor skills. Suddenly, all he/she wants to do is pick up blocks and put them into a container. He/she will do this not just once, but over and over again.
You might not be prepared for the mess your child will make when it comes to opening, closing and taking things out, but rest assured, this is also part of the learning journey.
Nicer things to look forward to are your finer motor skills developments like being able to build a tower of two blocks high, clapping his/her hands together and waving goodbye.
Tips
- When your child begins to explore and take his first few steps without support, don't forget to praise him/her for his efforts.
- Short strolls are great because it gives your child plenty of opportunities to point out stuff and bend down to look at things.
- Let your toddler play with a simple everyday empty container. Allow your child to put some blocks inside, close it, shake it and open it to empty it out all over again. Not only is he/she practising gross motor skill, but it also teaching him/her cause and effect.
- Allow your 1 year old toddler to take pointers from you. Let him/her watch and imitate you: be it blowing kisses, waving goodbye or even putting things away. Soon he/she will get the hang of it.
When to Talk to Your Doctor
If your child,
- Is unable to stand, even when supported
- Does not wave goodbye or point to things
- Is not able to build a tower of at least two blocks
Cognitive Development
Your toddler is discovering cause and effect. If he/she drops his/her pacifier, mummy will scoop it up. To confirm this, he/she would drop it again and again! Your toddler really loves this newfound sense of control over his/her environment, even if you don’t find it nearly quite as fun after the tenth or twentieth time around.
Actually your 1 year and 1 month old can already follow instructions. However, this does not mean he/she will follow every single one of them to the tee. Your child also knows now that even when he/she doesn't see something, it doesn't mean that it is not there. This is all thanks to months of playing peek-a-boo with your little one.
Also, if you have been diligently reading to your toddler every night, chances are he/she will be able to point things out when you ask him/her to.
Tips
- Do continue to read to your toddler, because kids soak up so much information at this age. Aim for about 20 minutes of reading per day and encourage your child to participate by asking questions like: "Can you find the red apple?" or "Where's that yellow duckling hiding?"
- Teach your toddler about shapes, colours and numbers by lining up some colourful blocks and counting them together out loud.
- Play games with instructions. He/she will be so proud when he/she can do what you ask.
When to Talk to Your Doctor
If your child,
- Is unable to follow simple instructions.
- Is unable to make associations or recognise daily objects.
- Is not able to find hidden objects.
Social and Emotional Development
Inside your toddler’s head, he/she knows exactly what he/she wants, but the world just doesn’t understand this! And since patience is not yet one of his/her virtues, you will most likely see the first signs of stubbornness and frustration.
As part of your toddler's 1 year and 1 month old development and milestones, he/she will start showing a wider array of emotions, including some of the less lovely kind. Your child will also start to display preferences, like playing instead of eating. Diaper changes might become a battle as he/she refuses to lie down (time to switch to pull-ups!).
Even if your child appears endlessly defiant, remember he/she is just testing his/her boundaries. Despite this growing independence, your toddler will still look to you for guidance especially when there are unfamiliar faces around.
Mummy and daddy are still the centre of your toddler's world, but part of growing up is also getting to know other people as well. He/she might begin to take an interest in other children, play alongside them, and even start to make eye contact with friends.
Soon your little one will be able to express his/her emotions to those around, such as smiling at mummy and frowning at strangers.
Tips:
- A good game for this age group is hide-and-seek because it helps toddlers with separation anxiety. Through this activity, your little one can see that mum and dad are still there, even if he/she can’t see you.
- Games that teach your toddler about emotions are a great way to help him/her better understand the feelings he/she is experiencing. Make different faces and have your child guess the emotion. When your toddler knows how to name these emotions, then he/she will be able to express him/herself better.
- A good tip when dropping your little one with a carer is to keep the goodbyes short. This will be easier on the both of you. Remember to leave with a smiling face, even though it breaks your heart to hear your baby sobbing.
When to Talk to Your Doctor
If your child,
- Continues to show strong anxiety separation issues
- Shows no emotions or interest in socialising with others
Speech and Language Development
Your toddler’s first language is still body language. If you have been practising sign language, it will probably speed up around the 1 year and 1 month old development and milestones stage. There is a sudden surge of vocabulary, even if your child may not be able to verbalise it just yet. But his/her two favourite words, for now, will be "hello" and "bye", even if your little one is still mostly pointing to get the message across.
This might frustrate your little tot as he/she struggles to tell you his/her needs while combining speech and gestures together. Be patient and give your child your full attention when he/she is trying to communicate with you. Be mindful of what you say because your child is constantly listening to and absorbing everything you say and do. For the most of it, your toddler's speech will be one-word sentences for now. But soon, it will progress to two words as he/she is exposed to new words every day.
Tips
- Continue talk to your little one in a slow and clear voice, making sure to pronounce each word clearly. Use complete sentences so that he/she can learn from you, even if your child may mostly be answering in one-word sentences during his/her 1 year and 1 month old development and milestones phase.
- Continue reading to your child. Engage your little one by asking him/her to point out various things that catch his/her interest. Singing action and nursery rhymes together is also a fun way to expand your baby's vocabulary.
- Play the name game! Point to different parts of your face and say the name of each part out clearly. You'll be surprised at how fast your will pick it up the next time you ask him where's his nose!
When to Talk to Your Doctor
If your child,
- Does not respond to his/her own name or when he is being called
- When your child is unable to converse using single words like "hello", "bye" or call mum and dad in their own way
Health and Nutrition
By 1 year 1 month, your child can eat four meals per day (each meal containing ¾ to full cup/bowl), plus breastfeeds, and a couple of snacks in-between.
Typically, the calorie intake for boys and girls of this age are as follows:
- Boys: 801.1 Kcal/day
- Girls: 765.5 Kcal/day
Their nutrition should be composed of the following:
- Protein
Protein is an essential nutrient that ensures your child grows well, both physically and mentally. At this age, your little one needs approximately 20-25 grams of protein per day. This is equal to an adult-palm-sized piece of chicken or fish, or a child-palm-sized piece of red meat or pork, or five to six tablespoons of beans, peas or other pulses, or five to six dice-sized cubes of tofu.
- Fruits
Fruits provide essential vitamins, minerals and fibre to your child. Your child needs about three cups of fruits every day, but do make sure you cut them into smaller pieces before serving. One cup equals one medium-sized banana or mango, or half a big papaya, or one medium-sized avocado. A great way to provide your child the daily amount of required fruit is to chop up a variety of fruits into a salad.
Remember always that whole grapes are a very real choking hazard. Always cut them lengthwise (so that each half is oval-shaped) before letting your child eat them.
- Vegetables
Serve your child 1.5 cups of vegetables every day. Some good options are pumpkin, sweet potato, brocolli and spinach. Remember that greens like spinach and kale shrink after being cooked so ensure that you select a good handful or two of raw greens.
- Grains
Increase your child’s grain intake to up to 3 ounces or about 85g per day, which equals to a slice and a half of bread, or one cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or half (1/2) cup of cooked pasta or rice. Do ensure that at least half of what your child eats through the day must be whole grains.
- Milk/Dairy
You can now reduce your child’s daily dose of milk to about 16-24 ounces (around 500 to 700 ml). Fresh, full-cream cow's milk can now safely be given to your child, as can other forms of dairy like yoghurt and cheese.
In a nutshell, here’s what your child needs every day (refer above for what the amounts look like):
- Fruits: 3 cups for boys and girls
- Vegetables: 1.5 cups for boys and girls
- Grains: up to 3 ounces for boys and girls
- Proteins: 20g for boys and girls
- Milk: 16 to 24 ounces of whole milk for boys and girls
- Water: 1200 ml for boys and girls
Tips
- During his/her 1 year and 1 month old period, your toddler is still trying out new textures and tasting a variety of food. Continue to offer nutritious and healthy food choices. Don't stress too much if your child is being picky because he/she can still get nutrients from his milk. So make sure to choose whole milk for the dietary fats needed for normal growth and brain development.
- Some parents might allow their kids to self-feed right about now. With this newfound independence, your child might test his/her boundaries by throwing food just to see what happens. Do bear in mind that such actions are more out of curiosity than being malicious.
- Dinner might feel like a battleground sometimes, but try and keep your cool in the midst of the mess. All of this is normal and part of your toddler's 1 year and 1 month old development and milestones.
When to see a doctor
If your child,
- Constantly throws up after eating.
- Refuses to try new foods, even in tiny quantities.
- Breaks out in a rash after mealtime.
- BCG
- Hepatitis B (1st, 2nd and 3rd dose)
- DTaP (1st, 2nd and 3rd dose)
- IPV (1st, 2nd and 3rd dose)
- Hib (1st, 2nd and 3rd dose)
- Pneumococcal Conjugate (1st and 2nd dose)
- Meningitis C
- MMR – 1st dose: Immunisation against Measles, Mumps & Rubella
- Pneumococcal Conjugate – 1st booster: Immunisation against Pneumococcal Disease
Parents do note that following MMR vaccination, some children develop a fever and rash 1 – 2 weeks later or swelling of the glands of the neck after 3 – 4 weeks. To read more about your child's vaccination schedule, click here.
If your child is in daycare by now, then it's normal for him/her to contract common illnesses such as colds, Hand Foot and Mouth disease, or throat infections or even influenza.
While it's stressful to see your little one ill, sickness in kids is inevitable and in fact, helps build up baby's immunity.
Mums and dad, you should never medicate your baby on your own unless you are doctors yourself. Please seek medical advice for any illness in your child, even common ones. However, you can ease your child's symptoms through, for example, saline drops for a congested nose or lukewarm sponging for fever.
Tips
- Your child's teeth should be brushed well after every meal. Even if you cannot use a toothbrush on your child yet, it's important to keep those tiny teeth clean. Wrap a piece of soft cloth or gauze around a clean finger and clean your child's teeth this way.
- Never force feed your child if he/she loses his/her appetite when sick. Just make sure your baby is well hydrated.
- If your baby is prescribed antibiotics by the doctor, it's essential that you finish the course, even if baby seems to be better.
- If baby bumps his/her head, apply an ice pack (wrapped in a cloth) immediately to prevent bruising.
- Basic hygiene practices should be strictly followed by all family members. This includes washing hand before meals and after using the bathroom.
When to Talk to Your Doctor
If your child,
- Has a bad fall and hits his/her head.
- Has strange bumps or rashes on his/her body.
- Has a fever of over 38 degree Celsius.
- Has a phlegmy cough for more than three days.
*Please note that development milestones vary from child to child. If you have any concerns regarding your little one's growth, do not hesitate to consult your paediatrician.
*Disclaimer: This is the median length and weight, and head circumference according to WHO standards.
Source: WebMD
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