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As we have seen, a child progresses in stages. He uses his experiments to always go further. He does not neglect any of his new motor skills. Having verified that a posture or a gesture works, he immediately takes the opportunity to try others. In this way, he gains mobility and skill very quickly. It’s the beginning of serious things, for you and for him.
Around 8 months old, soon to be up!
Around 8 months, a baby can sit up without support. He can bend over, then rotate on his butt to reach for a toy. But he needs more to quench his thirst for discovery! He will therefore turn to a new objective: to move.
The “four legs” is not a compulsory step. Like crawling, this mode of movement becomes accessible to the child around 9-10 months. But not all the little ones will exploit these possibilities. Some will choose to push themselves forward on the buttocks. Others will quickly embark on the acquisition of the standing position. Still others, who find themselves sitting very well on their playmat, will prefer to explore the capacities of their small hands. However, crawling or crawling promotes coordination of movements and lateralization, so encourage your baby’s initiatives if he wants to.
He loves to play legs since the drop in their muscle tone made them more flexible. When held upright, he jubilates, showing his pleasure through flexes, extensions and jumps punctuated by bursts of laughter. The standing position is unique to humans. He spares no effort to stand up.
But her legs still have weaknesses … If the muscular strength of his arms allows him to lean on it, that of his legs is not developed enough to support him. Consequence: it falls on the buttocks. This annoys him but does not hurt him, because he does not stiffen in his fall. At around 9-10 months, finally, it stands up for a few moments by clinging to a piece of furniture or to your hand.
From 10-12 months, go ahead!
Your little one stands up on his own. That’s a good thing done. He will now be able to take up a new challenge, and not the least: to hold on without hands. Instinctively, to balance the weight of his body, he helps himself to the swing of his arms. This feeling of balance, he must discover it himself, because it is the very foundation of walking. So you will hardly help him by holding him by the hands.
When he feels himself wavering, it clings to a support. Wise precaution – but often not quick enough to prevent a fall. Know how to resist, if he whines, and be careful not to intervene to put him back on his feet. These minor falls do not require consolation (you would spend all your time there!); better, by your smiles, encourage him to take things with philosophy and repeat (which he will do anyway). And of course, warmly salute its successes.
Put one foot in front of the other to move forward is the next step. Again, no need for explanation, this is part of its natural evolution. Around 10-12 months, he takes his first steps with a support. If it is your hand (but never both), keep the arm flexible enough to allow it to fully experience the feeling of balance. Then all you have to do is let go.
The age of the first steps provides an inexhaustible topic of conversation for parents. A recent trend is to regard early walking as a positive sign. It’s wrong. This does not augur well for a future temperament (agility or clumsiness, recklessness or cowardice). The “later” child is by no means lazy: he is simply biding his time.
Several factors come into play to determine the age of walking: genetic potential; weight (a chubby baby may start a little later); gender (statistics indicate that girls are earlier, probably because their brain maturation is too); the child’s tastes and priorities (some prefer to focus on fine motor skills or language).
Walk before 10 months is physiologically impossible. Before 1 year, it is very rare. The common range is between 12 and 15 months. Until 18 months, there is no reason to be alarmed if the child is alert and communicative. Beyond that, you have to worry about it. However, when there is a problem, the doctor will have noticed it and will immediately notify the parents.
It is the quality of walking that the doctor controls, it matters to him more than his precocity. Feet and knees “inside”, excessive use of the tiptoes, legs in arches… So many signs that he will ask parents to watch out for. If necessary, he will likely refer them to an orthopedic surgeon who will tell them how to deal with the problem.
Don’t be too impatient ! If your encouragement is always welcome, solicitations will not change anything: until a baby is ready, nothing happens.
The relationship with the child changes. It is more and more easy to carapate, embarks on sometimes perilous adventures… You were swimming in blessed motherhood (or paternage!), You have entered the era of education. We will have to impose prohibitions. At first, you will experience it badly. But since you will not cut it, the sooner you accept it, the better this inevitably unequal relationship will settle harmoniously.
Be careful, a child who walks early is not necessarily more mature in other respects.
At 1 year, he understands and, above all, registers bans much less well than at 15 or 18 months. It is therefore necessary to watch the little precocious walker like milk on the fire.
Two solutions are available to you during this period: leave your house as it is and track your baby, punctuating a “no!” explorations prohibited. Or put out of his reach what is dangerous and / or that you don’t want to fall apart, then let him explore as he pleases. This solution is less restrictive for everyone. But that means always closing the cupboard of household products or moving the stools away from the windowsills.
12-18 months: almost nothing stops it
The first steps are always hesitant, and generally even more so if the child is precocious.
You will facilitate the task of your young adventurer by dressing it accordingly: girls or boys, everyone in pants; shoes or slippers standing high to support the ankle, with laces rather than scratches, and leaving the soles of the feet flexible. At home, let him train barefoot, but on a safe floor (beware of splinters, folds in rugs, etc.).
At the beginning, the little one goes straight ahead. It has no specific goal; he is only testing his ability to stand as long as possible. No need to call him to guide his steps, because he will still have to experiment with his balance before choosing his direction; a fortiori, change it along the way.
This is the age of support toys: The push toy, with its support handle; the carrier truck, which allows you to alternate between sitting and standing… Because walking is tiring, it needs to take breaks. When he is tired he sits down. Or, more practical for getting up on the hands, he kneels – which he can do from 15 months.
Overcome an obstacle poses a serious problem to him, until about 18 months: he does not know how to bend the knee to raise the leg. Fortunately, he does not hesitate to revert to his previous strategies and, without complexes, drops to pass the test on all fours.
The turning point of the 18 months. He outlines the movement of running – very different from that of walking. He climbs and escalates whenever the opportunity is given to him; but has the greatest difficulty in descending. Suffice to say that we can hardly take our eyes off it.
Baby is more and more agile with his hands
While her legs were introduced to the joys of walking, her hands did not remain inactive. He made an interesting discovery: they are independent of each other.
A pronounced taste for repetitive actions. Grabbing a toy, passing it from one hand to the other, dropping it, picking it up to let it go again… This does not seem to be of great interest, but for a child, it is essential. Operating by experimentation, it is not satisfied with just one time: it checks and rechecks. Then he reveled in what he had just discovered before moving on to something else.
Around 9 months, he made a major acquisition: “the pincer”. At first, he didn’t use his thumb at all. Then, around 7 months, he realized that he could put it into service by associating it with the little finger. Now he has this other privilege of the little man: the grip between the thumb and forefinger. His thumb will soften and he will soon be able to pair it with the other four fingers.
You will help him develop this knowledge by giving him small toys that are easy to grab. And that he does not risk swallowing; for he still persists, although less systematically, in bringing everything to his mouth. He still uses it as a discovery tool. As his dexterity and overall understanding grows, he will give up this habit.
Give him a bucket full of water and some soil, nothing can make him more happy! His passion for mixing promotes his development, because he discovers a lot of things through touch. Too bad for the laundry… don’t protest if he soaks your fingers in the mash! In the square, if you have to be careful of animal waste, let it play with the earth, the leaves …
He progressed in dexterity, but also in speed. Whereas at 5 months it took him a dozen seconds to catch something, at 1 year he only needed half a second.
12-15 months: baby multiplies the playgrounds
He’s going to put that growing precision and skill to good use in his games. To him the cubes to stack: two (at 1 year old), three, then four.
Builder at heart, he loves big building bricks, various shapes and slip rings (plastic rather than wood, for safety). Requiring concentration, strategy and precision, these games have it all. Encourage them at any age.
He’s getting smarter and smarter. He understood three essential things. First, his two hands can perform distinct and complementary gestures (for example, opening a box with one hand and grasping an object in it with the other.) Then, one action causes another (pushing an object releases the ‘access to another). Finally, some things can be used as a tool (pulling the string brings the truck closer). This will allow him, more and more, to develop strategies to achieve the goals he has set for himself.
Emptying and filling is his passion. Hence the continued success of toy chests and boxes. Above all, do not take the objects out for him! The game begins with this action of emptying. Sometimes expeditious, he overturns the cash register and the noise produced is part of the fun. Sometimes methodical, he takes out one toy after another, observing each one carefully. Around 15 months, he will love boxes where you can insert shapes (round, square, etc.) in the corresponding openings.
He sets out to conquer the spoon, very present in his life and synonymous with pleasant sensations. As soon as this utensil appears (around 5-6 months), it never stops taking it from you. If you give him another, he won’t be fooled for long: it’s the one full of food he wants. Around 15 months, you can give him this pleasure. Content will rarely reach its destination, but it has to be practiced. On the other hand, from 1 year old, he can drink alone. Especially if you have offered him a learning cup, easy to grip with both hands and preferably “tumble”: it oscillates but does not tip over when he puts it down more or less awkwardly.
Another fascinating game, doodling appeared around 15 months. He pays no attention to the result, only the gesture amuses him. He scribbles blindly, his gaze not following the movement of the hand for 18 months. Of course, you think you are restricting its field of action by placing it in front of a leaf, but if it respects its limits, it is just the result of chance.
The bath becomes an exciting playground (but always under your watchful eye). From the moment your baby sits without support (around 8 months), he is freer to move. As a precaution, equip the valve with bearings, there is always a risk that it tilts. The water games, of the circuit type affixed to the walls, will amuse him a lot. Without dethroning the eternal duck and its fascinating flotation, or the extremely simple little container to fill and empty constantly.
A secure room. His room is his space, he will make it his own. As he will spend a lot of time there, he must feel good there. Better to install it in a large and bright room. To gradually let him play alone (a step towards autonomy), be vigilant: no electric wires lying around, no unstable furniture, slippery rugs and no objects presenting a danger. Clear as much floor space as possible, so that he can play around as he pleases. Also plan accessories for his “gym”: floor mats, logs, foam cubes … Place the toys within reach in plastic crates. But be careful, his room must not become a “forest of toys”, because too much stress disturbs him. Make a selection, put the rest away to take it out another time.
Around 15 months, he turns the page thick of a small colored album. This is his first contact with books. Around 18 months, he discovers plastic bath books, where he will be able to “scratch” items. He already likes the pictures and enjoys looking at them alone or, better, in your company. But for him they are toys, not precious objects! No need therefore, for the moment, to try to teach him to “respect” them.
From babbling to words
The books, in fact, will bring him invaluable help and accompany him in another great adventure: language.
The child is genetically programmed to speak and all the children of the world do it the same way, going through the same stages, whatever language they hear and will use in turn. But to speak is to repeat the sounds that have been heard (this is the reason why the deaf do not speak). The more you talk to your child from birth, even before he understands the meaning of your words, the more he will want to speak for himself, and the better he will be at it.
When talking to a young child, instinctively, we change the way we speak. We articulate, we set the tone, we accentuate the important words, we accompany eloquent mimicry … And that’s exactly what is appropriate! Your baby recognizes this special way of addressing him and so knows that you are talking to him. Likewise, your outraged intonation tells him about your displeasure, he who doesn’t know the meaning of words – and doesn’t even know, for 9-10 months, that they have one.
What to tell him, since he does not understand the meaning of your words? No matter ! By commenting on even the menus of the day’s events, the preparation of the meal, the walk, the bedtime, you familiarize his ear with the language that is his, while maintaining communication between you. We talk to exchange, you give him the example.
Around 8 months old, he recognizes words (which are still at this stage only sounds for him), then from 9 months, he identifies the meaning. You will help him memorize them by further accentuating your articulation and your intonations, without fear of repetitions. Note that words are of particular interest to toddlers when they are placed in a sentence that indicates their context.
At what age will he speak? This question fascinates parents as much as the age of the first steps! Since the age of 7 months, your baby has been babbling – that is, producing syllables. And not just any: the most used in his mother tongue, which will be his own (or in the two languages - or even more – in which he is spoken to and which he can very well assimilate at the same time). Then, around 9 months old, he combines them by composing suites that he likes to repeat over and over again. Sometimes in these suites, we hear, for example, a “dad”. And the dad is jubilant. But before 11-12 months, it is a pure coincidence! The child repeated the syllable “pa” (one of his favorites), but without linking this vocal production to a precise meaning. So it’s not a word.
12-18 months, from words to first sentences
The first real word occurs on average between 11 and 14 months. As with all major acquisitions, the range is quite wide and the child himself chooses the right moment.
The main thing is understanding, more than the production of words. During this period, your child understands more and more complex sentences. He also proves it by responding to your requests. Whichever way you choose, this is what you will need to pay attention to first.
A period of maturation sets in after the first word is spoken. During five to six months (perhaps less for the later ones), the child stores a vocabulary of about fifty words, without using them immediately. Do not be alarmed if he only says one from time to time, not always the same: it is quite normal.
Everything accelerates after these six months. Every day, he learns an average of seven to ten words, which he repeats (imperfectly!) And memorizes. A real prodigy, if we think of the complexity of the language. Still, it feels natural, and it is!
What words does he like to say? Contrary to what one might think, it does not necessarily employ those who express a need or a desire. Indeed, he begins to share his sensations and feelings with you, for example that what he eats is “good”. He names the beings and things of his familiar surroundings. It usually uses more nouns than adjectives or verbs.
Everyone develops their own style which perhaps signals a more or less talkative temperament. Some chatter profusely, just for fun, imitating the melody and rhythm of the language and without bothering to produce meaning. Others remain rather silent, until they can utter perfectly formed words.
Words start to organize themselves into sentences around 18 months. The little one understands about two hundred words, and has about fifty. His vocabulary is growing at high speed. His articulation is improving, he can finally be understood by people other than his parents. He embarks on the composition of sentences. These come down to juxtapositions of words, without connection, but with a sufficiently correct syntax for us to understand what it is about. Casually, he is gradually entering the age of grammar.