Always think about what you say to your child. Remember that they will live up to your "labels." In other words, if you call them "good," they will be good. Likewise, if you call them or think of them as "bad," they will likely be bad.
Your baby is entering his or her “no” phase. They will learn “no” quickly. It’s not unusual for them to say "no" even when they really mean "yes." This is normal and healthy. Be smart and avoid asking questions in ways that give them a chance to say "no." Give more positive attention and praise when they do what you want them to do. Remember, your child is now becoming an independent person!
Things Your Child May Do at This Age
• Try new ways to fit things together
• Take covers off containers
• Throw a ball while sitting or standing
• Explore their world by climbing to things out of reach
Safety First!
It is time to check your house again for safety. A beginning toddler can stack items to get to countertops, etc. Never leave a toddler alone!
• The toilet bowl will become an interesting play area. Unless you prevent it, they will find ways to make toilet bowl splashes and/or drink the water. This is dangerous because of germs and because they could tip over into the bowl and drown (the same is true of small wading pools). Keep the lid down on toilets and always watch your child when near a pool of any kind.
• Be on guard against items that are small enough to be swallowed, sharp enough to cut, or small and heavy enough to throw and hurt others.
• Avoid using the TV as a babysitter.
Choking: Children this age can choke on small parts of toys and food. The types of food most commonly involved are round, fairly hard chunks of food. Be careful with pieces of hot dog, grapes, popcorn, peanuts or hard candy.
Special Note
Temper tantrums often happen at this age. Do not let your child rule you with temper tantrums. You may have to pick the child up, go into another room or out of a store. Until they calm down, hold them gently but firmly and tell them in simple words that they cannot do what they are doing. Then, after a cooling-off time (5–10 minutes), your child can return to their former activity. Hitting and shaking them will not work and can seriously hurt your child.
Health Hints
• Well-Baby Checkup: Take your baby for their checkup at 15 months.
• Develop good eating habits. Continue to introduce new types of food whether you like them or not.
Things You Can Do Every Day to Help Your Child Grow
• Read to your child every day. Talk with them about the stories you read. Encourage them to turn the pages. At first, they will turn two or three pages at a time, but you can help by lifting the page up a tad and letting the child flip the page over. Hint: Learning to hold a book the right way (right-side up), where to begin (at the front) and going left to right on the page are skills that your child can begin to understand.
• Your child will want to do what you do. If you read a lot, they will want to read a lot.
• Give your child a large piece of paper and a large crayon and allow them to scribble.
• Work with them to solve simple puzzles that have only a few big pieces. Let them pick the pieces up and guide their hand as they place them.
• Expose them to different kinds of music. Teach them to dance to the rhythm of the music. You can make or buy rhythm instruments such as drums, bells and sticks.
• You should allow your child to spend time with other adults and children, especially grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members.
• Create a box of dress-up clothes that they can play with. Use hats, purses, socks and jewelry (nothing smaller than 1½ inches) for make-believe play. Be sure that the clothes are easy to get on and off.
• Find a safe place outdoors for digging. Always supervise them. Use old buckets, spoons, plastic bowls, plastic strainers, cans without sharp edges and plastic cups.
• Let your child imitate you while cleaning up around the house. They can put away toys, pretend to dust with a clean cloth and even push the vacuum cleaner with you.
• Limit TV viewing to educational and developmental programs such as Sesame Street. However, as your child's attention span increases, it is very unwise to use the TV as a babysitter!