11-Month Baby Milestones: Getting Ready for Toddlerhood

Oh my, your not-so-little one is almost a year old! In a few weeks, you will have a toddler in your hands.

You must be already planning for your child’s first birthday party. But do not forget that the 11th month can be exciting, too! Your child may surprise you with the developmental milestones they can do.

Are Developmental Milestones Important?

Developmental milestones are a set of age-specific validated checkpoints on behavior and physical development. These are skills that most children can do at a specific age range.

According to our expert, Smart Parenting Board of Expert member and pediatrician Dr. Faith Alcazaren, developmental milestones are essential to pediatricians. Developmental milestones tell the experts what age-appropriate stimulus and environment will promote your child’s development. These milestones also serve as a checkpoint to screen for red flags.

Dr. Alcazaren insists that while developmental milestones are important, they should not cause unnecessary stress to parents. “Most typical healthy children will be able to reach their milestones within the specified timeframe,” says Dr. Alcazaren. “Parents need to remember that babies and children will eventually reach their milestones at some point at their own pace.”

Check out the developmental milestones your baby may hit this month!

Movement and Physical Development

According to WhatToExpect.com, your baby will significantly improve their independence and mobility this month. You will also see behaviors and preferences hinting at their future personality.

Some of your child’s milestones in movement this month are:

• Pulling their self up using furniture
• Standing without assistance for a minute or so
• Walking by a few steps or else cruising along furniture
• Climbing onto chairs, shelves, or crib railings
• Drinking from a cup
• Picking small objects using thumb and forefinger with ease

You may observe your child be more adventurous this month. They are keen to explore their surroundings with little help from you.

This is an excellent time to ensure that your house is child-proofed. Use baby gates to limit your child’s access to more dangerous areas, such as stairs or the kitchen. If your baby likes to climb, make sure that the furniture is sturdy and that all breakable objects are safely away.

Separating them from your kid is also a good idea if you have indoor pets. No matter how tame or trained your pet is, you can never know how they will react to your child. If you want them to interact with each other, you should always be with them to provide supervision.

It is normal for children to start walking from nine to 15 months, so do not worry if your baby is not toddling yet. If you want to encourage walking, you can offer push-pull toys.

Baby walkers are not encouraged. Numerous studies, including this 2021 study from Turkey, have shown that using walkers delays a child’s motor development rather than improves it.

Language and Communication Milestones

According to babycenter.com, your child will have strong preferences for toys, foods, and even people! You should not take it personally if your bundle of joy prefers someone else over you. This behavior is quite common and will likely keep changing over time.

Your baby can now express their preferences a bit better, too. Some of the ways they can communicate this include:

• Saying their first word (usually “dada” or “mama”)
• Pointing at things they want
• Understanding and using “no” by shaking their head
• Crying or becoming upset when you or their favorite person leaves the room

Repetition is an excellent way to encourage talking and enrich your child’s vocabulary. You can show your child a new object and identify it (e.g., “shoes”). Next, try to incorporate the new word many times as you talk with your little one (e.g., “These shoes are new! These are your shoes. Aren’t these shoes nice? The color of these shoes is pretty!”).

Do not feel frustrated when your child becomes upset when you go away. This behavior is called separation anxiety and is typical in young children. Separation anxiety usually hits its peak around 10 to 18 months.

To ease your child’s worries, always say goodbye before leaving the room – but make goodbyes short and fuss-free. Be calm when you go away because your baby also picks up cues from your emotions. Lastly, give your child plenty of time to get used to new people, such as nannies or caregivers.

When Should I Worry About My Child’s Development?

As Dr. Alcazaren said, different children hit their milestones at different ages. However, developmental delays can also happen. When a child has a developmental delay, detecting it early and giving early intervention will result in tremendous success in improvement.

Here are some things that might be a concern:

• Not picking up objects using thumb and forefinger
• Not saying “baba” or “dada”
• Not crawling

Remember that you know your child best. If you feel something is off or not okay, do not hesitate to ask your child’s pediatrician for guidance and reassurance.

Read 14-month-old milestones here.

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