10 – 12 Months Old Baby Development Milestones!

Not only will they have developed a personality, but they will have acquired and begun to showcase their intellectual capabilities as well. This display would, without a doubt, bring joy to all of you.

Well, this manifestation of their abilities is a direct result of the development process that all babies go through, which in turn, helps develop their own identity as they grow older. In this article, we will discuss the development of babies around the age of 10 to 12 months.

10 – 12 Months Old Baby Development Milestones

A baby that is 10 to 12 months year old is considered to be an infant, and infants are known to start achieving developmental milestones in a variety of stages, which includes emotional, social, physical, and cognition. For each of these four categories, your infant will achieve several different types of milestones that help develop their overall growth.

Cognitive Development

Within this stage of development, your infant will begin to showcase their brain development, which refers to their cognitive abilities. They will, at this point, develop the ability to think (Read here: Cognitive Development in Infants).

Object Permanence

This refers to your infant’s ability to recognize that a particular object exists. This can be showcased in several instances and isn’t only restricted to the recognition of objects rather people as well. The best example of the development of object permanence is that your infant understands that an object that has been hidden still exists and is just out of sight.

This helps them cope and remain calm when a parent moves away from the line of sight of their baby.

Ability To Search For Objects That Are Hidden

During their cognitive development, you will see that your infant has begun to look for objects that they desire to use, and if that object is out of sight, they will move around to locate it.

This is due to the fact that once your baby has developed object permanence, they will then begin to develop an inquisitive streak. A good example of this is that if their toy has slipped underneath your couch, your infant will lean down to look for it.

You can also test this development by hiding their toy underneath a sheet, and you will see that your baby will begin to look for it.

Enjoys Picture Books

This is the age when your infant will develop the ability to comprehend and, therefore, enjoy picture books. Your 10 to 12 month old will love to listen to audio and visual stories, most commonly in the form of picture books for children since they are incredibly eye-catching illustrations.

The reason why your infant will begin to enjoy picture books is due to the fact that they will have developed the ability to comprehend and retain information in the form of pictures and sounds. 

There are several other types of cognitive abilities that your 10 to 12 month old will have developed. Here is a list of the rest of them. 

• Development of the ability to associate words with their corresponding meanings
• Development of the ability to repeat and imitate actions that they observe
• Development of the ability to learn the appropriate names for people around them, which manifests in the form of the infant using words, such as mama and dada.
• Development of the ability to comprehend requests, such as the request to hand an object back to the parent.

Physical Development

The physical development of your infant is the easiest to observe and pertains to the development of physical principals and motor skills.

Crawling

Between 10 to 12 months, your infant will be able to master the physical art of crawling, which is, in fact, known to be an incredibly vital developmental sign. 

Pincer Grasp 

The pincer grasp is the type of grasp where the thumb and the index finger are used to pick up small-sized objects. At this age, your infant will develop the ability to pick and hold small objects by using a pincer grasp instead of all of their fingers.

Ability To Sit 

At this stage, your infant will have developed their abdomen and back muscles, which will allow them to roll over and sit up.

Pulling On The Table To Stand Up

At this age, your infant will also develop the ability to stand up. However, they would not have developed the ability or muscle strength to stand on their own, which is why you will most often see your infant pulling on a stable object to stand up. 

There are several other physical developmental milestones that you will be able to easily observe in your 10 to 12 month old. Here is a list of the rest of them.

• Development of the ability to put their foot forward after standing up; However, this can only be done when the infant is holding on to a stable object.
• Growth of the central incisor teeth
• Development of improved depth perception and better hand to eye coordination

Emotional and Social Development

Your baby between the age of 10 and 12 months will also begin to develop their own emotional temperament, which will prepare them to cope with social gatherings, such as their first birthday.

Waving Goodbye

You may have noticed that, at first, your infant wouldn’t respond to people waving at them. However, at this age, your baby will be able to see people off by waving them goodbye. This means that your infant has developed the ability to understand basic social gestures that are used in everyday life. The infant might even say something similar to bye. 

Anxious Of Strangers 

Since your infant will have begun to recognize their family members, they will then develop the ability to identify or label someone as a stranger. This is why, if you leave them in the company of a stranger, you will see your infant feel anxious, and they may even resist going into the arms of people they are unfamiliar with. 

Reacting To Situations

Since the infant will have started to develop a personality of their own at 10 to 12 months, you will also see them reacting according to the situation, such as crying when a toy is taken away from them, being startled and nervous due to a loud sound, and more. 

Other social and emotional developmental milestones include:

• Development of separation anxiety
• Ability to enjoy games, such as hide and go seek.